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JIM  TULLY 

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MRS.  JIM  TULLY 


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THE 


ANCIENT   HISTORY 

OF  THE 

EGYPTIANS,  CARTHAGINIANS, 

ASSYRIANS,  BABYLONIANS,  MEDES  AND  PERSIANS, 
MACEDONIANS  AND  GRECIANS. 

BY 

CHARIjBiS    ROIL.IL.IN', 

Txite  Principal  of  the  University  of  Paris,  Professor  of  Eloquence  in  the  Royal 

College,  and  Member  of  the  Iloyal  Academy  of  Inscriptions 

and  Belles  Lettres. 


TRANSLATED   FROM   THE   FRENCH. 


11^  FOUR    VOLUMES. 

VOLUME  L 


FROM   THE    LATEST    LONDON    EDITION, 

Carefully  Revised  and  Corrected. 


NEW  YORK: 

JOHN    WURTELE    LOVELL, 

24   BOND    STREET. 


■^>AHTn:/ 


ail..'  ^ ;  f-.  / 


APPROBATION. 


J; .  Paris,  September  3,  1729.  .\ 

I  HAVE  read,  by  order  of  the  lord-keeper,  a  manuscript,  en- 
titled, The  Ancient  History  of  the  Egyptians,  Carthaginians, 
Assyrians,  Babylonians,  Medes,  Persians,  Macedonians,  and 
Greeks,  &c.  In  this  work  appear  the  same  principles  of  religion, 
of  probity,  and  the  same  hnppy  endeavors  to  improve  the  minds  of 
youth,  which  are  so  conspicuous  in  all  the  writings  of  this  author. 
The  present  work  is  not  confined  merely  to  the  instruction  of  young 
people,  but  may  be  of  service  to  all  persons  in  general,  who  will 
now  have  an  opportunity  of  reading,  in  their  native  tongue,  a  great 
number  of  curious  events,  which  before  were  known  to  few  except 
the  learned. 

Secousse. 


T 
/■'/ 


TO  THE  PUBLIC. 


To  attempt  any  labored  panegyric  of  an  author  of  so  dis- 
tinguished celebrity  as  Rollin,  would  be  an  arduous  as  well  as 
superfluous  undertaking. 

His  profound  erudition,  the  benevolence  of  his  intentions,  but 

above  all,  the  piety  of  his  sentiments,  which  clash  with  no  sect  or 

party  among  Christians,  have  already  placed    him  high  in  the 

annals   of   fame,  and   have   procured   his   writings   an  universal 

perusal. 

N  A  peculiar  felicity  has  attended  Rollin  as  an   author.      His 

j  various  performances  have  not  only  been  perused  with  avidity  by 

W  the  public  at  large  ;  they  have  also  mei-ited  the  applause  of  the 

learned  and  ingenious.     Writers  of  the  most  enlightened  and  of 

"v  the  most  refined  taste  in  polite  literature,  such  as  Voltaire,  Atter- 

bury,  &c.,  have  honored  him  with  the  l.ighest  and  most  deserved 

encomiums. 

So  various  is  our  author's  information,  and  so  consummate  his 
';  knowledge  in  every  subject  which  occupied  his  pen,  that,  viewing 

him  in  this  light,  we  would  he  ready  to  imagine  he  had  seldom 
stirred  abi'oad  from  the  studious  and  cloistered  retirement  of  a 
college  ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  M'hen  we  consider  the  easy  ele- 
gance for  which  his  style  is  so  reraarkabh,  we  are  apt  to  conclude 
^^         that  he  past  part  of  his  time  in  courts. 

^     .1        A  circumstance  which  reflects  the  nighest  honor   upon   this 
^%uthor,  is   his  uncommon    modesty.     Leaining,  wliich  too  often 
\       -elates  the  mind,  and  produces  a  haughty  air  of  superiority,  had_ 
.s,        no  such  effect  on  Rollin.     This  great  man,  so  far  from  delivering" 
his  sentiments  in  a  dictatorial  tone,  ever  speaks  in  terms  the  most 
.    unassuming. 
^    ;j,^,     No  preceptor  ever  studied  so  carefully  the  genius  and  disposi- 
^^.?rtions  of  youth,  or  adapted  his  information  so  successfully  for  their 
j.*v  f  improvement,  as  our  author.     In  all  his  works,  it  is  not  the  peda 
V)      gogue  who  instructs,  but  the  fond  parent — the  amiable  friend. 

7S9928 


A   LETTER, 

Written    by    the  Right    Reverend  Dr.    Francis    Atterbury :  late    Lord 
Bishop  of  Rochester  ,  to  M.  Rollin. 

Rev.  atque  Eruditissimk  Vir, 

Cum,  momente  amico  quodam,  qui  juxta  ^des  tuas  liabitat,  soiiem 
te  Farisios  revertisse  ;  statui  salutatum  te  ire,  ut  primum  per  valetu- 
diiiem  liceret.  Id  officii,  ex  pedum  infirmitate  aliquandiu  dilatiim, 
ciim  tandem  me  impleturum  sperarem,  frustv^  fui  ;  domi  nop  eras. 
Restat,  ut  quod  coram  exequi  non  potui,  scriptis  saltern  Uteris  prasstem  ; 
tibique  ob  ea  omnia,  quibus  a  te  auctus  sum,  beneficia,  grates  agam, 
quas  habeo  certe,  et  semper  habiturus  sum,  maxinias. 

Revera  munera  ilia  librorum  nuperis  a  te  annis  editorum  egregia 
ac  p-erhonorifica  mihi  visa  sunt.  Multi  eiiim  facio,  et  te,  vir  praestan- 
tissime,  et  tua  omnia  quaecunque  in  isto  literarum  genere  perpolita 
aunt ;  in  quoquidem  te  cseteris  omnibus  ejusmodi  scriptoribus  facile 
aiitecellere,  atque  esse  eundem  et  dicendiet  sentiendi  magistrum  opti- 
mum, prorsus  existimo  ;  cumque  in  excolendis  his  studiis  aliquantu- 
lum  ipse  et  operas  et  temporis  posuerim,  libere  tainen  profiteer  me, 
tua  cum  legam  ac  relegam^  ea  edoetum  esse  k  te,  non  solum  quae  nes- 
ciebam  prorsus,  sed  etiam  quae  antea  didicisse  mihi  visus  sum.  Mo- 
deste  itaque  nimium  de  opere  tuo  sentis,  cum  juventuti  tantum 
instituendaa  elaboratum  id  esse  contendis.  Ea  certe  scribis,  quae  k  viris 
istiusmodi  rerum  baud  imperitis,  cum  voluptate  et  friictu  legi  possunt. 
Vetera  quidem  et  satis  cognita  revocas  in  memoriam  ;  sed  ita  revo- 
cas,  ut  illustres,  ut  ornes  ;  ut  aliquid  vetustis  adjicias  quod  novum 
sit,  alienis  quod  oinnino  tuum  :  bonasque  picturas  bona  in  luce  collo- 
cando  efficis,  ut  etiam  iis,  k  quibus  saepissime  conspectse  sunt,  elegan- 
tiores  tamen  solito  appareant,  et  piaceant  magis. 

Certe,  dum  Xenophontem  saepius  versas,  ab  illo  et  ea  quae  ate 
plurimisin  locis  narrantur,  et  ipsum  ubique  narrandi  modum  videris 
traxisse,  stylique  Xenophontei  nitorum  ac  venustam  simplicitatem 
lion  imitari  tantum,  sed  plane  assequi :  ita  ut  si  Gallice  scisset 
Xenophon,  non  aliis  ilium,  in  eo  argumento  quod  tractas,  verbis 
usuram,  non  alio  prorsus  more  scripturum  judicem. 

Haec  ego,  baud  assentandi  causk  (quod  vitium  procul  h  me  abesfc,)  sed 
vere  ex  animi  sententiadico.  Cum  enimpulchris  h.te  donis  ditatussim, 
quibus  in  eodem,  aut  in  alio  quopiam  doctrinje  genere  referendis  inipa- 
rem  me  sentio,  volui  tamen  propensi  erga  te  animi  gratique  testimonium 
proferre,  et  te  aliquo  saltern  munusculo,  etsi  perquam  dissimili,  re- 
niunerari. 

Perge,  vir  docte  admodum  et  venerande,  de  bonis  Uteris,  quae  nunc 
neglectse  passim  et  spretas  jacent,  benfe  mereri  ;  perge  juventutem 
Gallicam  (quando  illi  solummodd  te  utilem  esStC  vis)  optimis  et  praecep- 
tis  et  exemplis  informare. 

Quod  ut  facias,  annis  aetatis  tuse  elapsis  multos  adjiciat  Deus  ! 
iisque  decurrentibus  sanum  te  prsestet  atque  incolumem.  Hoc  ex  animo 
optat  ac  vovet,       Tui  observantissimus,         Franciscus  Roffensxs. 

Pransurum  te  mecum  post  festa  dixit  mihi  amicus  ille  iioster  qui 
til)i  vicinus  est.  Cum  statueris  tecum  quo  die  adfuturus  es,  id  illi 
significabis.  Me  certe  annis  malisque  debilitatum,  quandocunque 
veneris,  domi  invpnies. 

Q^  Kal.  Jax.  1731. 
4 


TRANSLATION  OF  THE  FOREGOING  LETTER. 


Reverend  and  most  Learned  Sir, 

When  I  was  informed  by  a  friend  who  lives  near  yon,  that  you  were  return- 
ed to  Paris,  I  resolved  to  wait  on  you,  as  soon  as  tlie  state  of  my  liealtli  would 
permit.  After  havinjT  been  prevented  by  the  gout  for  some  time.  I  was  in  hopes 
at  leugtli  of  paying  my  respects  to  you  at  your  house,  and  went  thither,  but  you 
were  not  at  home.  It  is  iucumbeut  ou  me,  therefore,  to  do  that  in  writing,  which 
I  could  not  in  person,  and  to  return  you  my  acknowledgments  for  all  the  favors 
you  have  been  plciised  to  confer  upon  me,  of  which,  1  beg  you  will  be  a.'<sured, 
that  I  shall  alwaj^s  retain  the  most  grateful  sense. 

And  indeed  I  esteem  the  books  you  have  lately  published,  as  pre.«entsof  ex- 
ceeding value,  and  such  as  do  me  very  great  honor.  For  I  have  the  highest 
regard,  most  excellent  sir,  both  for  you  and  for  every  thing  that  comes  from  so 
masterly  a  hand  as  youi-s,  in  the  kind  of  learning  you  treat  :  in  which  I  must 
believe  that  you  not  only  excel  all  other  writers,  but  are  at  the  same  time  the 
best  master  of  speaking  and  thinking  well ;  and  I  freelj'  confess,  that  though  I 
had  applied  some  time  and  pains  in  cultivating  these  studies,  when  I  read  your 
volumes  over  and  over  again,  I  was  instructed  iu  things  by  you,  of  wliich  I  was 
not  only  entirely  ignorant,  but  seemed  to  myself  to  have  learned  before.  You 
have  therefore  too  modest  an  opinion  of  jour  work,  when  you  declare  it  com- 
posed .solely  for  the  instruction  of  youth.  What  you  write  may  undoubtedly 
be  read  witli  pleasure  and  improvement,  by  jfereons  not  unacquainted  with 
learning  of  the  same  kind.  For,  while  yon  csiU  to  nund  ancient  facts,  and  things 
sufficiently  known,  you  do  it  in  such  a  manner,  that  you  illustiate,  you  embel- 
lish them  ;  still  adding  something  new  to  the  old,  something  entirely  your  own 
to  the  labors  of  others  ;  by  placing  good  pictures  in  a  good  light,  you  make  them 
appear  with  unusual  elegance  and  more  exalted  beauties,  even  to  those  who 
liave  seen  and  studied  them  most.  , 

In  your  frequent  correspondence  with  Xenophon,  you  have  certiiirdy  extracted 
from  him,  both  what  you  relate  in  many  places,  and  everywhere  his  very  man- 
ner of  relating  ;  you  seem  not  only  to  have  imitated,  but  attained  the  shining 
elegance  and  beautiful  simplicity  of  that  author's  style  ;  so  that,  had  Xeuophou 
excelled  in  the  French  language,  in  my  judgment,  he  would  have  used  no  other 
words,  nor  written  in  any  other  method,  upon  the  subject  you  treat,  than  j'ou 
have  done. 

1  do  not  say  this  out  of  flattery,  wliich  is  far  from  being  my  vice,  but  from 
my  real  sense  and  opinion.  As  you  have  enriched  me  with  your  fine  presents, 
wiiich  1  know  how  incapable  I  am  of  repaying  either  in  the  same,  or  in  any  other 
kind  of  learning,  I  was  willing  to  testify  my  gratitude  and  affection  for  you,  and 
at  least  to  make  you  some  small,  though  exceedingly  unequal  return. 

Go  on,  most  learned  and  venerable  sir,  to  deserve  well  of  sound  literature, 
which   now  lies  universally  neglected  and  despised.     Go  on  in  forming  the 
youth  of  France,  since  you  will  have  their  utility  to  be  your  sole  view,  uiwnthe  . 
best  precepts  and  examples.  i 

Wliich  that  you  may  effect,  may  it  please  God  to  add  many  years  to  your 
life,  and  during  the  course  of  them  to  preserve  you  in  health  and  safety.  This 
is  the  earnest  wish  and  prayer  of 

Your  most  obedient  servant, 

Francis  Roffen. 

P.S.  Our  friend,  your  neighbor,  tells  me  you  intend  to  dine  with  me  after 
the  holidays.  When  you  have  fixed  upon  the  day,  be  pleased  to  let  hiui  know 
it  Whenever  you  come,  you  will  certainly  Hud  one,  so  weal:  with  age  and  ills 
ab  I  am,  at  home. 

December  26,  1731. 

5  , 


iaxtaj  ^  i  :^rii 


CONTENTS 


INTRODUCTION. 

PAGE. 

The  utility  of  Profane  History,  especially  with  xegard  to  Religion,     -        13 
Of  Government,  -----------  135 

(Jeographv  of  Asia,        --.-------37 

Of  Relisiion, 40 

Of  the  Feasts,  -      - 42 

Tlie  Paiuitlienea,^        __.---.-..  42 

Feasts  of  Bac(  hns,  ----.----.45 

Tlie  Feasts  of  Elensis,        ..--..-.-  4fj 

Of  Auguries,  Oracles,  &c.      ---------51 

Of  Augnries,        ----..----.  52 

Oif  Oracles,      -        -- 64 

Of  the  Games  and  Combats,        ---.-..-  (54 

Of  th.e  AtlrletiE,  or  combiUants,      --------        09 

Of  Wrestling, 71 

Of  Bo.King.  or  tlie  Cestiis,       .--------73 

Of  the  PancKitinm.      ----------  74 

Of  the  Discus,  or  Quoit,         -        -        -       »..-:-        -        -        -        75 

Of  the  Pentathlum, -----  76 

Of  Races, 70 

0/  tlie  Foot-Race,        - 77 

Of  the  Horse-liiices,        ..--------79 

Of  the  Chariot-Races,         ---------  79 

Of  the  Honors  and  Rewards  granted  to  the  Victors,     -        -        -        -        83 

Tlie  different  Taste  of  the  Greeks  and  Romans  in  regard  to  the  Public 

Shows, 86 

Of  the  Prizes  of  Wit,  and  the  Shows  and  Representations  of  the  Theatre,        89 
Extraordinary  passion  of  the  Athenians  for  the  Entertainments  of  tlie 
Stage.     Emulation   of  the  Poets  in  disputing  the  Prizes  of  tliose 
Representations.      A  short  Idea  of  Dramatic  Poetry,        -        -        -        91 
The  Origin-  and -Progress   of  Tragedy.    Poets  who  excelled  in  it  at 

Athens  :  ^schyliis.   Sophocles,  and  Euripide.s,  .  ..-  ^  ^  -  ■     -        -  9^ 

Of  the  Ancient,  Middle  and  New  Comedy,  -.i.:"^     i^       -        -      104 

The  riieatre  of  the  Ancients  described,      -        -    •+-•.'!-        -        -  111 

Fondness  for  the  Representations  of  the  Theatre  one  of  the  Piincipal 
causes  of  the  Deitline,  Degeneracy,  and  Corruption  of  tlie  Athenian 

State, - 116 

Epochs  ef  the  .lewisli  History,    -        -        -        -  •  r;;«ii/t  w,.;  Vi.  v;  .;.   ii   ..125 

^— Roman   History,        -        -        -        .        •J.ivfj.i   >...-:-.!)-:  ■ 'liffi 

The  Origin  and  Condition  of  the  Elota?,  or  Helots,    -       -        -        -         126 

Lvcurgus,  the  Laceda-monian  Lawgiver,        ------      127 

War  between  the  Argives  and  the  Lacedaemonians,        -        -        -  128 

Wars  between  the  Messeniaiis  and  Lacedaemonians,    -        -        -        -      129 

The  First    Messenian  War,        --------         129 

Tlie  Secon      Messenian  War,       ,-•!.>  Ti     "       "        "        "        "        "      ^*^ 
The  kingdom  of  Egypt,       -        -■}  Mi*^-'k.       -.  .    -      ....         142 

■ Syria,   -       -   r- 5>    j;r*K    -■••!;.'; !'?*r  .>.•?-':.".'•*'    ..«Hi    -mi- 14B 

Macedonia,        -        -        -        -        -        -     .  -     ,.--!.  •:..J43 

Thrace,   and    Bithynla,   &c.        -        -        —,^!i'Hii'j-i.-:!UA 


O  CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

Kings  of  Bithynia,        -----._.__  144 

Peigaiiius,  ---------.  145 

Poutiis,   -----.--._.  i4(j 

Cappadociii,         -----....  147 

Armenia,        -.i-;-        .        .        .        .        .        .  147 

Ei)irus,         -        -•'-■-        .        .        .        .        .        .  148 

Tyrants  of  Heraclea,      -----.....  149 

Kings  of  Syracuse,      ----..-...  151 

Other  Kings, 151 

BOOK  I. 

THE  ANCIENT   HISTORY   OF   THE   EGYPTIANS. 

PART  I. 

Description  of  Egypt,  with  an  account  of  whatever  is  most  curious 

and  renwirkable  111  that  country,      ---.-..  153 

Chap.  I.  Tliebais,         -----...._  154 

^11.  Middle  Egvpt,  or  Heptauojuis,        --..._  155 

Sect.  I.  The  Obelisks, 156 

^11.  Tlie  Pyi-an»ids,          ----_.._.  i5jj 

III. The  Labyrinth,     -        -        -        -        .        .        .        ._  igQ 

^IV.  The  Liike-of  Mceris,        -----_■__  jfji 

v.  Tlie  Inundations  of  the  Nile,      -        -        -        i.    i  ». -;    -  163 

1.  Tlie  Sources  of  the  Nile,    -        -        -        -        .        _._       _  1^3 

.2.  Tiie  Cat'iKicts  of  the  Nile,      ---.-.._  163 

.3.  Canses  of  the  Iniuidiitionsof  thoNile,       ---.._  1(J4 

4.  The  time  and  nontinuanc*  of  the  inur.dations,       -        .        -        _  105 

:5.  Th*  Height  of  the  inundations,          --.-_._  1(35 

6.  The  Canak  of  tlie  N^ile.  aiid  St)iralPunips,    •        -        -        .        .  iffj 

7.  The  Fertility  can.'»€d  by  the  Nile,       ------._  jfjg 

8.  The  different  Prosi^cts  exhil»ted  by  the  Nile,      -        -       .        .  109 

9.  The  Canal  fwmed  by  tlie  Nile,  by  wliich  a  coramuuication  is  made 
between  tl>e  Two  Seas,        -.        -        .        .        __        _        _  170 

Chap.  III.  Lower  Egypt,      ----.---._  171 

PART  n. 

Of  the  Manners  and  Customs  of  ihe  Egyptians,    -        -        -        -        _  175 

Chap.  r.  Conceniing  the  Kings  and  Government,      -        -        .        _  17^ 

IL  Concerning  tiie  Priests  and  Religion  of  the  Egyptians,        -  181 

!Sec.     L  The  worship  of  the  various  Deities.  *   -        -        -        -        -  183 

II.  The  Ceremonies  of  the  Egyptian  Funerals,    -        -        -       -  I88 

Chap.  HI.  Of  the^=:gyi»tian  Soldiers'and  war,    -----  191 

IV.  Of  th«ir  .Arts  and  Sciences.    -------  193 

V.  Of  their  Husbandmen,  Shepherds,  and  Artificers,     -       -  195 

VL  Of  the  Fertility  of  Egypt, 198 

PART  in. 

The  History  of  the  Kings  of  Egj^t, -  204 

The  Kings  of  Egypt, 20« 

Twelve  Kings,    -.-- 222 

BOOK  II. 

THE  history  of  THE  CARTHAGINIANS. 

PART  L 

^Characteb,   Manners,  Religieu,  and    Government  of    the  Cartha- 
ginians,        ------------  237 

iSec.  L  Carthage  formed  after  the  Model  of  Tyre,      -        -        -        .  237 


COXTEJiTS.  9 

PAGE. 

Sect.  II.  Tlie  Religion  of  the  Carthaginians,        -----  238 

III.  Form  of  tlie  Govenimeut  of  Caitlmge,      -        -        -        -  243 

The   Saffetes, .  244 

Tlie  Senate, -  245 

;The   People,    ---- 246 

'Tlie  Tribunal  of  tlie  Hundred, 246 

J)efects  in  the  Government  of  Carthage,        ......  248 

"Sect.    rV.   Trade  of   Carthage,  the  first  source   of  its   Wealth  and 

Power, 250 

V.  The  Mines  of  Spain,  the  second   source  of  the  Riches  and 

Power  of  Carthage,       --......  251 

■ VI.  War, 253 

VII.  Arts  and  Sciences, --  256 

^III.  The  Character,  Manners,  and  Qualities  of  the  Carthagin- 
ians,     ..--.-.-..-  259 

PART  II. 

The  History  of  the  Carthaginians,    -------  261 

<3hap.  I.  Tlie  foundation  of  Carthage,  and  its  Progress  till  the  time  of 

the  first  Funic  War, 262 

Conquests  of  the  Carthaginians  in  Africa,        .....  264 

■ ^^ Sardinia,  &c.        -        -        -        -  266 

Spain, 267 

Sicily, 269 

'Chap.  II.  Tlie  History  of  Carthage,  from  the  first  Punic  War  to  its 

Destruction,       ---------  298 

Article  I. 

^The  fii.st  Punic  War,       -        - ' 298 

'The  Libyan  War,  or  War  against  the  Mercenaries,        -        -        -  318 

Aeticle  II. 

The  second  Punic  War,        ---------  328 

The  remote  and  more  immediate  Causes  of  the  second  Punic  War,  -  329 

War  i^roclaimed,    -------..--  335 

The  beginning  of  the  second  Punic  War,        .        -        _        -        -  335 

Passage  of  the  Rhone,    ----------  337 

The  March  alter  the  Battle  of  the  Rhone, 339 

The  Passage  over  the  Alps,    ---------  341 

Hannibal  enters  Italy,        ---------  344 

Battle  of  the  Cavalry  near  the  Ticinus,        ------  345 

Battle   of  Trebia, 348 

Battle  of  Thrasymene, 352 

"Hannibal's  conduct  with  respect  to  Fabius,        -----  354 

The  state  of  Affairs  in  Spain,        --------  358 

The  Battle  of  Canuffi, 359 

Hannibal  takes  up  his  W^inter-quarters  in  Capua,        -        _        -        -  365 

The  Transactions  relating  to  S)iain  and  Sardinia,    -        -        -        -  367 

The  ill  success  of  Hannibal.     The  Sieges  of  Ca]nia  and  Rome,    -        -  3(i8 

The  Defeat  and  Death  of  the  two  Scipios  in  Spain,    -        -        -        -  369 

Asdrubal, 371 

Scipio  conquers  all  Sjiain.     Is  appointed  Consul,  and  sails  into  Africa. 

Hannibal  is  recalled,  ----------  374 

The  Interview  between  Hannibal  and  Scii)io  in  Africa,  followed  by  a 

Battle, 377 

A  Peace  concluded  between  the  Carthaginians  and  the  Roioans.    The 

end  of  the  second  Punic  War,  --------  379 

A  short  Reflection  on  the  Government  of  Carthage  in  the  time  of  the 

second  Punic  War,         _....--..  383 


10  CONTEXTS. 

PAGE. 

The  interval  between  tlie  Second  and  Tliird  Punic  Wars,     -        -        .  s^ 

Sec.  I.  Conliniuftion  of  the  Hi.-^torj- of  Hannibal,        -        -        .        -  s&l 
Ilaunibal  uudertulies  and  completes  the  reformation  of  the  Courts  of 

Justice,  and  the  Treasury  of  Cartilage,       .--.._  334 

The  Retreat  and  Death  of  Hannibal,  -        - 387 

The  Cliaracter  and  Eulo;;iiiin  of  Hannibal,    ------  3!>i 

Sect.  II.  Dissensions  between  the  Carthaginians  and  Musiuissa,  King 

of  Numidia, 397 

Article  HI. 

The  Tliird  Punic  War,    -- 403 

A  digression  on  tlie  Manners  and  Character  of  the  Second  Scipio  Afri- 

canus,       ---------         ---  423 

The  History  of  the  Family  and  Posteritj'  of  Masiuissa,        -       -       -  43O 

BOOK  III. 

THE   HISTORY   OF   THE  ASSYRIANS. 

Chap.  I.  The  First  Empire  of  the  Assyrians,     -        -        -        -        -  441 

Sect.  I.  Duration  of  that  F.mpire,         -        -        -        -,       .-      ,-      '-  44l 

1.  The  Walls,       -        -        -        -        -        -        -        i.      •-   ■    w       -  448 

2.  The  Quays  and  Bridges,     -        -        -        -        -        -        -        --  440 

3.  Tlie  l^ake,  Ditches,  and  Canals,  made  for  the  draining  of  the  river,  450 
4-  Tiie  Palaces  and  the  hanging  Gardens,     ------  451 

5.  The  Temple  of  Belus, 452 

Chap.  II.  The  Second  Assyrian  Empire,  both  of  Nineveh  and  Babylon,  4f>2 

Kings  of    Babylon,        -        -        - 462 

Nineveh,      ----------  4152 

Chap.  III.  The  History  of  the  Medes. 476 

Lvdiaus,  -        ...      -        r       -  488 

BOOK  IV. 

THE  FOUNDATION  OF  THE  EMPIRE  OF  THE  MEBE.S  AND  PERSIANS,  BY  CYRUS, 

Containing  the  Reigns  of 

CYRUS,    CAMBYSES.    AND    SMERDIS  THE  MAGIAN. 

Chap.  I.  The  History  of  Cyrus, 499 

Article  I. 

The  History  of  Cyrus,  from  his  Infancy  to  the  Siege  of  Babylon,        -  500 

Sect.  I .  Education  of  Cyrus,       -        -        -        --        --        -  500 

II.  Journey  of  C.\tus  to  his  Grandfather  Astyages,  and  his  return 

into  Persia,    ---        -        -        -        -        --        -  502 

III.  The  First  campaign  of  Cyrus,  who  goes  to  succor  his'  Uncle 

Cyaxares  against  the  Babylonians,  -        -        -        -        -  506 
IV.  The  Expedition  of  Cvaxares  and  Cyrus  against  the  Babylo- 
nians.    The  first  Battle, ,518 

V.  The  Battle  of  Thvmbria,  between  Cvrus  and  Croesus,        -  532 

VI.  The  Taking  of  Sardis  and  of  Croesus,     -----  543 

Article  II. 

The  History  of  the  Besieging  and  Taking  of  Babylon  by  Cyrus,      -         546 
Sect.  I.  Predictions  of  the  Princii)al   Circumsfciuces   relating  to  the 
Siege  and  the  Taking  of  Babylon,  as  they  are  set  down  in 
different  places  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,      .        .        -        -      547 

1.  The  Prediction  of  the  Jewish  Captivity  at  Babylon,  and  the  Time 

of  its  Duration,  --------         547 

2.  The  Causes  of  God's  Wrath  against  Babylon,        _        .        -        -      547 


COXTENTS.  11 

PACE. 

■  3.  Tlie  Decree  pronounced  apaiust  Babylon.  Prediction  of  tlie  calami- 
tiers  that  were  to  fall  upon  hor,  and  of  lier  utter  I)estriicti(;n,      -  5-t8 
4.  Cyras  called  to  destroy  Babylon,  anil  to  deliver  tiie  .lews,     -        -  54*,) 
6.  God  gives  the  Signal  to  tlie  (.'oninianders,  and   to   the  Troops,  to 

march  against  Babylon,        ---.-._.  550 
fi.  Particular  cir.unistances  set  down,  relating  to  the  Siege,  and  tlie 

taking  of  Babylon,     ---------  r>ril 

Sect.  II.  A  description  of  the  Taking  of   Babylon,        .        -        .        -  555 

III.  Tlie  Conipletioi'.  of  the  Prophecy  whicli  foretold  the  total 

Kuin  and  destruction  of  Babylon,     -----  558 
IV.  What  followed  upon  the  taking  of  Babylon,        .        _        .  5(ji 

AliTlCLE  III. 

The  History  of  Cvrus,  from  the  taking  of  Babylon  to  the  time  of  his 

deatii,        '- ' 5GS 

Sect.    I.  Cyrus  takes  a  Journey  into  Persia.     At  Jiis  Return  from 
thence  to  Babylon,  he  forins  a  Plan  of  Government  for  the 

whole  Empire.     Daniel's  Credit  and  Power,       -        -        -  500 

IT.  The  Beginning  of  the   united    Empire  of  the  Persians   and 

Mcdes.  The  Famous  Edict  of  Cyrns.  Daniel's  Prophecies,  571 

Reflections  on  Daniel's  Prophecies,        -        -        -        -        -        -        -  574 

Sect.  III.  The  last  >ears  of  Cyrus.      The  Death  of  that  Prince,       -  578 

Character  and  Eulogy  of  Cyrus,     --------  580 

Sect.  IV.  Wherein  iierodotns  and  Xeuophon  dilTcr  In  their  Accounts 

of  Cvrus. .580 

Chap.  II.  The  History  of  Cambyses.    - 588 

III.  The  History  of  Smerdis  the  Magian,        -        -        -        -  599 

IV.  The  Manners  and  Customs  of  the  Assyrians,  Babjionians, 

Lydians,  Medes  aud  Persians,    ------  604 

Akticle  I. 

Of  their  Goyernment,        --        -        -        -        -        -        -        -  604 

Sect.  I.  Their  Monarcliial  Form   of  Government.     The  respect  they 
paid   to  their   Kings.      The  manner  of  Educating  their 

Children,      -        -'- 604 

II.  The  public  Council,  wheteiu  the  affairs  of  State  were  con- 
sidered,     -        -        ''-        - •  607 

III.  The  Administration  of  Justice,      -        -        r        -        -        -  f>10 

IV.  The  rare  of  the  Provinces,        -        !;■■■':'•'•    .        -        .  614 

Tlie  invention  of  Posts  and  Couners,     -        -■•"\^I.''-        ...  618 

Sect.  V.  Administration  of  the  Revenues,        -'       -        -        -       -  621 

AUTICLE  II.  ':■'■. 

Of  their   War, 624 

1.  Tlieir  entering  into  the  Service,  or  into  Military  Discipline,        -  624 

2.  Their  Armor,      -        -        -        -        -        -  .     '-   '^    ,-        -        .        .  625 

3.  Chariots  armed -with  Scythes,        -        -      --ii'' -''i '"•;]"'   .        .  027 

4.  Their  Discipline  in  peace  as  well  as  in  War,    -.'---  628 

5.  Their  Order  of  Battle,     ------.--  629 

6.  Their  Maimer  of  Attacking  and  Defending  strong  places,        -        -  631 

7.  The  condition  of  the  Persian  forces  after  the  thue  of  Cyrns,        -  634 

Article  HI. 

Arts  and  Sciences,  -----------  636 

Sect.  I.     Architecture,        .........  637 

II.  Music, 637 

HI.  Physic, 639 

IV.  Astronomy,  -         ----.....  fi42 

V.    Judicial  Astrology,    ..--.-.-  643 


1^  CONTEXTS. 


Article  IV. 

Religion, 647 

Their  Marriages  and  Maimer  of  Burying  the  Dead,        -        -       -  G53 

Article  V. 

The  cause  of  the  Declension  of  the  Persian  Empire,  and  of  the  change 

that  happened  in  their  Manners,          - 655 

Sect.    I.     Luxury  and  Magnificence,     -        - 655 

II.  The  abject  Submis.sion  and  Slavery  of  the  Persians,       -        -  G58 

III.  The  wrong  Education  of  their  Primes,  another  cause  of  the 

Declension  of  tlie  Persian  Empire, 662 

lY.  Their  breach  of  f  aitli,  or  want  of  sincerity,    -        -       -       -  664 

BOOK  V. 

The  history  of  the  origin  and  settlement  of  the  several  states 
and  governments  of  greece. 

Art.  I.  A  Geographical  description  of  Ancient  Greece,     -        -       -  668 

The  Grecian  Isles, 670 

Art.  II.    Division  of  the  Grecian  History  into  four  several  Ages,    -  671 

Art.  III.  The  Primitive  Oiigin  of  the  Giecians, 672 

Art.  IV.  The  diflerent  States  into  whicli  Greece  was  divided,        -  675 

Art.  V.     Colonies  of  tlie  Greeks  sent  into  Asia  Minor,        -        -       -  ()79 

The  Grecian  dialects, 681 

Art.  VI.  The  Kei)ublican  form  of  Govenimeut  almost  generally  estab- 
lished throughout  Greece, ■•  682 

Art.  YJl.  The  Spartan  Government.     Laws  established  by  Lycurgus,  684 

Institution  1.    Tlie  Senate, 685 

2.     The  division  of  the  Lauds,  and  the  prohibition  of  Gold 

and  Silver  Money, -        -        -  686 

3.     OfPubliQ  Meals, 688 

4.     Other  Ordinances, 689 

Reflections  upon  the  Government  of  Sparta,  and  npon  the  Laws  of 

Lvcurgus, 696 

I.  Things  commendable  in  the  Laws  of  Lycurgus,        ...       -  6f)6 

1.  The  nature  of  the   Spartan  Government, 696 

2.  Equal  dixisioii  of  the  Lands  :    Gold  and    Silver  banished  from 

Spaita, 697 

3.  The  excellent  Education  of  their  Youth 700 

4.  Obedience, 701 

5.  Respect  towards  the  aged, 701 

II.  Defects  in  the  Laws  of  Lycurgus, 702 

1.  The  choice  made  of  the  children  that  were  either  to  be  brought  up 

or  exposed,        - 702 

2.  Their  care  confined  only  to  the  body. 703 

3.  Their  barbarous  cruelty  towards  their  Children,    -       -       -       -  703 

4.  The  Mother's  inhumanity, 704 

5.  Their  excessive  Leisure, 704 

0.  Their  cruelty  towards  the  Helots, 705 

7.  Modesty  and  decencv  entiielv  neglected, 705 

Art.  Vm."  The  Govern'ment  of  "Athens.    The  Laws  of  Solon.     The 

History  of  that  Republic  from  the  time  of  Solon  to  the 

Reign  of  Darius  the  First.      -       -       -       -       -        -        -  706 

Art.  IX.  Illustrious  Men,  who  distinguished  themselves  in  Arts  and 

Sciences, 726 

The  Seven  Wise  Men  of  Greece,       - 734 


INTRODUCTION. 


THE    UTILITY    OF    PROFANE    HISTORY,  ESPECIALLY    WITH 
REGARD    TO    RELIGION. 

The   study  of  profane  history  would  be     What  is  to  be  ob- 

•^  .   1  .  •'  -,     ,  served  m   history, 

unworthy  or  a  serious  attention,  and  the  ajreat  besides  tiie  events 
length  of  time  bestowed  upon  it,  if  it  were  and  chronology. 
confined  to  the  bare  knowledge  of  ancient  transactions,  and 
an  unpleasing  inquiry  into  the  eras  when  each  of  these  hap- 
pened. It  little  concerns  us  to  know  that  there  were  once 
such  men  as  Alexander,  Cgesar,  Aristides,  or  Cato,  and  that 
they  lived  in  this  or  that  period;  that  the  empire  of  the 
Assyrians  made  way  for  that  of  the  Babylonians,  and  the 
latter  for  the  empire  of  the  Medes  and  Persians,  who  were 
themselves  subjected  by  the  Macedonians,  as  these  were 
afterwards  by  the  Romans.  But  it  highly  concerns  us  to 
know  by  what  means  those  empires  were  j  The  causes  of 
founded  ;  the  steps  by  which  they  rose  to  the  the  rise  and  fail  of 
exalted  pitch  of  grandeur  we  so  much  admire  ;  ^"^p"®^- 
what  it  was  that  constituted  their  true  glory  and  felicity, 
and  what  were  the  causes  of  their  declension  and  fall. 

It  is  of  no  less  importance  to  study  atten-  j.  The  genius  and 
tively  the  manners  of  different  nation.^;  their  character   of  na- 

•  •'       ,  T  .  J  •11      X       tio;is,  and  of  the 

genius,  laws  and  customs  ;  and  especially  to  great  persons  that 
acquaint  ourselves  with  the  character  and  governed  them, 
disposition,  the  talents,  virtues,  and  even  vices,  of  those  men 
by  whom  they  were  governed  ;  and  whose  good  or  bad  qiial- 
ties  contributed  to  the  grandeur  or  decay  of  the  states  over 
which  they  presided. 

Such  are  the  great  objects  which  ancient  history  presents ; 
exhibiting  to  our  view  all  the  kingdoms  and  empires  of  the 
world  ;  and  at  the  same  time,  all  the  great  men  who  are  any- 
way conspicuous  ;  thereby  instructing  us,  by  example  rather 
than  precept,  in  the  arts  of  empire  and  war,  the  principles 
of  government,  the  rules  of  policy,  the  maxims  of  civil  society, 
and  the  conduct  of  life  that  suits  all  ages  and  conditions. 

We  acquire,  at  the  same  time,  another  knowledge,  which 

(13) 


14  INTRODUCTIOX. 

cannot  but  excite  the  attention  of  all  jsersons  who  have  a 
3. The oi-igin and  ^^^^^   ^^^  inclination  for  i)olite  learning;  I 
progress    of  arts  mean,  the  manner  in  which  arts  and  sciences 
and  sciences.  ^.^^.^    invented,   Cultivated,    and   improved; 

we  there  discover  and  trace,  as  it  Mere  with  the  eye,  their 
origin  and  progress  ;  and  perceive  with  admiration,  that  the 
nearer  we  a])proach  those  countries  which  were  once  in- 
habited by  the  sons  of  Noah,  in  the  greater  perfection  we 
find  the  arts  and  sciences ;  and  that  they  seeni  to  be  either 
neglected  or  forgotten,  in  proportion  to  the  remoteness  of 
nations  from  them ;  so  that,  Avhen  men  attempted  to  revive 
those  arts  and  sciences,  they  were  obliged  to  go  back  to  the 
source  from  which  they  originally  flowed. 

I  give  only  a  transient  view  of  these  objects,  though  so 
very  important,  in  this  place  ;  because  I  have  already  treated 
them  with  some  ext<?nt  elsewhere.* 

4.  The  observing,         ^"^  another  objcct,  of  infinitely  greater 
especially,  the  con-  importance,   claims   our  attention.     For  al- 

nection      between    ,ii  r;  i-,  ..  ij;^- 

pacred  and  profane  though  ])roiane  history  treats  only  of  nations 
history.  ^ho  had  imbibed  all  the  chimeras  of  a  super- 

stitious Vt'orshi]),  and  abandoned  themselves  to  all  the  irreg- 
ularities of  which  human  nature,  after  the  fall  of  the  first 
man,  became  capable  ;  it  nevertheless  proclaims  universally 
the  greatness  of  tlie  Almighty,  his  power,  his  justice,  and, 
above  all,  tlie  admirable  wisdom  with  which  his  providence 
governs  tlie  universe. 

If  the  inherent  conviction  of  this  last  truth  raised,  ac- 
cording to  Cicero's  observation,!  the  Romans  above  all  other 
nations  ;  Ave  may,  in  like  manner,  affirm,  that  nothing  gives 
history  a  greater  superiority  to  many  other  branches  of 
literature,  than  to  see  in  a  manner  imprinted  in  almost  every 
page  of  it,  the  precious  footsteps  and  shining  proofs  of  this 
great  truth,  Adz. :  that  God  disposes  all  events  as  supreme 
Lord  and  SoAereign  ;  that  he  alone  determines  the  fate  of 
kings,  and  the  duration  of  empires;  and  that  he,  for  reasons 
inscrutable  to  all  but  himself,  transfers  the  government  of 
kingdoms  from  ojie  nation  to  another,  -  -r  i"  . 

<5od  presided  at         We  discover  this  important  truth  in  going 
the  dispersion  of  jja^k  to  the  most  remote  antiquity,  and  the 

men,     after      the         ..  „  ,  ^  it 

flood.  origin  of  profane  history  ;  1  mean  to  the  dis- 

*  Vol.  III.  and  lA'.  of  the  method  of  teaching  and  studying  the  Belles  Let- 
tres,  &c. 

t  Pletate  ao  religione,  atque  liae  una  sapientia  quod  deonim  Immortalium 
nuiuinc  omnia  regi  gubemarique  perspeximus,  omnes  jjentes  uationesque  super- 
avimus.— Or'at.  de  Arusjj.  Kesp.  n.  I'j. 


INTRODUCTION".  15 

persion  of  the  posterity  of  Noah  into  the  several  Cinmtries 
of  the  earth  where  they  settled.  Liberty,  chance,  views  of 
interest,  a  love  for  certain  countries,  and  similar  motives, 
were,  in  outward  appearance,  the  only  causes  of  the  different 
choice  which  men  made  in  their  various  migrations.  But 
the  scriptures  inform  us,  that  amidst  the  trouble  and  con- 
fusion that  followed  the  sudden  change  in  the  language  of 
Noah's  descendants,  God  presided  invisibly  over  all  their 
councils  and  deliberations ;  that  nothing  Avas  transacted 
but  by  the  Almighty's  appointment ;  and  that  he  alone  guided 
and  settled  all  mankind  *  agreeably  to  the  dictates  of  his 
mercy  and  justice.  The  Lord  scattered  them  abroad  from 
thence  upon  the  face  of  the  earth.\ 

We  must  therefore  consider  as  an  indispu-  God  oiiiy  ims  fixed 
,  ...         ,        II-        T/.        -^     •       t'se  fate  of  uii  em- 

table  principle,and  as  the  basis  and  loundation  pires,    botli    with 

to  the  Study  of  profane  liistory,  that  the  pro\i-  p|opTe*  *  and  ^'tii^ 

dence  of  the  Almighty  has,  from  all  eternity,  leign  of  his  son. 

appointed   the   establishment,  duration,  and  desti'uction  of 

kingdoms  and  empires,  as  well  in  regard  to  the  general  plan 

of  the  whole  universe,  known  only  to  God,  who  constitutes 

the  order  and  w^onderful  harmony  of  its  several  parts,  as 

particularly  with   respect  to  the  people  of  Israel,  and  still 

more  with  regard  to  the  Messiah,  and  the  establislmient  of 

the  church,  Avhich  is  his  great  work,  the  end  and  design  of 

all  his  other  works,  and  ever  present  to  his  sight. — Knoxnn 

to  the  Lord  are  all  his  works  from  the  beyhtning.  % 

God  has  vouchsafed  to  discover  to  us  in  holy  Scripture,  a 
part  of  the  relation  of  the  several  nations  of  the  earth  to  his 
own  people  ;  and  the  little  so  discovered,  diffuses  great  light 
over  the  history  of  those  nations,  of  whom  we  shall  have  but 
a  very  imperfect  idea,  unless  we  have  recourse  to  the  inspired 
writers.  They  alone  display,  and  bring  to  light,  the  secret 
thoughts  of  princes,  their  incoherent  projects,  their  foolish 
pride,  their  impious  and  cruel  ambition  ;  they  reveal  tlie 
true  causes  and  hidden  springs  of  victories  and  overthrows ; 
of  the  grandeur  and  declension  of  nations ;  the  rise  and  ruin 
of  states;  and  teach  us  what  judgment  the  Almighty  forms 
both  of  princes  and  empires,  and  consequently,  what  idea 
we  ourselves  ought  to  entertain  of  them. 

Not  to  mention  Egypt,  that  served  at  first  Powerful  kings 
as  the  cradle  (if  I  may  be  allowed  the  expres-  ?pp"i''t«<i  Y'  ''","- 

s        e    ^^         ^      ^  ^-  i  i   •    i        ^i'  "^^  ^'l"    protect    Is- 

sion)   oi  the  holy  nation  ;  and  which  after-  raei. 

♦Tlie  ancients  theriiselves,  according  to  Pindar  (Oly'mp.  Od.  vii.),  retained 
Bome  idea,  tliat  the  disuei-sion  of  men  was  not  the  effect  of  fha)>ce,  but  tiiat  they 
bad  been  settled  in  different  countries  by  the  api><)intmontof  Providence. 

t  Greu.  xi.  8,  9.  ■  %  Acts  xv.  18. 


16  INTRODUCTION. 

wards  was  a  severe  prison,  and  a  fiery  furnace  to  it ;  *  and, 
at  last,  the  scene  of  the  most  astonishing  miracles  that  God 
ever  wrought  in  favor  of  Israel :  not  to  mention,  I  say,  Egypt, 
the  mighty  empires  of  Nineveh  and  Babylon  furnish  a  thou- 
sand proofs  of  the  truth  here  advanced. 

Their  most  powerful  monarchs,  Tiglath-Pilesar,  Salma- 
nazar, Sennacherib,  Nebuchadnezzar,  and  many  more,  were 
in  God's  hand,  as  so  many  instruments,  which  he  employed 
to  punish  the  transgressions  of  his  people.  He  lifted  tip  an 
ensign  to  the  nations  from  far,  and  hissed  unto  them  from 
the  end  of  the  earth,  to  come  and  receive  his  orders.^  He 
himself  put  the  sword  into  their  hands,  and  appointed  their 
inarches  daily.  He  breathed  courage  and  ardor  into  their 
soldiers :  made  their  armies  indefatigable  in  labor,  and  in- 
vincible in  battle;  and  spread  terror  and  consternation 
wherever  they  directed  their  steps. 

The  rapidity  of  their  conquests  ought  to  1  ave  enabled 
them  to  discern  the  invisible  hand  that  conducted  them. 
But,  says  one  of  these  kings  X  in  the  name  of  the  rest,  Hy 
the  strength  of  my  hand  I  have  done  it,  and  by  my  wis- 
dom ;  for  I  am  prudent :  And  I  have  removed  the  bonds 
of  the  people  and  have  robbed  their  treasures,  and  I  have 
put  down  the  inhabitants  like  a  valiant  man.  And  -my 
Jiand  hath  found  as  a  nest  the  riches  of  the  people  ;  and 
as  one  gathereth  eggs  that  are  left,  have  I  gathered  all  the 
earth,  and  there  was  none  that  moved  the  wing,  or  opened 
the  mouth  or  peeped.  § 

But  this  monarch,  so  august  and  wise  in  his  own  eye, 
how  did  he  appear  in  that  of  the  Almighty  ?  Only  as  a 
subaltern  agent,  a  servant  sent  by  his  master  :  The  rod  of 
his  anger,  and  the  staff  in  his  hand.  ||  God's  design  was 
to  chastise,  not  to  extirpate  his  children.  But  Sennacherib 
had  it  in  his  heart  to  destroy  and  cut  off'  all  nations."^ 
What  then  will  be  the  issue  of  this  kind  of  contest  between 
the  designs  of  God  and  those  of  his  prince  ?  **  At  the  time 
that  he  fancied  himself  already  possessed  of  Jerusalem,  the 
Lord,  with  a  single  blast,  disperses  all  his  proud  hopes ; 
destroys,  in  one  night,  a  hundred  fourscore  and  five  thousand 
of  his  forces  ;  and  putting  a  hook  in  his  nose,  and  a  bridle 
in  his  lips  tt  (i*s  though  he  had  been  a  wild  beast,)  he  leads 

*  I  will  bring  you  out  fioin  under  the  burdens  of  the  Egyptians,  and  I  will  rid 
you  out  of  their  bondage.  Exod.  vi.  6.  Out  of  the  iron  furnace,  even  out  of. 
Egypt.    Deut.  iv.  29. 

t  Isai.  V.  26,  30  ;  x.  28,  34  ;  xiii,  4,  5.        $  Sennacherib.        §Isai.  x.  13,  14. 

l|I»u.x.5.  iribid.  V.  7.  **  Ibid.  ver.  12. 

tt  Because  thy  rage  against  me,  and  thy  tumult  is  come  up  into  mine  ears, 


IKTKODUCTIOX.  17 

him  back  to  his  own  dominions,  covered  with  infamy, 
through  the  midst  of  those  nations,  who,  but  a  Uttle  before, 
had  beheld  him  in  all  his  pride  and  haughtiness. 

Nebuchadnezzar,  king  of  •  Babylon,  appears  still  more 
visibly  governed  by  a  Providence,  to  which  he  himself  is 
an  entire  stranger,  although  it  presides  over  all  his  delibera- 
tions, and  determines  all  his  actions. 

Being  -come  at  the  head  of  his  army  to  two  highways, 
the  one  of  which  led  to  Jerusalem,  and  the  other  to  lial')- 
bah,  the  chief  city  of  the  Ammonites,  this  king,  not  know- 
ing which  of  them  would  be  best  for  him  to  strike  into, 
debates  for  sometime  with  himself,  and  at  last  casts  lots.* 
God  makes  the  lot  fall  on  Jerusalem,  to  fulfil  the  menaces 
he  had  pronounced  against  that  city  ;  viz. :  to  destroy  it,  to 
burn  the  temple,  and  lead  its  inhabitants  into  captivity. 

One  would  imagine,  at  first  sight,  that  this  king  had 
been  prompted  to  besiege  Tyre,  merely  from  a  political  view, 
viz. :  that  he  might  not  leave  behind  him  so  powerful  and 
well  fortified  a  city ;  nevertheless,  a  superior  will  had  de- 
creed the  siege  of  Tyre.f  God  designed,  on  one  side,  to 
humble  the  pride  of  Ithobal  its  king,  who  fancying  himself 
wiser  than  Daniel,  whose  fame  was  spread  over  the  whole 
East ;  and  ascribing  entirely  to  his  rare  and  uncommon 
prudence  the  extent  of  his  dominions,  and  the  greatness  of 
his  riches,  persuaded  himself  that  he  was  a  god^  and  sat  in 
the  seat  of  God.  % 

On  the  other  side,  he  also  designed  to  chastise  the  lux- 
ury, the  voluptuousness,  and  the  pride  of  those  haughty 
merchants,  who  thought  themselves  kings  of  the  sea,  and 
sovereigns  over  crowned  heads  ;  and  especially  that  inhuman 
joy  of  the  Tyrians,  who  looked  upon  the  fall  of  Jerusalem 
(the  rival  of  Tyre)  as  their  own  aggrandizement.  These 
were  the  motives  which  prompted  God  himself  to  lead  Ne- 
buchadnezzar to  Tyre ;  and  to  make  him  execute,  though 
unknowingly,  his  commands.  Idcirco  ecce  ego  adducam 
ad  Tyrum,  Nehuchodonosor . 

§  To  recompense  this  monarch,  whose  army  the  Almighty 
had  caused  to  serve  a  great  service  against  Tyre  |j  (these 
are  God's  own  words)  ;  and  to  compensate  the  Babylonish 
troops,  for  the  grievous  toils  they  had  sustained  during  a 

therefore  I.  will  put  my  hook  into  thy  nose,  and  my  bridle  in  thy  lips,  and  I  will 
turn  thee  back  by  the  way  by  which  ihou  earnest.    II.  Kings  xix.  28. 

*  Ezek.  xxi.  19,  23.  t  Ezek.  xxvi.  xxvii.  xxviii.  %  Ezek.  xxviii.  2, 

§  This  incident  is  related  more  at  large  in  the  history  of  the  Egyptians,  under 
the  reign  of  Amasis.  U  Ezek.  xxix.  V6,  20. 

A 


J$  JNTROBVCTION. 

thirteen  yeai-s'  siege :  1  will  give^  saith  the  Lord  God,  tJie 
land  of  Egy2Uunto  Nebuchadnezzar^  king  of  Bahylon  ;  and 
he  shall  take  her  multitude,  and  take  her  spoil,  and  take 
her  prey,  and  it  sliall  he  the  vxiges  of  his  ari//y* 

The  same  Nebuchadnezzar,  eoger  to  iiuniortr.lize  liis 
name  by  the  grandeur  of  his  exploits,  was  determined  to 
heighten  the  glory  of  his  conquests  by  his  splendor  and 
magnificence,  in  embellishing  the  capital  of  his  empire  Avith 
pompous  edifices,  and  the  most  sumj^tuous  ornaments.  But 
while  a  set  of  adulating  courtiers,  on  whom  he  lavished  the 
highest  honors  and  immense  riches,  make  all  ])laces  resound 
with  his  name,  an  august  senate  of  watchful  spirits  is 
formed,  who  weigh,  in  the  balance  of  truth,  the  actions  of 
kings,  and  pronounce  upon  them  a  sentence  from  Avhich 
there  lies  no  appeal.  The  king  of  Babylon  is  cited  before 
this  tribunal,  in  which  there  presides  a  Supreme  Judge, 
who,  to  a  Adgilance  which  nothing  can  elude,  adds  a  Iioliness 
that  will  not  allow  of  the  least  irregularity.  Vigil  et  sanc- 
tus.  In  this  tribmial  all  Nebuchadnezzar's  actions,  which 
were  the  admiration  and  wonder  of  the  ])ublic,  are  examined 
with  rigor  ;  and  a  search  is  made  into  tlie  inAvard  recesses  of 
his  heart,  to  discover  his  most  hidden  thoughts.  How  will 
this  formidable  inquiry  end?  At  the  instant  that  Nebu- 
chadnezzar,  Avalking  in  his  j)alace,  and  revolving,  A\'ith  a 
secret  complacency,  his  exploits,  his  grandeur  nnd  magnifi- 
cence, is  saying  to  himself.  Is  not  this  great  Jjahylon  that  1 
built  for  the  house  of  the  kingdom,  by  the  nright  of  my 
power,  and  for  the  honor  of  my  majesty  ?  f  in  this  very  in- 
stant^ Avhen,  by  vainly  flattering  himself  that  he  held  his 
poAver  and  kingdom  for  himself  alone,  he  usurped  the  seat 
of  the  Almighty :  a  voice  from  heaven  ])ronounces  his  sen- 
tence, and  declares  to  him,  that,  his  kingdom  was  departed 
from  him,  that  he  should  be  driven  from  men,  and  his 
dwelling  be  loith  the  beasts  of  the  fc'd,  until  he  knew  that 
the  Most  High  Tided  in  the  kingdoms  of  men,  and  gave 
them  to  whomsoever  he  tcould.  X 

This  tribunal,  Avhich  is  for  ever  assembled,  though  in- 
visible to  mortal  eyes,  pronounced  the  like  sentence  on  those 
famous  conquerors,  on  those  heroes  of  the  pagan  Avorld, 
who,  like  Nebuchadnezzar,  considered  themselves  as  the 
sole  authors  of  their  exalted  fortune  ;  as  inde})endent  of 
authority  of  every  kind,  and  as  not  holding  of  a  superior 
poAver, 

♦Dan.  iv.  1-34.  t  Dan.  iv.  30.  %  Dan.  iv.  31,  32. 


INTRODUCTION.  19 

As  God  appointed  some  princes  to  be  tlie  instruments  of 
his  vengeance,  he  made  others  the  dispensers  of  his  good- 
ness. He  ordained  Cyrus  to  be  the  deliverer  of  Ids  ])Oople  ; 
and  to  enable  him  to  sup])ort  Avith  dignity  so  glorious  a 
function,  he  endued  him  with  all  the  qualities  Avhich  con- 
stitute the  greatest  captains  and  princes  ;  and  caused  that 
excellent  education  to  be  given  him,  which  the  heathens  so 
much  admired,  though  they  neither  knew  the  author  nor 
the  true  cause  of  it. 

We  see  in  profane  history  the  extent  and  swiftness  of 
his  conquests,  the  intrepidity  of  his  courage,  the  wisdom  of 
his  views  and  designs ;  his  greatness  of  soul,  his  noble  gen- 
erosity; his  truly  paternal  affection  for  his  subjects;  and, 
in  them,  the  grateful  returns  of  love  and  tenderness,  whicli 
made  them  consider  liim  rather  as  their  ])rotector  and  father, 
than  as  their  lord  and  sovereign.  We  find,  I  say,  all  these 
particulars  in  ]:)rofane  history :  but  we  do  not  perceive  the 
secret  principle  of  so  many  exalted  qualities,  nor  the  hidden 
spring  which  set  them  in  motion. 

But  Isaiah  affords  us  this  light,  and  delivers  himself  in 
words  suitable  to  the  greatness  and  majesty  of  the  God 
who  inspired  him.  He  represents  this  all-powerful  God  of 
amiies  as  leading  Cyrus  by  the  hand,  marching  before  him, 
conducting  him  from  city  to  city,  and  from  province  to  prov- 
ince ;  stibduin(j  Jiutions  before  him,  looi^ening  the  loins  of 
Jcings^  hreaking  in  pieces  gates  of  brass,  cutting  in  sunder 
the  bars  of  iron,  throwing  down  the  walls  and  bulwarks  of 
cities,  and  putting  liini  in  possession  of  the  treasures  of 
darkness,  and  the  hidden  riches  of  secret  jjlaces.  * 

The  prophet  also  tells  us  the  cause  and  motive  of  all 
these  events.f  It  was  in  order  to  punish  Babylon,  and  to 
deliver  Judah,  that  the  Almighty  conducts  Cyrus,  step  by 
step,  and  gives  success  to  all  his  enter]n-ises.  J  have  raised 
him  up  in  righteotiS7iess,  and  I irAll  direct  all  his  vmys,for 
Jacob  my  servant's  sake,  and  Israel  mine  elect.X  But  this 
prince  is  so  blind  and  ungrateful,  that  he  does  not  know  his 
Master,-  nor  remember  his  benefactor.  I  have  surnamed 
thee,  though  thou  Iiast  not  known  me,' — I  girded  thee^ 
though  thou  hast  not  known  me.% 

*  "  Thus  saith  the  Lord  to  his  ajioiitteU,  to  Cyrus,  whose  right  hand  I  have 
holdeii,  to  subdue  nations  before  hiui  ;  and  1  will  loose  the  loins  of  kings,  to  open  . 
before  liim  the  two-leaved  pates,  and  the  jja'.es  shall  not  be  shut.  1  will  go  before 
tl)ee,  and  make  the  crooked  places  straight  :  1  will  break  in  pieces  tht  ga'es  of 
brass,  and  cut  in  sunder  the  bars  of  iron.  And  I  will  give  thee  the  treasures  of 
darkness,  and  hiildeii  riches  of  secret  places,  that  thou  niayest  kjiow  that  1  tfa« 
Lord,  which  call  thee  by  thy  name,  am  the  God  of  Israel."— Isa.  xlv.  1-3- 

tisai.  xlv,  .it,  14.  tlsai.  xlv.  13,  14.  §  Isai.  xlv.  4.  5. 


ZV  INTRODUCTIOIT. 

A  fine  image  of  Men  seldom  form  to  themselves  a  right 
the  regal  office.  judgment  of  true  glory,  and  the  duties  es- 
sential to  regal  ])ower.  The  Scripture  only  gives  us  a  full 
idea  of  them,  and  this  it  does  in  a  wonderful  manner,*  under 
the  image  of  a  very  large  and  strong  tree,  whose  top  reaches 
to  heaven,  and  whose  branches  extend  to  the  extremities  of 
the  earth.  As  its  foliage  is  very  abundant,  and  it  is  bowed 
down  with  fruit,  it  constitutes  the  ornament  and  felicity  of 
the  plains  around  it.  It  supplies  a  grateful  shade,  and  a 
secure  retreat  to  beasts  of  every  kind ;  animals,  both  wild 
and  tame,  are  safely  lodged  under  its  hospitable  branches  ; 
the  birds  of  heaven  dwell  in  the  boughs  of  it,  and  it  supplier 
food  to  all  living  creatures. 

Can  there  be  a  more  just  or  more  instructive  idea  of  the 
kingly  office,  whose  true  grandeur  and  solid  glory  does  not 
consist  in  that  splendor,  pomp,  and  magnificence  which  sui 
round  it ;  nor  in  that  reverence  and  exterior  homage  which 
are  paid  to  it  by  subjects ;  but  in  the  real  services  and  solid 
advantages  it  procures  to  nations,  whose  su])port,  defence, 
security,  and  asylum  it  forms  (both  from  its  nature  and  in- 
stitution), at  the  same  time  that  it  is  the  fruitful  source  of 
terrestrial  blessings  of  every  kind  ;  especially  with  regard  to 
the  poor  and  weak,  who  ought  to  find,  beneath  the  shade 
and  protection  of  royalty,  a  sweet  pcn,ce  and  tranquillity  not 
to  be  interrupted  or  disturbed ;  while  the  monarch  himself 
sacrifices  his  ease,  and  experiences  alone  those  storms  and 
tempests  from  which  he  shelters  others  ? 

Methinks  the  reality  of  this  noble  image,  and  the  execu- 
tion of  this  great  plan  (religion  only  excepted),  appears  in' 
the  government  of  Cyrus,  of  which  Xenophon  has  given  us 
a  picture,  in  his  beautiful  preface  to  the  history  of  that 
prince.  He  has  there  specified  a  great  number  of  nations, 
which,  though  far  distant  one  from  another,  and  differing 
widely  in  their  manners,  customs,  and  language,  were  how- 
ever all  united  by  the  same  sentiments  of  esteem,  reverence, 
and  love  for  a  prince,  whose  government  they  wished,  if 
possible,  to  have  continued  forever,  so  much  happiness  and 
tranquillity  did  they  enjoy  under  it.t 

A  just  idea  of  the  '^^  ^^^^  amiable  and  salutary  government, 
eoiujuerors  of  au-  let  ns  Oppose  the  idea  which  the  sacred  A\'ri- 
tiqui  y.  tings  give  us  of  those  monarchs  and  conquerors, 

so  much  boasted  by  antiquity,  who»  instead  of  making  the 

•Dan.  iv.  7,  9. 

t  Eiuvjjflrj    iniSvii-iav    iixfiaXeiv    ToaavTrfV    ToO    iravTa?    a.vT<o     x<'P'^'<'^<'''    <<i(7T«    act 
TJI   avTOv  yvianji  afiovi'  Kv§epva(r0ai, 


INTBODUCTION.  21 

•happiness  of  mankind  the  sole  object  of  their  care,  were 
prompted  by  no  other  motives  than  those  of  interest  and  am- 
bition. *  The  Holy  Spirit  represents  them  under  the  symbols 
of  monsters  generated  from  the  agitation  of  the  sea,  from 
the  tumult,  confusion,  and  dashing  of  the  waves  one  against 
the  other ;  and  under  the  image  of  cruel  wild  beasts,  which 
spread  terror  and  desolation  universally,  and  are  for  ever 
gorging  themselves  with  blood  and  slaughter.  How  strong 
and  expressive  is  this  coloring  ! 

Nevertheless,  it  is  often  from  such  destructive  models 
that  the  rules  and  maxims  of  the  education  generally  be- 
stowed on  the  children  of  the  great  are  borrowed ;  and  it 
is  these  ravagers  of  nations,  these  scourgers  of  mankind, 
they  are  destined  to  resemble.  By  inspiring  them  with  the 
sentiments  of  a  boundless  ambition,  and  the  love  of  false 
glory,  they  become  (to  borrow  an  expression  from  Scrip- 
ture) young  lions  :  they  learn  to  catch  the  pi'ey^  and  devour 
men — to  lay  waste  cities,  to  turn  lands  and  their  fatness 
into  desolation  by  the  noise  of  their  roaring.^  And  when 
this  young  lion  is  grown  up,  God  tells  us  that  the  noise  of 
liis  exploits,  and  the  renown  of  his  victories,  are  nothing 
but  a  frightful  roaring,  which  fills  all  places  with  terror  and 
desolation. 

The  examples  I  have  hitherto  mentioned,  and  which  are 
extracted  from  the  history  of  the  Egyptians,  Assyrians, 
Babylonians,  and  Persians,  prove  sufficiently  the  supreme 
power  exercised  by  God  over  all  empires ;  and  the  relation 
he  thought  fit  to  establish  between  the  rest  of  the  nations 
of  the  earth,  and  his  own  peculiar  people.  The  same  truth 
appears  as  conspicuously  under  the  kings  of  Syria  and 
Egypt,  successors  of  Alexander  the  Great :  between  whose 
history,  and  that  of  the  Jews  under  the  Maccabees,  every- 
body knows  the  close  connection. 

To  these  incidents,  I  cannot  forbear  adding  another, 
which,  though  universally  known,  is  not  therefore  the  less  re- 
markable :  I  mean,  the  taking  of  Jerusalem  by  Titus. 
When  he  had  entered  that  city,  and  viewed  the  fortifications 
of  it,  this  prince,  though  a  heathen,  owned  the  all-powerful 
arm  of  the  God  of  Israel,  and,  in  a  rapture  of  admiration, 
cried  out,  "  It  is  manifest  that  the  Almighty  has  fought 
for  us,  and  has  driven  the  Jews  from  those  towers,  since 
neither  the  utmost  human  force,  nor  that  of  all  the  engines 
in  the  world,  could  have  effected  it."} 

*Dan.  vii.  t  Ezek.  xix.  3,  7.  t  Joseph.  1.  iii.  c.  48, 


£S  IXTRODUfTIOX. 

'Cfoif  iiy~aWays       Besides  the  visible  and  sensible  connection 
disposea  of  human  ^^f  sncred  and  i^rofanc  history,  there  is  another 

events      lelativelv  -,     '    -  .,.     t  ,      .  .  , 

to  the  reign  of  tiie  more  sacrecl  ana  more  distinct  relation  with 
Messiah.  respcct  to  thc  jNIcssiah,  for  whose  coming  the 

Almighty,  avIioso  work  was  ever  present  to  his  sight,  ])re- 
pared  mankind  from  far,  even  by  the  state  of  ignorance  and 
dissoluteness  in  which  he  sufl'ei'ed  them  to  be  immersed 
during  four  thousand  years.  It  was  to  show  the  necessity 
there  was  of  our  having  a  Mediator,  that  God  permitted 
the  nations  to  walk  after  their  own  ways ;  and  that  neither 
the  light  of  reason,  nor  the  dictates  of  ])hilosophy,  could 
dispel  their  clouds  of  error,  or  reform  their  depraved  in- 
clinations. 

When  Ave  take  a  view  of  the  grandeur  of  empires,  the 
majesty  of  princes,  the  glorious  actions  of  great  men,  the 
oi'der  of  civil  societies,  and  the  harmony  of  the  different 
members  of  Avhich  they  are  composed,  the  wisdom  of  legis- 
lators, and  the  learning  of  philosophers,  the  earth  seems  to 
exhibit  nothing  to  the  eye  of  man  but  Avhat  is  great  and  re- 
splendent ;  nevertheless,  in  the  eye  of  God,  it  was  equally 
barren  and  uncultivated,  as  at  the  first  instant  of  the  creation 
by  the  Almighty^^a^.  l^he  earth  was  avithout  form  and 
VOID.*  This  is  saying  but  little :  it  Avas  Avholly  polluted 
and  impure  (the  reader  Avill  observe  that  I  speak  here  of 
the  heathens),  and  appeared  to  God  only  as  the  haunt  and 
retreat  of  ungrateful  and  perfidious  men,  as  it  did  at  the 
time  of  the  flood.  The  earth  was  corrupt  before  God,  and 
was  filled  Avith  iniquity. f 

Nevertheless,  the  sovereign  arbiter  of  the  uni\'erse,  who, 
pursuant  to  the  dictates  of  his  Avisdom,  dispenses  both  light 
and  darkness,  and  knoAvs  hoAV  to  check  the  impetuous  tor- 
rent of  human  passions,  would  not  permit  mankind,  though 
abandoned  to  the  utmost  corruptions,  to  degenerate  into 
absolute  barbarity,  and  brutalize  themselves,  in  a  manner, 
by  the  extinction  of  the  first  principles  of  the  law  of  na- 
ture, as  is  seen  in  several  savage  nations.  Such  an  obsta- 
cle Avould  have  retarded  too  much  the  rapid  course  prom- 
ised by  him  to  the  first  preachers  of  the  doctrine  of  the 
Son. 

Ho  darted  from  far  into  the  minds  of  men  the  rays  of 
scA^eral  great  truths,  to  dispose  them  for  the  reception  of 
others  of  a  more  important  nature.  He  pre])ared  them  for 
the  instructions  of  the  gospel,  by  those  of  philosophers  ;  and 

•  Gen.  i.  2.  t  Gen.  vi.  11. 


IXTKODUCTIOX.  23 

It  was  with  this  AieAv^  that  God  permitted  the  heathen  pro- 
fessvors  to  examine,  in  their  schools,  several  questions,  and 
establish  several  prin(3iples,  which  are  nearly  allied  to  re- 
ligion; and  to  engage  the  attention  of  mankind,  by  the 
spirit  and  beauty  of  their  disputations.  It  is  well  known, 
that  the  philosophers  inculcate,  in  every  part  of  their 
writings,  the  existence  of  a  God,  the  necessity  of  a  Provi- 
dence that  presides  over  the  government  of  the  world,  tb.c 
inmiortality  of  the  soul,  the  ultimate  end  of  man,  me  reward 
of  the  good  and  the  jmnishment  of  the  wicked,  the  nature 
of  those  duties  Avhich  constitute  the  bond  of  society,  the 
character  of  the  virtues  that  are  the  basis  of  morality,  as 
prudence,  justice,  fortitude,  temperance,  and  such  like 
truths,  Avhich,  though  incapable  of  guiding  men  to  righteous- 
ness, yet  they  were  of  use  to  scatter  certain  clouds,  and  to 
dispel  certain  obscurities. 

It  is  by  an  effect  of  the  same  Providence,  which  pre- 
pared from  far  the  ways  of  the  gospel,  that,  when  the 
Messiah  revealed  himself  in  the  flesh,  God  had  united  to- 
gether a  great  number  of  nations,  by  the  Greek  and  Latin 
tongues ;  and  had  subjected  to  one  monarch,  from  the 
ocean  to  the  Euphrates,  all  the  people  not  united  by  lan- 
guage, in  order  to  give  a  more  free  course  to  the  preaching 
of  the  apostles.  When  profane  history  is  studied  with 
judgment  and  maturity,  it  must  lead  us  to  these  reflections, 
and  point  out  to  us  the  manner  in  which  the  Almighty  makes 
the  empires  of  the  earth  subservient  to  the  reign  of  his 
Son. 

It  ought  likewise  to  teach  us  the  value  of  j^^^^,^^^  t^ients 
all  that  glitters  most  in  the  eye  of  the  world,  induced  to  the 
and  is  most  capable  of  dazzling  it.  Valor,  ^^^  '^"*" 
fortitude,  skill  in  government,  profound  policy,  merit  in 
magistracy,  capacity  for  the  most  abtruse  sciences,  beauty  of 
genius,  delicacy  of  taste,  and  perfection  in  all  arts:  these  are 
the  objects  which  profane  history  exhibits  to  us,  which  excite 
our  admiration,  and  often  our  envy.  But  at  the  same  time, 
this  very  history  ought  to  remind  us,  that  the  Almighty,  ever 
since  the  creation,  has  indulged  to  his  enemies  all  those 
shining  qualities  which  the  world  esteems,  and  on  which  it 
frequently  bestows  the  highest  eulogiums  ;  and,  on  the  con- 
trary, that  he  often  refuses  them  to  his  most  faithful 
servants,  whom  he  endues  with  talents  of  an  infinitely 
superior  nature,  though  men  neither  know  their  value,  nor 
are  desirous  of  them.      Happy   is   that  people  that  is  in 


124  INTRODUCTION. 

such  a  case  /  yea,  happy  is  that  people  tohose    God  is  the 
Lord.* 

We  must  not  be       ^  ^'aW  conclude  this  first  part  of  my  pref- 
U)o  profuse  in  our  acc  with  a  reflection  -which  results  naturally 

applauses  of  tuein.    /•  t,xi        v  't        o-  •  ^   •  ^    • 

irom  what  lias  been  said.  JSmce  it  is  certain, 
that  all  these  great  men,  who  were  so  much  boasted  of  in 
profane  history,  were  so  unhappy  as  not  to  know  the  true 
God,  and  to  dis]jlease  him ;  we  should  therefore  be  particu- 
larly careful  not  to  extol  them  too  much.  St.  Austin,  in  his 
Retractions,  repents  his  having  lavished  so  many  encomiums 
on  Plato,  and  the  followers  of  his  philosophy  ;  because  these, 
says  he,  were  impious  men,  whose  doctrine,  in  many  points, 
was  contrary  to  that  of  Jesus  Christ.f 

However,  we  are  not  to  imagine  that  St.  Austin  supposes 
it  to  be  unlawful  for  us  to  admire  and  ])raise  whatever  is 
either  beautiful  in  the  actions,  or  true  in  the  maxims  of  the 
heathens.  He  %  only  advises  us  to  correct  whatever  is 
erroneous,  and  to  approve  whatever  is  conformable  to  rec- 
titude and  justice  in  them.  He  applauds  the  Romans  on 
many  occasions,  and  particularly  in  his  books  De  Civitate 
Dei,%  which  is  one  of  the  last  and  finest  of  his  works.  He 
there  shows,  that  the  Almighty  raised  them  to  be  victorious 
over  nations,  and  sovereigns  of  a  great  part  of  the  earth, 
because  of  the  gentleness  and  equity  of  their  government 
(alluding  to  the  happy  ages  of  the  commonwealth)  :  thus 
bestowing  on  virtues,  that  were  merely  human,  rewards  of 
the  same  kind  with  which  that  people,  though  very  judicious 
in  other  respects,  were  so  unhai>py  as  to  content  themselves. 
St.  Austin  therefore  does  not  condemn  the  encomiums 
which  are  bestowed  on  the  heathens,  but  only  the  excess  of 
them. 

Students  ought  to  take  care,  and  especially  Ave,  who  by 
the  duties  of  our  profession  are  obliged  to  be  perpetually 
conversant  with  heathen  authors,  not  to  enter  too  far  into 
the  spirit  of  them ;  not  to  imbibe  unperceived  their  senti- 
ments, by  lavishing  too  much  applause  on  their  heroes  ;  nor 
to  give  in  to  excesses,  which  the  heathens  indeed  did  not 
consider  as  such,  because  they  were  not  acquainted  with 
virtues  of  a  purer  kind.     Some  j^ersons,  whose  friendship  I 

*  Psal,  cxliv.  15. 

t  Laus  ipsa,  qua  Platonem  vel  Platonicos  seu  acadernicos  philo-ophos  taiitum 
exluli,  quantum  iinpios  homines  non  oporlnit,  non  imnierito  mihi  dlsplicuit ; 
prajseri  im  quorum  contra  errores  magnos  defendenda  est  Christiana  doctrina.^ 
lietract.  1.  i.  c.  1. 

X  Id  in  quoque  corrigendum,  quod  pravura  est ;  quod  autem  rectum  est,  ap- 
probeudum. — De  Bapt.  con  Donat-  1.  vii.  e.  16.  §Lib.  v.  cap.  19,  21,  &c. 


INTRODUCTION,  25 

esteem  as  I  ought,  and  for  whose  learning  and  judgment  I 
have  the  highest  regard,  have  found  this  defect  in  some 
parts  of  my  work,  on  tlie  Method  of  teaching  and  studying 
the  Belles  Lettres^  Sc,  and  are  of  opinion  that  I  have  gone 
too  great  lengths  in  the  encomiums  I  bestow  on  the  illustri- 
ous men  of  antiquity.  I  indeed  own,  that  the  expressions 
on  tliose  occasions  are  sometimes  too  strong  and  too  un- 
guarded ;  however,  I  imagined  that  I  had  sup]:)lied  a  pro})er 
corrective  to  this,  by  the  hints  Avith  which  I  have  inter- 
spersed those  four  volumes,  and,  therefore,  that  it  would  be 
only  losing  time  to  repeat  them  ;  not  to  mention  my  having 
laid  down,  in  different  ])laces,  the  principles  which  the  fathers 
of  the  church  established  on  this  head^  in  declaring  with  St. 
Austin,  that  without  true  piety,  that  is,  without  a  sincere 
worshi})  of  God,  there  can  be  no  true  virtue  ;  and  that  no 
virtue  can  be  such,  whose  object  is  worldly  glory ;  a  truth, 
says  this  father,  acknowledged  universall}^  by  those  who  are 
inspired  Avith  real  and  solid  piety,  lllud  constat,  inter 
omnes  veraciter  pios,  nemineni  sine  vera  pietate,  id  est 
veri,  Dei  vero  cidtu,  veram  posse  habere  virtutem  /  7iec  earn 
veram  esse,  quando  glorim  seroet  kimiancie.* 

When  I  observed  that  Perseus  had  not  resolution  enough 
to  kill  himself,!  I  did  not  thereby  pretend  to  justify  the 
practice  of  tlie  heathens,  who  looked  upon  suicide  as  law- 
ful ;  but  simply  to  relate  an  incident,  and  the  judgment 
which  Paulus  ^Emilius  passed  on  it.  Had  I  barely  hinted  a 
word  or  tAvo  against  that  custom,  it  Avould  have  obviated 
all  mistake,  and  left  no  room  for  censure. 

Tlie  ostracism,  employed  at  Athens  against  persons  of 
the  greatest  merit ;  theft  connived  at,  as  one  Avould  imagine, 
by  Lycurgus  in  Sparta ;  an  equality  Avith  regard  to  posses- 
sion established  in  the  same  city,  by  the  authority  of  the 
state,  and  things  of  a  like  nature,  may  admit  of  some  diffi- 
culty. HoAvever,  I  sliall  pay  a  more  immediate  attention  to 
these  particulars,!  when  the  course  of  the  history  brings 
me  to  them  ;  and  shall  be  proud  of  receiving  such  lights  as 
the  learnea  and  unprejudiced  may  be  pleased  to  communi- 
cate. 

In  a  work  like  that  I  now  offer  to  the  public,  intended 
more  immediately  for  the  instruction  of  youth,  it  were 
heartily  to  be  wished,  there  niiglit  not  be  a  single  thought 
or  expression  that  could  contribute   to   inculcate  false   or 

*  Do  Civitate  Dei,  lib.  v.  c.  19.  t  A^ol.  IA^  p.  335. 

tThis  Mv.  KoUiii  Las  done  admirably,  iu  tlie  several  volumes  of  his  Aucient 
Histoi-y. 


26  IXTRODUCTIOX. 

dangerous  principles.  When  I  first  set  about  writing  the 
present  history,  I  proposed  this  for  my  maxim,  the  impor- 
tance of  which  I  perfectly  conceive,  but  am  far  f'-om  imagin- 
ing that  I  have  always  observed  it,  though  it  was  my 
intention  to  do  so;  and  therefore  on  this,  as  on  many  other 
occasions,  I  shall  stand  .in  need  of  the  reader's  indulgence. 

As  I  write  principally  for  the  instruction  of  youth,  and 
for  persons  who  do  not  intend  to  make  very  deep  researches 
into  ancient  history,  I  shall  not  crowd  this  work  with  a  sort 
of  erudition,  that  otherwise  might  h;ive  been  introduced 
naturally  into  it,  but  does  not  suit  my  purpose.  My  de- 
sign is,  in  giving  a  continued  series  of  ancient  history,  to 
extract  from  the  Greek  and  Latin  authors  all  that  I  shall 
judge  most  useful  and  entertaining  with  respect  to  the 
transactions,  and  most  instructive  with  regard  to  the  reflec- 
tions. 

I  wish  it  were  possible  for  me  to  avoid  the  dry  sterility 
of  epitomes,  which  convey  no  distinct  idea  to  the  mind  ; 
and  at  the  same  time  the  tedious  accuracy  of  long  liistories, 
which  tire  the  reader's  patience.  I  am  sensible  that  it  is 
difficult  to  steer  exactly  between  the  two  extremes  ;  and 
although,  in  the  two  parts  of  liistory  which  commence  this 
work,  I  have,  retrenched  a  great  part  of  what  we  meet 
with  in  ancient  authors,  they  may  still  be  thought  too  long; 
but  I  was  afraid  of  spoiling  the  incidents,  by  being  too  stu- 
dious of  brevity.  However,  the  taste  of  the  })ublic  shall  be 
my  guide,  to  which  I  will  endeavor  to  conform  here;>fter. 

I  was  so  happy  as  not  to  displease  the  jmblic  in  my  first 
attempt.*  I  wish  the  present  work  may  be  equally  success- 
ful, but  dare  not  raise  my  hopes  so  high.  The  subjects  I 
there  treated,  viz.  ;  polite  literature,  poetry,  eloquence,  and 
curious  pieces  of  history,  gave  me  an  opportunity  of  intro- 
ducing into  it,  from  ancient  and  modern  authors,  whatever 
is  most  beautiful,  affecting,  delicate,  and  just,  with  regard 
both  to  thought  and  expression.  The  beauty  and  justness 
of  the  things  themselves  which  I  offered  the  reader,  made 
him  more  indulgent  to  the  manner  in  which  they  were  pre- 
sented to  him  ;  and  besides,  the  variety  of  the  subjects  su]> 
plied  the  want  of  those  graces  which  might  have  been  ex- 
pected from  the  style  and  com])osition. 

But  I  have  not  the  same  advantage  in  the  present  work, 
the  choice  of  the  subjects  not  being  entirely  at  my  discre- 

*  The  method  of  teaching  and  studying  the  Belles  Lettres,  &c.  The  English 
translation  (in  four  volumes)  of  this  excellent  piece  of  criticism,  has  gone  througjb 
several  editions. 


IXTRODUCTIOX.  5J/ 

tion.  In  a  series  of  history,  an  anthor  is  often  obliged  to 
introduce  a  great  many  things  that  are  not  always  vei-y  in- 
teresting,  esj)ecially  Avith  regard  to  the  origin  and  rise  of 
empires  ;  these  parts  are  generally  overrun  with  thorns,  and 
offer  very  few  flowers.  However,  the  sequel  furnishes  mat- 
ter of  a  more  pleasing  nature,  and  events  that  engage  more 
strongly  the  reader's  attention;  and  I  shall  take  care  to 
make  use  of  whatever  is  most  valuable  in  the  best  authors. 
In  the  mean  time,  I  must  entreat  the  reader  to  remember, 
that  in  a  widely  extended  and  beautiful  region,  the  eye 
does  not  everywhere  meet  with  golden  harvests,  smiling 
meads,  and  fruitful  orchards  ;  but  sees,  at  different  inter- 
vals, wild  and  less  cultivated  tracts  of  land.  And  to  use 
another  comparison  after  Pliny,*  some  trees  in  the  spring 
emulously  shoot  forth  a  numberless  multitude  of  blossoms, 
which,  by  this  rich  dress  (the  s])lendor  and  vivacity  of 
■whose  colors  charm  the  eye),  proclaim  a  happy  abundance 
in  a  more  advanced  season  ;  while  other  trees,t  of  a  less  gay 
and  florid  kind,  though  they  bear  good  fruits,  have  not, 
however,  the  fragrance  and  beauty  of  blossoms,  nor  seem 
to  share  in  the  joy  of  reviving  nature.  The  reader  will 
easily  apply  this  image  to  the  composition  of  history. 

To  adorn  and  enrich  my  own,  I  will  be  so  ingenuous  as 
to  confess,  that  I  do  not  scruple,  nor  am  ashamed,  to  rifle 
wherever  I  come  ;  and  that  I  often  do  not  cite  the  authors 
from  whom  I  transcribe,  because  of  the  liberty  I  take  to 
make  some  slight  alterations.  I  have  made  the  best  use 
in  my  j)ower  of  the  solid  reflections  that  occur  in  the  second 
and  third  ])arts  of  the  Bisho])  of  Meaux's  t  Universal  His- 
tory^ which  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  and  most  useful 
books  in  our  language.  I  have  also  received  great  assistance 
from  the  learned  Dean  Prideaux's  Connection  of  the  Old 
and  New  Testament,  in  which  he  has  traced  and  cleared  up, 
in  fin  admirable  manner,  the  particulars  relating  to  ancient 
history.  I  shfdl  take  the  same  liberty  with  whatever  comes 
in  my  way  that  may  suit  my  design,  and  contribute  to  its 
perfection. 

I  am  very  sensible,  that  it  is  not  so  much  for  a  person's 
reputation  thus  to  make  use  of  other  men's  labors,  and  that 

*  Arbonim  flos,  est  pleui  veris  indicium,  et  aiiiii  reniisceiitis  flos  gaudium  ar- 
boruni.  Tunc  se  ;io\as,  aliasque  qiiam  sunt,  dstenduut.  tunc  vaiiis  c-olorum  pic- 
turis  in  certameu  usque  luxuriant.  Sed  hoc  nag;ituni  plerisque.  Non  enim 
onmes  florent,  et  sunt  tristes  quajdam,  quspque  non  sentiant  gaudia  anncJium  ; 
nee  uHo  flure  exliilarantur,  iiaialesve  ponioruiu  recursus  annuos  versicolori  nun- 
cio proniittunt.— PUn.  Kat.  Hist  1.  xvi.  c.  25. 

t  As  the  lig- trees.  ):Mon8.  Bossuet 


28  INTRODUCTIOX. 

it  is  in  a  jnanner  renouncing  the  name  and  quality  of  author. 
But  I  am  not  ov^r-fond  of  that  title,  and  shall  l)e  extremely 
Avell  pleased,  and  think  myself  veiy  ha}ii)y,  it'  I  can  but  de- 
serve the  name  of  a  good  com))iler,  and  supply  my  readers 
Avith  a  tolerable  history,  who  will  not  be  over-solicitous  to 
inquire  what  hand  it  comes  from,  ])i-ovided  they  are  pleased 
with  it. 

Students,  Avith  a  very  moderate  application,  may  easily 
go  through  this  course  of  history  in  a  year,  without  inter- 
rupting their  other  studies.  Accordhig  to  my  plan,  my 
work  should  be  given  to  the  highest  form  but  one.  Youths 
in  this  class  are  capable  of  jdeasure  and  improvement  from 
this  history  ;  and  I  would  not  have  them  enter  upon  that  of 
the  Romans,  till  they  study  rhetoric. 

It  would  have  been  useful,  and  even  necessary,  to  have 
given  some  idea  of  the  ancient  authors  from  Avhom  I  have 
extracted  the  following  materials.  But  the  course  itself  of 
the  liistory  will  show  this,  and  naturally  give  me  an  oppor- 
tunity of  producing  them. 

The  judgment  ^^^  ^'^^  mean  time  it  may  not  be  improper 
we  ought  to  form  to  take  notice  of  the  su2)erstitious  credulity 
protiij^osf"a^ui'oi-  objcctcd  to  most  of  thcsc  authors,  with  re- 
acies  of  the  an-  gard  to  auguries,  auspices,  prodigies,  dreams, 
and  oracles  ;  and,  indeed,  we  are  sliocked  to 
see  writers,  so  judicious  in  all  other  respects,  lay  it  down  as 
a  kind  of  law,  to  relate  these  particulars  with  a  scrupulous 
accuracy,  and  to  dwell  gravely  on  a  tedious  detail  of  trifling 
and  ridiculous  ceremonies,  such  as  the  flight  of  birds  to  the 
right  or  left  hand,  signs  discovered  in  the  smoking  entrails 
of  beasts,  the  greater  or  le^s  greediness  of  chickens  in  peck- 
ing corn,  and  a  thousand  similar  absurdities. 

It  must  l)e  confessed,  that  a  reader  of  judgment  cannot, 
without  astonishment,  see  the  most  illustrious  persons  among 
the  ancients,  for  wisdom  and  knowledge ;  generals  who 
were  the  least  liable  to  be  influenced  by  ])opular  opinions, 
and  most  sensible  how  necessary  it  is  to  take  advantage  of 
ausjiicious  moments  ;  the  wisest  councils  of  jjrinces  perfectly 
well  skilled  in  the  arts  of  government ;  the  most  august  as- 
semblies of  grave  senators  ;  in  a  word,  the  most  pawerful 
and  most  learned  nations  in  all  ages  ;  to  see,  I  say,  all  these 
so  unaccountably  Aveak  as  to  make  the  decision  of  the  great- 
est affairs,  such  as  the  declaring  war,  the  giving  battle,  or 
pursuing  a  victory,  depend  on  the  trifling  practices  and 
customs  above  mentioned  ;  deliberations  that  Avere  of  the 


INTRODUCTION.  29 

utmost  importance,  and  on  which  the  fate  arid  welfare  of 
kingdoms  frequently  depended. 

But,  at  the  same  time,  we  must  be  so  just  as  to  oAvn,  that 
their  manners  customs  and  laws,  Avould  not  permit  men  in 
these  ages  to  dispense  with  the  observation  of  these  prac- 
tices ;  that  education,  hereditary  tradition  transmitted  from 
immemorial  time,  the  universal  belief  and  consent  of  dif- 
ferent nations,  the  precepts  and  even  examples  of  philoso- 
phers ;  that  all  these,  I  say,  made  the  practices  in  question 
appear  venerable  in  their  eyes  ;  and  that  these  ceremonies, 
how  absurd  soever  they  may  appear  to  us,  and  are  really  so 
in  themselves,  constituted  part  of  the  religion  and  public 
worship  of  the  ancients. 

Theirs  was  a  false  religion,  and  a  mistaken  worship ; 
and  yet  the  principle  of  it  Avas  laudable,  and  founded  in 
nature ;  the  stream  was  corrupted,  but  the  fountain  was 
pure.  Man,  when  abandoned  to  his  own  ideas,  sees  nothing 
beyond  the  present  moment.  Futurity  is  to  him  an  abyss 
invisible  to  the  most  eagle-eyed,  the  most  piercing  sagacity, 
and  exhibits  nothing  on  which  he  may  fix  his  views,  or  form 
any  resolution  with  certainty.  He  is  equally  feeble  and  im- 
potent with  regard  to  the  execution  of  his  designs.  He  is 
sensible  that  he  is  dependent  entirely  on  a  Supreme  Power, 
that  disposes  all  events  with  absolute  authority,  and  which, 
in  spite  of  his  utmost  efforts,  and  of  the  wisdom  of  the  best 
concerted  schemes,  by  only  raising  the  smallest  obstacles 
and  slightest  disappointments,  renders  it  impossible  for  him 
to  execute  his  measures. 

This  obscurity  and  weakness  oblige  him  to  have  recourse 
to  a  superior  knowledge  and  power  :  he  is  forced,  both  by 
his  immediate  wants,  and  the  strong  desire  he  has  to  suc- 
ceed in  all  his  undertakings,  to  address  that  Being,  who  he 
is  sensible  has  reserved  to  himself  alone  the  knowledge  of 
futurity,  and  the  power  of  disposing  it  as  he  sees  fitting. 
He  accordingly  directs  prayers,  makes  vows,  and  offers 
sacrifices,  to  prevail,  if  possible,  with  the  Deity  to  reveal 
himself,  either  in  di-eams,  in  oracles,  or  other  signs,  Avhich 
may  manifest  his  will ;  fully  convinced  that  nothing  can 
happen  but  by  the  divine  appointment,  and  that  it  is  a 
man's  greatest  interest  to  know  this  supreme  will,  in  order 
to  conform  his  actions  to  it. 

This  religious  principle  of  dependence  on,  and  venera 
tion  of,  the  Supreme  Being,  is  natural  to  man :  it  is  im- 
printed deep  in  his  heart ;  he  is  reminded  of  it  by  the  inward 


30  INTRODUCTION. 

sense  of  his  extreme  indigence,  and  by  all  the  Objects  which 
surround  liim  ;  and  it  may  be  affirmed,  that  this  j)eri)etnal 
recourse  to  the  Deity  is  one  of  the  j)riHcipal  foundations  oi 
reliofion,  and  the  strongest  band  by  which  man  is  united  to 
his  Creator. 

Those  who  were  so  hap])y  as  to  knoAv  the  true  God,  and 
w^ere  chosen  to  be  his  peculiar  people,  never  failed  to  ad- 
dress him  in  all  their  wants  and  doubts,  in  order  to  obtain 
his  succor  and  the  manifestation  of  his  will.  He  accord- 
ingly was  so  gracious  as  to  reveal  himself  to  them  ;  to  con- 
duct them  by  apparitions,  dreams,  oracles,  and  ]>rophecies  ; 
and  to  protect  them  by  miracles  of  the  most  astonishing  kind. 

But  those  who  were  so  blind  as  to  substitute  falsehood  in 
the  place  of  truth,  directed  themselves,  for  the  like  aid,  to 
fictitious  and  deceitful  deities,  who  Avere  not  able  to  answer 
their  expectations,  nor  recompense  the  homage  that  mortals 
paid  them,  in  any  other  way  than  by  error  and  illusi<,n,  and 
a  fraudulent  imitation  of  the  conduct  of  the  true  God. 

Hence  arose  the  vain  observation  of  di-eams,  Avhich, 
from  a  superstitious  credulity,  they  mistook  for  salutary 
warnings  from  heaven  ;  those  obscure  and  equivocal  answers 
of  oracles,  beneath  whose  veil  the  s])irits  of  darkness  con- 
cealed their  ignorance  ;  and,  by  a  studied  ambiguity  reserAed 
to  themselves  an  evasion  or  subterfuge,  whatever  miglit  be 
the  issue  of  the  event.  To  this  are  owing  the  prognostics, 
wuth  regard  to  futurity,  which  men  fancied  they  should  find 
in  the  entrails  of  beasts,  in  the  fiiglit  and  singing  of  birds, 
in  the  aspect  of  the  ])lanets,  in  fortuitous  accidents,  and  in 
the  caprice  of  chance  ;  those  dreadful  ])rodigies  that  filled 
a  whole  nation  Avith  terror,  and  which,  it  ^vi\s  believed, 
nothing  could  expiate  but  mournful  ceremonies,  and  even 
sometimes  the  effusion  of  human  blood  ;  in  fine,  those  black 
inventions  of  magic,  those  delusions,  enchantments,  sor- 
ceries, invocations  of  ghosts,  and  many  other  kinds  of 
divination. 

All  I  have  here  related  was  a  received  usage,  observed 
by  the  heathen  nations  in  general;  and  this  usage  was 
founded  on  the  princi])les  of  that  religion  of  Avhich  I  have 
given  a  short  account.  We  have  a  signal  ])roof  of  this  in 
the  Cyropaedia,  *  where  Cambyses,  tlio  father  of  Cyrus, 
gives  that  young  prince  such  noble  instructions,  instructions 
admirably  well  adapted  to  form  the  great  captain  and  great 
prince.     He  exhorts  him  above  all  things,  to  pay  the  highest 

•Xeiioph.  in  Cyrop.  1.  i.  p.  25,  27. 


INTRODUCTIOK.  81 

reverence  to  the  gods ;  and  not  to  undertake  any  enterprise, 
whether  important  or  inconsiderable,  wiiliout  first  calling 
upon  and  consulting  them  ;  he  enjoins  him  to  honor  priests 
and  augurs,  as  being  their  ministers,  and  the  interpreters  of 
their  will ;  but  yet  not  to  trust  or  abandon  himself  iinijli- 
citly  and  blindly  to  them,  till  lie  had  first  learnt  e\ery  thing 
relating  to  the  science  of  divination,  of  augui'ies  and  aus- 
pices. The  reason  lie  gives  for  the  subordination  and  de- 
pendence in  wliicli  kings  ought  to  Vive  Avith  regard  to  the 
gods,  and  the  necessity  they  are  under  of  consulting  them 
in  all  things,  is  tliis  :  how  clear-sighted  soever  mankind  may 
be  in  the  oi-dinary  coxn-se  of  affairs,  their  views  are  always 
very  narrow  and  limited  Avith  regard  to  futurity;  Avhereas 
the  Deity,  at  a  single  glance,  takes  in  all  ages  and  events. 
"As  the  gods,"  says  Cambyses  to  his  son,  "are  eternal, they 
know  equally  all  things,  ]>ast,  ])resent,  and  to  come."  "  With 
regard  to  the  mortals  Avho  address  them,  they  give  salutary 
counsels  to  those  Avhom  they  are  pleased  to  favor,  that  they 
may  not  be  ignorant  of  Avhat  things  they  ought,  or  ought 
not,  to  undertake.  If  it  is  observed,  that  the  deities  do  not 
give  the  like  counsels  to  all  men,  Ave  ai"e  "not  to  Avonder  at 
it,  since  no  necessity  obliges  them  to  attend  to  the  Avelfare 
of  those  persons  on  Avhom  they  do  not  vouchsafe  to  confer 
their  faA^or." 

Such  Avas  tlie  doctrine  of  the  most  learned  and  most  en- 
lightened nations,  Avitli  respect  to  the  different  kinds  of 
diAdnation  ;  and  it  is  no  Avonder  that  the  authors  Avho  Avrote 
the  history  of  those  nations,  thought  it  incumbent  on  them 
to  give  an  exact  detail  of  such  particulars  as  constituted 
part  of  their  religion  and  Avorship,  and  Avas  frequently  in  a 
manner  the  soul  of  their  deliberation,  and  the  standard  of 
their  conduct.  I  therefore  Avas  of  opinion,  for  the  same 
reason,  that  it  Avould  not  be  pro])er  for  me  to  omit  entirely, 
in  the  ensuing  liistory,  Avhat  relates  to  the  subject,  though  I 
haA'c,  hoAvever,  retrenched  a  great  part  of  it. 

Archbishop  Usher  is  my  usual  guide  in  chronology.  In 
the  history  of  the  Carthaginians,  I  commonl}^  set  doA^  n  four 
eras :  the  year  from  the  creation  of  the  Avorld,  Avhich,  for 
brevity's  sake,  I  mark  thus,  A.  M. ;  those  of  the  foundation 
of  Carthage  and  Rome  ;  and  lastly,  the  year  that  precedes 
the  birth  of  our  Saviour,  a\  hich  I  suppose  to  be  the  4004th 
of  the  Avorld  ;  Avherein  I  folloAV  Usher  and  others,  though 
they  suppose  it  to  be  four  years  earlier. 

To  knoAv  in  Avhat  manner  the  states  and  kinsfdoms  AverO 


32  INTRODUCTION. 

founded,  that  have  divided  the  universe  ;  tlie  steps  whereby 
they  arose  to  that  pitch  of  grandeur  related  in  history ;  by 
what  ties  families  and  cities  were  united,  in  order  to  consti- 
tute one  body  or  society,  and  to  live  together  under  the 
same  laws  and  a  common  authority ;  it  will  be  necessaiy  to 
trace  things  back,  in  a  manner,  to  the  infancy  of  the  world, 
and  to  those  ages,  in  M'hich  mankind,  being  dispersed  into 
different  regions  (after  the  confusion  of  tongues),  began  to 
people  the  earth. 

In  these  early  ages,  every  father  was  the  supreme  head 
of  his  family;  the  arbiter  and  judge  of  Avhatever  contests 
and  divisions  might  arise  within  it ;  the  natural  legislator 
over  his  little  society  ;  the  defender  and  protector  of  those 
who,  by  their  birth,  education,  and  weakness,  were  vmder 
his  protection  and  safeguard. 

But  although  these  masters  enjoyed  an  independent  au- 
thority, they  made  a  mild  and  paternal  use  of  it.  So  far 
from  being  jealous  of  their  power,  they  neither  governed 
Avith  haughtiness,  nor  decided  Avith  tyranny.  As  they  Avere 
obliged  by  necessity  to  associate  their  family  in  their  do- 
mestic labors,  they  also  summoned  them  together,  and 
asked  their  opinion  in  matters  of  importance.  In  this  man- 
ner all  affairs  Avere  transacted  in  concert,  and  for  the  com- 
mon good. 

The  laAVS  AA^hich  paternal  vigilance  established  in  this 
little  domestic  senate,  being  dictated  Avith  no  other  view 
than  to  promote  the  general  Avelfare,  concerted  Avith  such 
children  as  were  come  to  years  of  maturity,  and  accepted 
by  the  inferiors  with  a  full  and  free  consent,  Avere  religiously 
kept  and  preserved  in  families,  as  an  hereditary  polity,  to 
which  they  OAved  their  peace  and  security. 

But  different  motives  gave  rise  to  different  laAvs.  One 
man,  overjoyed  at  the  birth  of  a  first-born  son,  resolved  to 
distinguish  hhn  from  his  future  children,  by  bestoAving  on  him 
a  more  considerable  share  of  his  possessions,  and  giving  him 
a  greater  authority  in  his  family.  Another,  more  attentive 
to  the  interest  of  a  beloA'ed  Avife,  or  darling  daughter,  whom 
he  wanted  to  settle  in  the  Avorld,  tliought  it  incumbent  on 
liim  to  secure  their  rights  and  increase  their  advantages. 
The  solitary  and  cheerless  state  to  Avhich  a  Avife  Avould  be 
reduced,  in  case  she  should  become  a  AvidoAV,  affected  more 
intimately  another  man,  and  made  him  provide  beforehand 
for  the  subsistence  and  comfort  of  a  woman  Avho  formed 
his  felicity. 


INTRODUCTION.  33 

In  proportion  as  every  family  increased,  by  the  birth  of 
children,  and  their  marrying  into  other  families,  they  ex- 
tended their  little  domain,  and  formed,  by  insensible  degrees, 
towns  and  cities.  From  these  different  views,  and  others 
of  the  like  nature,  arose  the  ])eculiar  customs  of  nations,  as 
well  as  their  rights,  which  are  infinitely  various. 

These  societies,  growing  in  ])roct*Ks  of  time  -very  numerous, 
and  the  families  behig  divided  into  several  branches,  each 
of  which  had  its  head,  whose  different  interests  and  charac- 
ters might  interrupt  the  general  tranquillity  ;  it  was  neces- 
sary to  intrust  one  person  with  the  government  of  the 
whole,  in  order  to  unite  all  these  chiefs  or  heads  under  a 
single  authority,  and  to  maintain  the  public  peace  by  a  uni- 
form administration.  The  idea  which  men  still  retain  of 
the  paternal  goAcrnment,  and  tlie  hai)py  effects  they  had 
experienced  from  it,  prompted  them  to  choose  from  among 
their  wisest  and  most  virtuous  men,  him  in  whom  they  had 
observed  the  most  tender  and  fatherly  disposition.  Neither 
ambition  nor  cabal  had  the  least  share  in  this  choice ; 
probity  alone,  and  the  reputation  of  virtue  and  equity,  de- 
cided on  these  occasions,  and  gave  the  preference  to  the 
most  worthy.* 

To  heighten  the  lustre  of  their  newly  acquired  dignity, 
and  enable  tliem  the  better  to  put  the  laws  in  execution,  as 
well  as  to  devote  themselves  entirely  to  the  public  good,  to 
defend  the  state  against  the  invasions  of  their  neighbors,  and 
the  factions  of  discontented  citizens,  the  title  of  king  was 
bestowed  upon  them,  a  throne  was  erected,  and  a  sceptre 
put  into  their  hands  ;  homage  was  paid  them,  officers  were 
assigned,  and  guards  appointed  for  the  security  of  their 
persons  ;  tributes  were  granted ;  they  were  invested  with 
full  powers  to  administer  justice,  and  for  this  purpose  were 
armed  with  a  sword,  in  order  to  restrain  injustice  and  pun- 
ish crimes. 

At  first,  every  city  had  its  particular  king,  who,  being 
more  solicitous  to  preserve  his  dominion  than  to  enlarge  it, 
confined  his  ambition  within  the  limits  of  his  native  coun- 
try.f  But  the  almost  imavoidable  feuds  which  break  out 
between  neighbors,  jealousy  against  a  more  powerful  king, 
the  turbulent  and  restbss  s]Hrit  of  a  prince,  his  martial  dispo- 
sition, or  thirst  of  aggrandizing  himself,  and  displaying  his 

*Quos  ad  fastigium  hujus  maiestatisnon  ambitio  popularis,  sed  spectata  inter 
bonos  modeiatio  providebat. — Jus; in.  1.  i.  c.  1. 

t  Fines  impeni  tiieri  niaeis  quatii  proferre  moB  erat.  Intra  suam  cuique  pap" 
triaui  regna  (iniebantur. — Ibid. 


84  INTRODUCTION. 

abilities,  gave  rise  to  wars  which  frequently  ended  in  the 
entire  subjection  of  the  vanquished,  whose  cities  were  by 
that  means  possessed  by  the  victor,  and  insensibly  increased 
his  dominions.  Thus,  a  first  victory  j^aving  a  Avay  to  a 
second,  and  making  a  prince  more  powerful  and  enterpris- 
ing, several  cities  and  provinces  were  united  under  one 
monarch,  and  formed  kingdoms  of  a  greater  or  less  extent, 
according  to  the  degree  of  ardor  with  which  the  victor  had 
pushed  his  conquests.* 

The  ambition  of  some  of  these  princes  being  too  vast  to 
confine  itself  within  a  single  kingdom,  it  broke  over  all 
bounds,  and  spread  universally  like  a  torrent,  or  the  ocean  ; 
swallowed  up  kingdoms  and  nations,  and  gloried  in  dei)riv- 
ing  princes  of  their  dominions  who  had  not  done  them  the 
least  injury;  in  carrying  fire  and  sword  into  the  most  remote 
countries,  and  in  leaving,  everywhere,  bloody  traces  of  their 
progress!  Such  was  the  origin  of  those  famous  empires 
which  included  a  great  part  of  the  world. 

Princes  made  various  uses  of  victory,  according  to  the 
diversity  of  their  dispositions  or  interests.  Some  consider- 
ing themselves  as  absolute  masters  of  the  conquered,  and 
imagining  they  were  sufficiently  indulgent  in  s])aring  their 
lives,  bereaved  them,  as  well  as  their  children,  of  their  pos- 
sessions, their  country,  and  their  liberty  ;  subjected  them  to 
a  most  severe  captivity ;  employed  them  in  those  arts  M'hich 
are  necessary  for  the  support  of  life,  in  the  lowest  and  most 
servile  offices  of  the  house,  in  the  painful  toils  of  the  field; 
and  frequently  forced  them,  by  the  most  iidiuman  treat- 
ment, to  dig  in  mines,  and  ransack  the  bowels  of  the  earth, 
merely  to  satiate  their  avarice  ;  and  hence  mankind  were 
divided  into  freemen  and  slaves,  masters  and  bondmen. 

Others  introduced  the  custom  of  transporting  whole  na- 
tions into  new  countries,  where  they  settled  them,  and  gave 
them  lands  to  cultivate. 

Other  princes,  again,  of  more  gentle  disposition,  contented 
themselves  with  only  obliging  the  vanquished  nations  to 
purchase  their  liberties,  and  the  enjoyment  of  their  laws  and 
privileges,  by  annual  tributes  laid  on  them  for  that  purpose ; 
and  sometimes  they  would  suffer  kings  to  sit  peaceably  on 
their  thrones,  upon  condition  of  their  paying  them  some  kind 
of  homage. 

But  such    of   these  monarchs    as  were   the  wisest   and 

*  Doniitis  pioximis,  cum  accessioiie  virium  fortior  ad  alios  transiret,  et  prox- 
ima  quseque  victoria  iiistruinentum  sequentis  easet  totius  oiientis  subegit.— Ibid, 


INTRODUCTTOX.  35 

ablest  politicians,  thought  it  glorious  to  establish  a  kind  of 
equality  between  the  nations  newly  conquered  and  their 
other  subjects,  granting  the  former  almost  all  the  rights  and 
privileges  which  the  others  enjoyed.  And  by  this  means  a 
great  number  of  nations,  that  wei-e  spread  o^^er  different 
and  far  distant  countries,  constituted,  in  some  measure,  but 
one  city,  at  least  but  one  people. 

Thus  I  have  given  a  general  and  concise  idea  of  man- 
kind, from  the  earliest  monuments  which  history  has  yive- 
served  on  this  subject,  the  particulars  whereof  I  shall 
endeaAor  to  relate,  in  treating  of  each  empire  and  nation. 
I  shall  not  touch  upon  the  history  of  the  Jews  nor  that  of 
the  Romans.  I  begin  with  the  Egyptians  and  Carthagini- 
ans, because  the  former  are  of  very  great  antiquity,  and  as 
the  history  of  both  is  less  blended  with  that  of  other  nations  ; 
whereas  those  of  other  states  are  more  interwoven,  and 
sometimes  succeed  one  another. 


EEFLECTIONS    ON    THE    DIFFERENT    SORTS  OF  GOVERNMENTS. 

The  multiplicity  of  governments  established  among  the 
different  nations  of  whom  I  am  to  treat,  exhibits,  at  first 
view,  to  the  eye  and  to  the  understanding,  a  spectacle 
highly  worthy  our  attention,  and  shows  the  astonishing  va- 
riety which  the  sovereign  of  tlie  w^orld  has  constituted  in 
the  empires  that  divide  it,  by  the  diversity  of  inclinations 
and  manners  observable  in  ea(Oi  of  those  nations.  We  herein 
perceive  the  characteristic  of  the  Deity,  who,  ever  resem- 
bling himself  in  all  the  works  of  his  creation,  takes  a  pleasure 
to  paint  and  display  therein,  under  a  thousand  shapes,  an 
infinite  wisdom,  by  a  wondei'ful  fertility,  and  an  admirable 
simplicity  ;  a  wisdom  that  can  form  a  single  work,  and  com- 
pose a  whole,  perfectly  regular,  from  all  the  different  parts 
of  the  universe,  and  all  the  productions  of  nature,  notwith- 
standing the  infinite  manner  in  which  they  are  multiijlied 
and  diversified. 

In  the  East,  the  form  of  government  that  prevails  is  the 
monarchical ;  which  being  attended  with  a  majestic  pomp, 
and  a  haughtiness  almost  inseparable  from  supreme  au- 
thority, naturally  tends  to  exact  a  more  distinguished  re- 
spect, and  a  more  entire  submission,  from  those  in  subjec- 
tion to  its  j)ower.  When  we  consider  Greece,  one  would  be 
apt  to  conclude,  that  liberty  and  a  republican  spirit  had 
breathed  themselves  into  every  part  of  that  country,  and 


sty  INTRODUCTION. 

had  inspired  almost  all  the  different  people  Avho  inhabited 
it  with  a  violent  desire  of  independence  ;  diversified,  how- 
ever, under  various  kinds  of  orovernment,  but  id!  equally  ab- 
horrent of  subjection  and  slavery.  In  one  part  of  Greece 
the  supreme  ])ower  is  lodcjed  in  the  peo])le,  and  is  Avhat  we 
call  a  democracy  ;  in  another,  it  is  vested  in  the  assembly 
of  wise  men,  and  those  advanced  in  years,  to  which  the 
name  of  aristocracy  is  given ;  in  a  third  republic,  the  gov- 
ernment is  lodged  in  a  small  nmnber  of  select  and  ])owerful 
persons  and  is  called  oligarchy ;  in  others,  again,  it  is  a 
mixture  of  all  these  parts,  or  of  several  of  them,  and  some- 
times even  of  regal  power. 

It  is  manifest  that  this  variety  of  governments,  which  all 
tend  to  the  same  point,  though  by  different  ways,  con- 
tributes very  much  to  the  beauty  of  the  universe  ;  and  that 
it  can  ])roceed  from  no  other  being  than  Him  who  governs 
it  with  infinite  wisdom,  and  M'ho  diffuses  universally  an 
order  and  symmetry,  the  effect  of  which  is  to  unite  the 
several  parts  together,  and  by  that  means  to  form  one  work 
of  the  whole.  For  although  in  this  diversity  of  govern- 
ments, some  are  better  than  others,  we  nevertheless  may 
very  justly  affirm,  that  there  is  no  power  but  of  God  ;  and 
that  the poxcers  that  he  are  ordained  of  God*  But  neither 
every  use  that  is  made  of  this  ))ower,  nor  every  means  for 
the  attainment  of  it,  are  from  God,  though  every  power  be 
of  him  ;  and  when  we  see  these  governments  degenera- 
ting sometimes  to  violence,  factions,  despotic  sway,  and  tyr- 
rany,  it  is  wholly  to  the  passions  of  mankind  that  we  must 
ascribe  those  irregularities,  which  are  directly  opposite  to 
the  })rimitive  institution  of  states,  and  which  a  superior 
wisdom  afterward  reduces  to  order,  always  making  them 
contribute  to  the  execution  of  his  designs,  full  of  equity  and 
justice. 

This  scene  or  spectacle,  as  I  before  observed,  highly  de- 
serves our  attention  and  admiration,  and  will  display  itself 
gradually,  in  proportion  as  I  advance  in  relating  the  ancient 
history,. of  which  it  seems  to  me  to  form  an  essential  part. 
It  is  with  the  view  of  making  the  reader  attentive  to  this 
object,  that  I  think  it  incumbent  on  me  to  add  to  the  account 
of  facts  and  events,  what  regards  the  manners  and  customs 
of  nations  ;  because  these  show  their  genius  and  character, 
which,  we  may  call,  in  some  measure,  the  soul  of  history. 
For  to  take  notice  only  of  eras  and  events,  and  confine  our 

•Rom.  xiii.  1. 


IXTUODUCTION.  37 

curiosity  and  researches  to  them,  would  be  imitating  the 
imprudence  of  a  traveller,  who,  in  visiting  many  countries, 
should  content  himself  with  knowing  their  exact  distance 
from  each  other,  and  consider  only  the  situation  of  the 
several  places,  the  manner  of  building,  and  the  dresses  of 
the  j^eople,  without  giving  himself  the  least  trouble  to  con- 
verse with  the  inhabitants,  in  order  to  inform  himself  of 
their  genius,  manners,  disposition,  laws,  and  governments. 
ITomei-,  whose  design  was  to  give,  in  the  person  of  Ulysses, 
a  model  of  a  wise  and  intelligent  traveller,  tells  us,  at  the 
very  opening  of  his  Odyssey,  that  his  hero  informed  him- 
self very  exactly  of  the  manners  and  customs  of  the  several 
])eople  whose  cities  he  Adsited.;  in  which  he  ought  to  be 
imitated  by  every  person  who  applies  himself  to  the  study 
of  history. 

A    GEOGRAPHICAL    DESCRIPTION"    OF    ASIA. 

As  Asia  will  hereafter  be  the  ))rincipal  scene  of  the 
history  we  are  now  entering  upon,  it  may  not  be  imjjroper 
to  give  the  reader  such  a  general  idea  of  it,  as  may  com- 
municate some  knowledge  of  its  most  considerable  provinces 
and  cities. 

The  northern  and  eastern  parts  of  Asia  are  less  known 
in  ancient  history. 

To  the  north  are  Asiatic  Sarmatia  and  Asiatic 
ScYTHiA.,  which  answer  to  Tartary. 

Sarmatia  is  situated  between  the  river  Tanais,  which 
divides  Europe  and  Asia,  and  the  river  Rha  or  Volga. 
Scythia  is  divided  into  two  parts ;  the  one  on  this,  the 
other  on  the  other  side  of  mount  Imaus.  The  nations 
of  Scythia  best  known  to  us  are  the  Sacm  and  the  Mas- 
sagetm. 

The  most  eastern  parts  are,  Serica,  Cathay ;  Sinarum 
Regio,  China ;  and  India.  This  last  country  was  better 
known  anciently  than  the  two  former.  It  was  divided  into 
two  parts ;  tlie  one  on  this  side  the  river  Ganges^  included 
between  that  river  and  the  Indus,  which  now  comjioses  the 
dominions  of  the  Great  Mogul ;  the  other  part  was  that  on 
the  other  side  of  the  Ganges. 

The  remaining  part  of  Asia,  of  which  much  greater 
mention  is  made  in  history,  may  be  divided  into  five  or  six 
parts,  taking  it  from  east  to  west. 

I.  The  Greater  Asia,  which  begins  at  the  river  Indus. 
The  chief  provinces  are,  Gedeosia,  Carmaxia,  Arachosia, 


38  INTRODUCTION. 

Drangtana,  Bactrtana,  tlie  cai)ital  of  Avliich  Avas  Bnctria  ; 
SoGDiAXA,  Maugiana,  Hyrcaxia,  near  the  C:isi»iaii  Sea  ; 
Parthia,  Media,  tlie  city  JEcbatana  ;  Pkrsia,  the  cities  of 
Persepolis  and  Eh/mais ;  Sisiaxa,  the  city  of  kSusa ; 
Assyria,  the  city  of  Nineveh^  situated  on  the  river  Tir/ris  ; 
Mesopotamia,  between  tlie  Euphrates  and  Tigris  /  Baby- 
lonia, the  city  of  Bahylon  on  the  river  Euphrates. 

II.  Asia  between  the  Poxtus  Euxixus  and  the 
Caspian  Sea.  Therein  Ave  may  distinguish  four  provinces. 
1.  Colchis,  the  river  Phasis^  and  mount  Caucasus.  2. 
Iberia.  3.  Albania  ;  Avhich  two  last-mentioned  ])rovinces 
now  form  part  of  Georgia.  4.  The  gi-eater  Arjiexia.  Tliis 
is  separated  from  the  lesser  by  the  Euphrates  ;  from  Meso- 
potamia by  mount  Taurus ;  and  from  Assyria  by  mount 
Niphates.  Its  cities  are  Artaxata  and  Tlgranocerta  ;  and 
the  river  Araxes  runs  through  it. 

III.  Asia  Mixor.  This  may  be  divided  into  four  or 
five  parts,  according  to  the  different  situation  of  its  prov- 
inces. 

1.  Northward.,  on  the  shore  of  the  Pontus  Euxinus. 
PoNTUS,  under  three  different  names.  Its  cities  are 
TrapezKS,  not  far  from  wliich  are  the  ]>eople  called  Chahjbes 
or  (Jhaldfjui  ;  Themlscyra,  a  city  on  the  river  Thermodoon^ 
famous  for  having  been  the  abode  of  the  Amazons.  Paph- 
LAGONiA,  BiTiiYNiA  ;  the  citics  of  which  are,  Nlcia,  Pintsa, 
JVicomedia,  Chalcedon,  ojjposite  to  Constantinople,  and 
Jleraclea. 

2.  JVesticard,  going  down  by  the  shores  of  the  ^Egean 
sea ;  Mysia,  of  which  there  are  two.  The  Lesser,  in 
which  stood  Cyziciis,  Eam27sacus,  Pariurn.,  Abydos,  oppo- 
site to  Sestos,  from  which  it  is  separated  only  by  the 
Dardanelles ;  Dardanum.,  Sigceum,  Ilion.,  or  Troy ;  and 
almost  on  the  opposite  side,  the  little  island  of  Tenedos. 
The  rivers  are  the  Arsepe,  the  Granicus,  and  the  Si.mois. 
Mount  Ida.  This  region  is  sometimes  called  Phrygia 
Minor,  of  AA'hich  Troas  is  part. 

The  Greater  Mysia.  Antandros,  TrajanopoUs, 
Adramyttium.,  Pergamus.  Op]X)site  to  this  Mysia  is  the 
island  of  Lesbos  ;  the  cities  of  which  are,  3Iethyrmia,  where 
the  celebrated  Arion  was  born  ;  and  Mitylene.,  which  has 
given  to  the  whole  island  its  modern  name,  Metelin. 

^OLiA.  Elea.,  Cuma,  Phocma. 

Ionia.  Smyrna,  Clazomenoe,  Teas,  Lebedus.,  Colophon^ 
Ephesus,  Priene^  Miletus. 


IXTRODUCTION^. 


89 


Carta.  Laodicea,  Antiochia,  Magnesia,  Alahanda. 
The  river  Mrcander. 

Doris.  Jlcdicarnassus,  Cnidos. 

0])posite  to  these  four  last  countries  are  the  islands 
Chios,  Samos,  Pathos,  Cos  ;  and  lower  towards  the  south, 
Rhodes. 

3.  SouthvKird^  along  the  JMediterranean  : 

Lycia.  The  cities  of  which  are,  Tebnessus,  Patara. 
The  river  Xanthus.  Here  begins  mount  Taurus,  which 
runs  the  whole  length  of  Asia,  and  assumes  different  names, 
according  to  the  several  countries  through  which  it  passes. 

Pamphylia.     Perga,  Aspendus,  8ida. 

CiLiciA.  I'^eleucia,  Corycmm,  Tarsus,  on  tlie  river  Cyd- 
mts.  Opposite  to  Cilicia  is  the  island  of  Cy2)ri(s.  The 
cities  are  Salamis,  Amat/ins,  and  Pap/ios. 

4.  Along  the  haali-s  of  t/w  PJup/irates,  going  iiy)  ixovthwurd: 
The   Lesser  Armenia.      Con/ana,  Arabi/za,  Melitene, 

Satala.     The   river  Melas,   which  empties  itself  into   the 
Euphrates. 

5.  Inlands  : 

Cappadocia.  The  cities  of  Avhich  are,  JVeoccesarea, 
Comana,  Poiitica,  Sebastia,  Sebastopolis,  Pioccesarea, 
Ccesarea,  otherwise  called  Mazaca,  ?i\\dL  Tyana. 

Lycaonia  and  Isaitria.     Iconium,  Isauria. 

PisiDiA.     Seleucia,  and  Antiochia  of  Pisidia. 

Lydia.  Its  cities  are,  Thyatira,  Sardis,  Philadelphia. 
The  rivers  are,  Caystrus,  and  Ilermiis,  into  which  the 
Pactolus  empties  itself.     Mount  Sipyhis  and  Timolus. 

Phrygia  Major.     /Synnada,  Apamia. 

IV.  Syria,  now  named  Saria,  called  under  the  Roman 
emperors,  the  East,  the  chief  {provinces  of  which  are, 

1.  Palestine,  by  -which  name  is  sometimes  understood 
all  Judea.  Its  cities  are,  Jerusalem,  Samaria,  and  Ccesarea 
Palestina.  The  river  Jordan  waters  it.  The  name  of 
Palestine  is  also  given  to  the  land  of  Canaan,  which  extend- 
ed along  the  Mediterranean  ;  the  chief  cities  of  which  are 
Gaza,  Ascalon,  Azotus,  Accaroi,  and'  Gath. 

2.  PiicENiciA,  whose  cities  arc,  Ptolemais,  Tyre,  Sido7i, 
and  Berytus.     Its  mountains,  lAbanus  and  Anti-Ubanus. 

3.  Syria,  properly  so  called,  or  Antiochena  ;  the  cities 
ivhereof  are,  Antiochia,  Apamia,  Laodicea,  and  Seleucia. 

4.  Comagena.     The  city  of  Samosata. 

5.  CoiLOSYRiA.  The  cities  are,  Zeugma,  Thajysacus, 
Palmyra,  and  Pamascics. 


#0  INTRODUCTION". 

Y.  Arabia  Petrjea.  Its  cities  are,  Petra  and  Bostra, 
Mount  Casius  Desekta.     Felix. 

OF  religion. 

It  is  observable,  that  in  all  ages  and  regions,  the  several 
nations  of  the  world,  however  various  and  opposite  in 
their  characters,  inclinations,  and  manners,  have  always 
united  in  one  essential  point ;  the  inherent  opinion  of  an 
adoration  due  to  a  Supreme  Being,  and  of  external  methods 
necessary  to  evince  such  a  belief.  Into  whatever  country 
Ave  cast  our  eyes,  we  find  priests,  altars,  sacrifices,  festivals, 
religious  ceremonies,  temples,  or  places  consecrated  to  re- 
ligious worship.  In  every  people  Ave  disco^■er  a  reverence 
and  awe  of  the  divinity;  a  homage  and  honor  paid  to  him  ; 
and  an  open  profession  of  an  entire  dependence  upon  him 
in  all  their  undertakings  and  necessities,  in  all  their  adver- 
sities and  dangers.  Incapable  of  themsehes  to  jjenetrate 
futurity,  and  to  ascertain  events  in  their  own  favor,  we  find 
them  intent  ui)on  consulting  the  divinity  by  oracles,  and  by 
other  methods  of  a  like  nature  ;  and  to  merit  his  protection 
by  prayers,  vows,  and  offerings.  It  is  by  the  same  supreme 
authority  they  believe  the  most  solemn  treaties  are  rendered 
inviolable.  It  is  this  that  gives  sanction  to  their  oaths; 
and,  to  it  by  imprecations  is  referred  the  punishment  of 
such  crimes  and  enormities  as  escape  the  knowledge  and 
j)OAver  of  men.  On  their  private  occasions,  voyages,  jour- 
neys, marriages,  diseases,  the  divinity  is  still  invoked. 
With  him  their  every  repast  begins  and  ends.  No  war  is 
declared,  no  battle  fought,  no  enterprise  formed,  without 
his  aid  being  first  implored  ;  to  which  the  glory  of  the  suc- 
cess is  constantly  ascribed  by  public  acts  of  thanksgiving, 
and  by  the  oblation  of  the  most  precious  of  the  spoils,  which 
they  never  fail  to  set  apart  as  the  indispensable  right  of  the 
divinity. 

They  never  vary  in  regard  to  the  foundation  of  this 
belief.  If  some  few  persons,  depraved  by  false  i)hilosophy, 
presume  from  time  to  time  to  rise  up  against  this  doctrine, 
they  are  immediately  disclaimed  by  the  public  voice.  They 
continue  singular  and  alone,  Avithout  making  parties,  or 
forming  sects:  the  Avhole  Aveight  of  the  jniblic  authority  falls 
upon  them  ;  a  price  is  set  upon  their  he<^ds ;  while  they  are 
universally  regarded  as  execrable  ])ersons,  the  bane  of  civil 
society,  with  whom  it  is  criminal  to  have  any  kind  of  com- 
merce. 


INTRODUCTION.  41 

So  general,  so  uniform,  so  perpetual  a  consent  of  all  the 
nations  of  the  universe,  which  neither  the  prejudice  of  the 
jjassions,  the  false  reasoning  of  some  philosophers,  nor  the 
authority  and  example  of  certain  princes,  have  ever  been 
able  to  Aveaken  or  vary,  can  proceed  only  from  a  first  prin- 
ci])le,  which  pervades  the  nature  of  man  ;  from  an  inherent 
sense  implanted  in  his  heart  by  the  Author  of  his  being,  and 
from  an  original  tradition  as  ancient  as  the  world  itself. 

Such  were  the  source  and  origin  of  the  religion  of  the 
ancients ;  truly  Avorthy  of  man  had  he  been  capable  of  per- 
sisting in  the  purity  and  simplicity  of  these  first  principles  : 
but  the  errors  of  the  mind  and  the  vices  of  the  heart,  those 
sad  effects  of  the  corruption  of  human  nature,  have  strange- 
ly disfigured  their  original  beauty.  There  arc  still  some 
faint  rays,  some  brilliant  sparks  of  light,  which  a  general 
depravity  has  not  been  able  utterly  to  extinguish  ;  but  they 
are  incapable  of  dispelling  the  profound  darkness  of  the  gloom 
which  prevails  almost  universally,  and  presents  nothing  to 
view  but  absurdities,  follies,  extravagancies,  licentiousness, 
and  disorder;  in  a  word,  a  liideous  chaos  of  frantic  excesses 
and  enormous  vices. 

Can  any  thing  be  more  admirable  than  these  maxims  of 
Cicero  ?  *  That  we  ought  above  all  things  to  be  convinced 
that  there  is  a  Supreme  Being,  who  presides  over  all  the 
events  of  the  world,  and  disposes  of  them  as  sovereign  lord 
and  arbiter  :  that  it  is  to  him  mankind  are  indebted  for  all 
tiife  good  they  enjoy  :  that  he  penetrates  into,  and  is  con- 
scious of  whatever  passes  in  the  most  secret  recesses  of  our 
hearts  :  that  he  treats  the  just  and  the  impious  according  to 
their  respective  merits ;  that  the  true  means  of  acquiring 
his  favor,  and  of  being  pleasing  in  his  sight,  is  not  by  the 
use  of  riches  and  magnificence  in  his  worship,  but  by  pre- 
senting him  with  a  heart  pure  and  blameless,  and  by  ador- 
ing him  with  an  imfeigned  and  profound  veneration. 

Sentiments  so  sublime  and  religious,  were  the  result  of 
the  reflections  of  the  few  who  employed  themselves  in  the 
study  of  the  heart  ot  man,  and  in  tracing  liim  to  the  first 
princi])les  of  his  institution,  of  which  they  still  retained 
some  haj^py,  though  imperfect  ideas.  But  the  whole  system 
of  their  religion,  the  tendency  of  their  public  feasts  and 

*  Sit  hoc  jam  a  priiiolpio  persuasum  oivibus  :  dojnliios  esBeomiiiuni  rernm  ao 
nioderatores  ileoB,  <aque  qiiiegeruiitiireoviim  gerl  jiuU'Jo  aemniiine  :  eosdeinque 
optinio  lie  geiiere  lioniimiin  mereri :  et.  qualis  qiiisqiie  sit,  quid  agat,  quid  in  Be 
admittat,  qua  mente.  qua  pietate  religiojirs  ooiat,  intiieri  ;  piovuiiique  et  impio. 
rum  habere  rationeiu.  Ad  divos  adeiuito  caste.  Pietateiu  aUliibeuto,  opes  am* 
veiito.— Uic.  de  Leg.  1.  ii.  u,  15  et  19i  -.i-il  •»;;  i  i- 


42  INTRODFCTTON. 

ceremonies,  clie  soul  of  the  pagan  tlieology,  of  which  the 
poets  were  the  only  teachers  and  ])rofessors ;  the  very 
example  of  the  gods,  whose  violent  ])assions,  scandalous 
adventures,  and  abominable  crimes  were  cclel>rated  in  their 
liymns  or  odes,  and  ])roposed  in  some  measure  foi-  the  im- 
itation, as  well  as  adoration  of  the  ])eo])le;  these  were  cer- 
tainly very  unfit  means  to  enlighten  the  minds  of  men,  and 
to  form  them  to  virtue  and  morality.  It  is  remarkable,  that 
in  the  greatest  solemnities  of  the  ])agan  religion,  and  in  their 
most  sacred  and  revered  mysteries,  far  from  perceiving 
any  thing  to  recommend  virtue,  ]>iety,  or  the  practice  of 
the  most  essential  duties  of  ordinary  life ;  we  find  the  au- 
thority of  laws,  the  imperious  jwwer  of  custom,  the  ])resence 
of  magistrates,  the  assembly  of  all  orders  of  the  state,  the 
cxam})le  of  fathers  and  mothers,  all  conspire  to  train  up  a 
whole  nation  from  their  infancy  in  an  impure  and  sacrile- 
gious worshi]),  under  the  name,  and  in  a  manner  under  the 
sanction,  of  religion  itself:  as  we  shall  soon  see  in  the 
sequel. 

After  these  general  reflections  upon  paganism,  it  is  time 
to  proceed  to  a  particular  account  of  the  religion  of  the 
Greeks.  I  shall  reduce  this  subject,  though  infinite  in  itself, 
to  four  articles,  which  are,  1.  The  feasts.  2.  The  oracles, 
auguries,  and  divinations.  3.  The  games  and  combats. 
4.  The  public  shows  and  representations  of  the  theatre.  In 
each  of  these  articles,  I  shall  treat  only  of  what  appe;\rs 
most  worthy  of  the  reader's  curiosity,  and  has  most  relation 
to  this  history.  I  omit  saying  any  thing  of  sacrifices,  having 
given  a  sufiicient  idea  of  them  elsewhere.* 

OF    THE    FEASTS. 

An  infinite  number  of  feasts  were  celebrated  in  the 
several  cities  of  Greece,  and  es])ecially  at  Athens,  of  which  I 
shall  only  describe  three  of  the  most  famous  ;  the  Pana- 
thenea,  the  feasts  of  Bacchus,  and  those  of  Eleusis. 

THE    PAXATHENEA. 

This  feast  Avas  celebrated  at  Athens  in  lionor  of  Minerva, 
the  tutelary  goddess  of  that  city,  to  Avhich  she  gave  her 
iiame,t  as  well  as  to  the  feast  we  s])eak  of.  Its  institution 
was  ancient,  and  it  was  called  at  first  Athenea  ;  but  after 
Theseus  liad  united  the  several  towns  of  Attica  into  one 

•  Maimer  of  Teaching,  &c.,  Vol.  L  t  Aeiji-s. 


IXTRODUCTIO??.  43 

city,  it  took  the  name  of  Panathenea.  These  feasts  were  of 
two  kinds,  tlie  great  and  the  less,  wliich  were  solemnized  witli 
almost  the  same  ceremonies;  the  less  annually,  and  the  great 
upon  the  expiration  of  every  fourth  year. 

In  these  feasts  were  exhibited  racing,  the  gymnastic 
combats,  and  the  contentions  for  the  prizes  of  music  and 
poetry.  Ten  commissaries,  elected  from  the  ten  tribes,  pre- 
sided on  this  occasion,  to  regulate  the  forms,  and  distribute 
tne  rewards  to  the  victors.  This  festival  continued  several 
days. 

The  first  day  in  the  morning,  a  race  was  run  on  foot, 
each  of  the  runners  carrying  a  lighted  torch  in  his  hand, 
which  they  exchanged  continually  with  each  other  without 
interrupting  their  race.  They  started  from  Ceramieus,  one 
of  the  suburbs  of  Athens,  and  crossed  the  whole  city.  The 
first  that  came  to  the  goal,  without  having  put  out  his  torch, 
carried  the  prize.  In  the  afternoon,  they  ran  the  same  course 
on  hoi'seback. 

The  gymnastic  or  athletic  combats  followed  the  races. 
The  place  of  that  exercise  was  upon  the  banks  of  the  Ilissus, 
a  small  river,  which  runs  through  Athens,  and  empties  itself 
into  the  sea  at  the  Pirseus. 

Pericles  first  instituted  the  prize  of  music.  In  this  dis- 
pute were  sung  the  praises  of  Ilarmodius  and  Aristogiton, 
who,  at  the  expense  of  their  lives,  delivered  Athens  from 
the  tyranny  of  the  Pisistratides  ;  to  which  was  afterwards 
added  the  eulogy  of  Thrasybulus,  who  expelled  the  thirty 
tyrants.  These  disputes  were  not  only  warm  among  th( 
musicians,  but  much  more  so  among  the  poets,  and  it  was 
highly  glorious  to  be  declared  victor  in  them,  ^schylus  is 
reported  to  have  died  of  grief  upon  seeing  the  prize  adjudged 
to  So])hocles,  who  was  much  younger  than  himself. 

These  exercises  were  followed  by  a  general  procession, 
\v'herein  a  sail  was  carried  with  great  pomp  and  ceremony, 
on  which  were  curiously  delineated  the  warlike  actions  of 
Pallas  against  the  Titans  and  giants.  Tiiis  sail  was  affixed 
to  a  vessel,  which  was  called  by  the  name  of  the  goddess. 
The  vessel,  equipped  with  sails,  and  with  a  thousand  oars, 
was  conducted  from  Ciramicus  to  the  temple  of  Eleusis,  not 
by  horses  or  beasts  of  draught,  but  by  machines  concealed 
in  the  bottom  of  it,  which  put  the  oars  in  motion,  and  made 
the  vessel  glide  along. 

The  march  was  solemn  and  majestic.  At  the  head  of  it 
were  old  men,  who  carried  olive  branches  in  their  hands, 


44  INTRODUCTION. 

^aXXofopoc ;  and  these  were  chosen  for  the  sjTnmetry  of  their 
shape,  and  the  vigor  of  their  complexion.  Athenian  ma- 
trons, of  great  age,  also  accompanied  them  in  the  same 
equipage. 

The  grown  and  robust  men  formed  the  second  class. 
They  Avere  armed  at  all  points,  and  had  bucklers  and  lances. 
After  tHeni  came  the  strangers  who  inhabited  Athens,  carry- 
ing mattocks,  with  other  instruments  proper  for  tillage. 
Next  followed  the  Athenian  women  of  the  same  age,  attended 
by  the  foreigners  of  their  own  sex,  carrying  vessels  in  their 
hands  for  the  drawing  of  water. 

The  third  class  was  composed  of  the  young  persons  of 
both  sexes,  and  of  the  best  families  in  the  city.  The  youths 
wore  vests,  with  crowns  u])on  their  heads,  and  sang  a  pecu- 
liar hymn  in  honor  of  the  goddess.  The  maids  carried  bas- 
kets, in  which  were  placed  the  sacred  utensils  proper  for  the 
ceremony,  covered  with  veils  to  keep  them  from  the  sight  of 
the  spectators.  The  person,  to  whose  care  those  sacred 
things  were  intrusted,  was  bound  to  observe  a  strict  conti- 
nence for  several  days  before  lie  touched  them,  or  distributed 
them  to  the  Athenian  virgins ;  *  or  rather,  as  Demosthenes 
says,  his  whole  life  and  conduct  ought  to  have  been  a  perfect 
model  of  virtue  and  purity.  It  was  a  high  honor  for  a  young 
woman  to  be  chosen  for  so  noble  and  august  an  office,  and 
an  insupportable  affront  to  be  deemed  unworthy  of  it.  We 
find  that  Hipparchus  treated  the  sister  of  Harmodius  with 
this  indignity,  which  extremely  incensed  the  conspiritors 
against  the  Pisistratides.  These  Athenian  virgins  were 
followed  by  the  foreign  young  women,  who  carried  umbrel- 
las and  seats  for  them. 

The  children  of  both  sexes  closed  the  pomp  of  the  pro- 
cession. 

In  this  august  ceremony,  the  ^a<f'd)fioc  were  ap])ointed 
to  sing  certain  verses  of  Homer ;  a  manifest  proof  of  tlieir 
estimation  of  the  works  of  that  poet,  even  with  regard  to 
religion.  Hipparchus,  son  of  Pisistratus,  first  introduced 
this  custom. 

I  have  observed  elsewhere,  that  in  the  gymnastic  games 
of  this  feast,  a  herald  proclaimed,  that  the  people  of  Athens 
had  conferred  a  cro^-n  of  gold  upon  the  celebrated  physician 
Hippocrates,  in  gratitude  for  the  signal  services  which  he 
had  rendered  the  state  during  the  pestilence. 

*  Ovx'  Tpoeiprftievov  r)ti.epu)  apiBtxov  ayveiicii'  iJ.6vov,  aAAa  to;'  piov  oAov  rjyvcvKevaM 

wDemostli.  iii  exirema  Aristocratia. 


INTRODUCTION.  45 

In  this  festival,  the  people  of  Athens  put  themselves,  and 
the  whole  republic,  under  the  protection  of  Minerva,  the 
tutelary  goddess  of  their  city,  and  implored  of  her  all  kinds 
of  prosperity.  From  the  battle  of  Marathon,  in  these  public 
acts  of  worship,  express  mention  Avas  made  of  the  Plntaeans, 
and  they  were  joined  in  all  things  with  the  people  of 
Athens. 

FEASTS    OP    BACCHUS. 

The  worship  of  Bacchus  had  been  brought  out  of  Egypt 
to  Athens,  where  several  feasts  had  been  established  in  honor 
of  that  god  ;  two  particularly  more  remarkable  than  all  the 
rest,  called  the  great  and  the  less  feasts  of  P3acchus.  The  lat- 
ter were  a  kind  of  preparation  for  the  former,  and  were  cele- 
brated in  the  open  field  about  autumn.  They  wei'c  named 
Lenea,  from  a  Greek  word  that  signifies  a  wine-press.*  The 
great  feasts  were  commonly  called  Dionysia,  from  one  of 
the  names  of  that  god,t  and  were  solemnized  in  the  spring, 
within  the  city. 

In  each  of  these  feasts  the  public  were  entertained  with 
games,  shows,  and  dramatic  I'epresentations,  which  were  at- 
tended with  a  vast  concourse  of  peo[)le,  and  exceeding  miig- 
nificence,  as  will  be  seen  hereafter :  at  the  same  time  the 
poets  disputed  the  prize  of  poetiy,  submitting  to  the  judg- 
ment of  arbitrators,  expressly  chosen,  tlieir  pieces,  whether 
tragic  or  comic,  whicli  were  then  represented  before  the 
peo})le. 

These  feasts  continued  many  days.  Those  who  were 
initiated,  mimicked  whatever  the  poets  had  thought  fit  to 
feign  of  the  god  Bacchus.  They  covered  themselves  Avith 
the  skins  of  wild  beasts,  carried  a  tliyrsus  in  their  hands,  a 
kind  of  ]iike  with  ivy  leaves  twisted  round  it. 

They  had  drums,  horns,  pipes  and  other  instruments 
proper  to  make  a  great  noise  ;  and  wore  upon  their  heads 
wreaths  of  ivy  and  vine-branches,  and  of  other  trees  sacred 
to  Bacchus.  Some  represented  Silenus,  some  Pan,  others 
the  Satyrs,  all  dressed*  in  a  suitable  masquerade.  Many  of 
them  were  mounted  on  asses ;  others  dragged  goats  along, 
for  sacrifices.!  Men  and  women,  ridiculously  transformed 
in  this  manner,  appeared  night  and  day  in  public,  and  imi- 
tating drunkenness,  and  dancing  with  the  most  indecent 
postures  ran  in  throngs  about  the  mountains  and  forests, 

*  \rivh<:-  t  Dionysius.  J  Goats  were  sacrificed,  bec<aii8e  they 

spoiled  the  vines- 


46  INTRODUCTION". 

screaming  and  howling  furiously;  the  women  especially 
seemed  more  outrageous  than  the  men,  and,  quite  out  of 
their  senses,  in  their  furious  transports,*  invoked  the  god 
whose  feast  they  celebrated  Mith  loud  cries  ;  z'j>n  Hd/./:,  or 

0)    Id/.yz^  or    luO(i.y-yi^  OX    loj  Bd/.yt. 

This  troop  of  Bacchanalians  was  followed  by  the  virgins 
of  tlie  noblest  families  in  the  city,  who  were  called  zavv^c-Kon-, 
from  carrying  baskets  on  their  heads  covered  with  vine  and 
ivy  leaves. 

To  these  ceremonies  others  were  added,  obscene  to  the 
last  excess,  and  worthy  of  the  god  who  could  be  honored  in 
such  a  manner.  The  spectators  gave  in  to  the  prevailing 
humor,  and  were  seized  with  the  same  frantic  spirit.  Noth- 
ing was  seen  but  dancing,  drunkenness,  debauchery,  and  all 
that  the  most  abandoned  licentiousness  could  conceive  of 
gross  and  abominable.  And  this  an  entire  people,  reputed 
the  wisest  of  all  Greece,  not  only  suffered,  but  admired  and 
practised.  I  say  an  entire  people ;  for  Plato,  s])eaking  of 
the  Bacchanals,  says  in  direct  terms,  that  lie  had  seen  the 
whole  city  of  Athens  drunk  at  once.f 

Livy  informs  us,  that  the  licentiousness  of  the  Bacchana- 
lians having  secretly  crept  into  Rome,  the  most  horrid  dis- 
orders were  committed  there  under  the  cover  of  the  night ; 
besides  which,  all  persons,  who  were  initiated  into  these 
impure  and  abominable  mysteries,  were  obliged,  xmder  the 
most  horrid  imprecations,  to  keej)  them  inviolably  secret. 
The  senate,  being  apprised  of  the  affair,  j)ut  a  stop  to  those 
sacrilegious  feasts  by  the  most  severe  i)enalties  ;  and  first 
banislied  the  practisers  of  them  from  Rome,  and  afterwards 
from  Italy.J  These  examples  inform  us,  how  far  a  mistaken 
sense  of  religion,  that  covers  tlie  greatest  crimes  with  the 
sacred  name  of  the  Divinity,  is  capable  of  misleading  the 
mind  of  man.  § 

THE    FEASTS    OF    ELEUSIS. 

There  is  nothing  in  all  the  pagan  antiquity  more  cele- 
brated than  the  feast  of  Ceres  Eleus^na.  The  ceremonies 
of  this  festival  were  called,  by  way  of  eminence,  the  Mys- 
teries, from  being,  according  to  Pausanias,  as  much  above 
all  others  as  the  gods  are  above  men.     Their  origin  and  in- 

•  From  this  fury  of  the  Bacchanalians,  these  feasts  were  distinguished  by  the 
■name  of  Orgia,'Opy>)  ira,  furor. 

1   ndtrai'  eScacrd./u.Tji'  tt||/  TrdAtc  Trcpt  Ta  Atocuvtria  ti.e6uK<Tav — Lib.  i.  de  Leg.  p.  637. 
i  Liv.  1.  xxxlx.  n.  8,  18. 

^  Nihil  ill  speoiem  fallaoiiis  est  quam  prava  religio,  ubi  deorum  numen  prae- 
tenditur  soeleribus — Liv.  xxxix.  n.  16. 


IXTRODUCTIOX.  47 

stitution  are  attributed  to  Ceres  herself,  who,  in  the  reign 
of  Erechtheus,  coming  to  Eleusis,  a  small  town  of  Attica, 
in  search  of  her  daughter  Proserpine,  whom  Pluto  had  car- 
ried away,  and  finding  the  country  afflicted  with  a  famine, 
invented  corn  as  a  remedy  for  that  evil,  with  which  she 
rewarded  the  inhabitants.  She  not  only  taught  them  the 
use  of  corn,  but  instructed  them  in  the  principles  of  probity, 
charity,  civility,  and  humanity  ;  from  whence  her  mysteries 
were  called  f^zciioipopia  and  Initia.  To  these  first  happy  les- 
sons, fabulous  antiquity  ascribed  the  courtesy,  politeness, 
and  urbanity,  so  remarkable  among  the  Athenians.* 

These  mysteries  were  divided  into  the  less  and  the 
greater,  of  which  the  former  served  as  a  preparation  for  the 
latter.  The  less  was  solemnized  in  the  month  Anthesterion, 
which  answers  to  our  November :  the  great  in  the  month 
Boedromion,  or  August.  Only  Athenians  were  admitted  to 
these  mysteries ;  but  of  them  each  sex,  age,  and  condition, 
had  a  right  to  be  received.  All  strangers  were  absolute- 
ly excluded,  so  that  Hercules,  Castor,  and  Pollux,  were 
obliged  to  be  adopted  as  Athenians,  in  order  to  their  admis- 
sion; which  however  extended  only  to  the  lesser  mysteries. 
I  shall  consider  principally  the  great,  which  were  celebrated 
at  Eleusis. 

Those  who  demanded  to  be  initiated  into  them,  were 
obliged,  before  their  reception,  to  ])urify  themselves  in  the 
lesser  mysteries,  by  bathing  in  the  river  Ilissus,  by  saying 
certain  prayers,  offering  sacrifices,  and,  above  all,  by  living 
in  strict  continence  during  an  interval  of  time  prescribed 
them.  That  tijue  was  employed  in  instructing  them  in  the 
principles  and  elements  of  the  sacred  doctrine  of  the  great 
mysteries. 

When  the  time  for  their  initiation  arrived,  they  were 
brought  into  the  temple  ;  and  to  inspire  the  greater  rever- 
ence and  terror,  the  ceremony  was  performed  in  the  night. 
Wonderful  things  passed  upon  this  occasion.  Visions  were 
seen,  and  voices  heard  of  an  extraordinai*y  kind.  A  sudden 
splendor  dispelled  the  darkness  of  the  place,  and  disappear- 
ing immediately,  added  new  horrors  to  the  gloom.    Appari- 

»■  Multa  exiinia  diviiiaque  videntur  Athense  tuae  peperisse,  atque  in  vitam 
homiimm  attiilisse  ;  tuiu  nihil  melius  illis  my .sieriis,  quibusexa^resliinnnanique 
vita  exculti  ad  humanitatuin  et  niitigati  suinus,  initiaque  ut  appellantur,  ita 
revera  principia  vilw  cogiiovimiis.— Cic  1.  ii.  de  Leg.  n.  36. 

Teque  Ceres,  et  Libera,  qtiarum  saeva,  sicut  opiniones  homiiium  ac  veligiones 
ferunt,  longe  maximis  atqiie  occulaissimis  cerenioniis  continentiir :  a  quibus 
initia  vitse  atque  victiis,  legnm,  morum,  mausuetudinis,  humauitatis  exenip  a 
hominibus,  et  civitatibus  data  ac  dispertata  esse  dicuntur.— Id.  Cie.  in  Verr.  d« 
Supplic.  n.  186. 


48  INTRODUCTION. 

tions,  claps  of  thunder,  earthquakes,  heightened  the  terror 
and  amazement ;  while  the  person  admitted,  stupefied,  and 
sweating  through  fear,  heard  trembling  the  mysterious  vol- 
umes read  to  him,  if  in  such  a  condition  he  was  capable  of 
hearing  at  all.  These  nocturnal  rites  were  attended  with 
many  disorders,  which  the  severe  law  of  silence,  imposed  on 
the  person  initiated,  prevented  from  coming  to  light,  as  St. 
Gpegory  Xazianzen  observes.*  What  cannot  sujierstitiou 
effect  upon  the  mind  of  man,  when  once  his  imagination  is 
heated !  The  i)resident  in  this  ceremony  was  called  hiero- 
phantes.  He  wore  a  peculiar  habit,  and  w%as  not  permitted 
to  marry.  The  first  Avho  served  in  this  function,  and  Avhom 
Ceres  herself  instructed,  was  Eumolpus  ;  from  whom  his  suc- 
cessors were  called  Eumolpides.  He  had  three  colleagues ; 
one  who  carried  a  torch  ;  f  another  a  herald,  whose  office 
was  to  pronounce  certain  mysterious  words  ;  |  and  a  third 
to  attend  at  the  altar. 

Besides  these  officers  one  of  the  principal  magistrates  of 
the  city  M-as  appointed,  to  take  care  that  all  the  ceremonies 
of  this  feast  were  exactly  observed.  He  was  called  the 
king,  and  was  one  of  the  nine  Archons.§  His  business  was 
to  offer  ])rayers  and  sacrifices.  The  people  gave  him  four 
assistants,  ||  one  chosen  from  the  family  of  the  Eumolpides, 
a  second  from  that  of  the  Ceryces,  and  the  two  last  from 
two  other  families.  He  had,  besides,  ten  other  ministers  to 
assist  him  in  the  discharge  of  his  duty,  and  particularly  in 
offering  sacrifices,  from  whence  tliey  derive  their  name.  IF 

The  Athenians  initiated  their  children  of  both  sexes  very 
early  into  these  mysteries,  and  would  ha^e  thought  it  crim- 
inal to  let  them  die  without  such  an  advantage.  It  was 
their  general  opinion,  that  this  ceremony  Avas  an  engage- 
ment to  lead  a  more  virtuous  and  regular  life ;  that  it  rec- 
ommended them  to  the  peculiar  protection  of  the  goddess 
to  whose  service  they  devoted  themselves,  and  was  the 
means  of  a  more  perfect  and  certain  happiness  in  the  other 
world"  while,  on  the  contrary,  such  as  had  not  been  initiated, 
besides  the  evils  they  had  to  apprehend  in  tljis  life,  were 
doomed,  after  their  descent  to  the  shades  below,  to  wallow 
eternally  in  dirt,  filth,  and  excrement.  **Diogenes  the 
Cynic  believed  nothing  of  the  matter,  and  when  his  friends 
endeavored  to  persuade  him  to  avoid  such  a   misfortune, 

*  Otjej'  'EXeucr'tK  raCra,  Kai  oi  raiv  {Tiwrrioiieviov  xai  (rtion-^s  ovTtov  a^iiov  cTroTTTos.— 

Orat.  de  Sacr.  Lumi. 

t  ^a6ex"^-  t  KTjpiif.  §  BaerXeus.  0  E7ri)x<AjjTai.  H  'Icpowoioi. 

*»Diogen.   Laert.  1.  vi.  p.  339. 


INTRODUCTION".  49 

by  being  initiated  before  his  death — "  What,"  said  he, 
"  shall  Agesilaus  and  Epaminondas  lie  among  mud  and 
dung,  while  the  vilest  Athenians,  because  they  have  been 
initiated,  possess  the  most  distinguished  places  in  the  regions 
of  the  blessed  ? "  Socrates  was  not  more  credulous ;  he 
would  not  be  initiated  into  these  mysteries,  which  was  per- 
haps one  cause  of  rendering  his  religion  suspected. 

Without  this  qualification,  none  were  admitted  to  enter 
the  temple  of  Ceres  ;  and  Livy  informs  us  of  two  Acarna- 
nians,  who,  having  followed  the  crowd  into  it  upon  one  of 
the  feast-days,  although  out  of  mistake  and  with  no  ill  de- 
sign, were  both  put  to  death  without  mercy.*  It  was  also 
a  capital  crime  to  divulge  the  secrets  and  mysteries  of  this 
feast.  Upon  this  account  Diagoras  the  Melian  was  pro- 
scribed, and  had  a  reward  set  upon  his  head.  He  intended 
to  have  made  the  secret  cost  the  poet  ^schylus  his  life, 
for  speaking  too  freely  of  it  in  some  of  his  tragedies.  The 
disgrace  of  Alcibiades  proceeded  from  tlie  same  cause. 
Whoever  had  violated  the  secret  was  avoided  as  a  wretch 
accursed  and  excommunicated.!  Pausanias,  in  several  pas- 
sages, wherein  lie  mentions  the  tem])le  of  Eleusis,  and  the 
ceremonies  practised  there,  stops  short,  and  declares  he  can- 
not proceed,  because  he  had  been  forbidden  by  a  dream  or 
vision.:!: 

This  feast,  the  most  celebrated  of  profane  antiquity,  was 
of  nine  days  continuance.  It  began  on  the  fifteenth  of  the 
month  Boedromion.  After  some  pi*evious  ceremonies  and 
sacrifices  on  the  first  three  days,  upon  the  fourth  in  the 
evening  began  the  procession  of  the  Basket ;  which  was 
laid  upon  an  open  chariot  slowly  drawn  by  six  oxen,  and 
followed  by  great  numbers  of  the  Athenian  women. §  They 
all  carried  mysterious  baskets  iii  their  hands,  filled  with 
several  things  which  they  took  great  care  to  conceal,  and 
covered  with  a  veil  of  purple.     This  ceremony  represented 

*  Liv.  1.  xxxi.  n.  14. 

t  Est  et  tldeli  tuta  silentio  Safe   is  the    silent   tongue,    which 

Merces.    Vetabo,  qui  Cereiia  sacrum  none  can  blame  ; 

Vulgaiit  aitaua,  sub  iisdem  The  faithful  secret  merit  fame  : 

Sit  Trabibiis,  fragilemque  mecum         Beneath  one  roof  ne'er  let  him  rest 
Solvat  phaseluni.  with  me, 

— Hor.  Od.  2.  lib.  iii.  Who  Ceres'  mysteries  reveals  ; 

lu  one  frail  bark  ne'er  let  us  put  to 

sea 
Nor   tempt  the    jarring  winds  with 
spreading  sails. 
X  Lib.  i.  pp.  26,  71. 

§  Tardaque  Eleusinse  matris  volventia  The  Eleusinian  mother's  mystic 

plaustra.  car 

— Virg.  Georg.  lib.  i.  ver.  163.        Slow  rolling 

4 


50  INTRODUCTION. 

the  basket  into  which  Proserpine  put  tlie  flowers  she  was 
gathering  when  Phito  seized  and  carried  lier  off. 

The  fifth  day  was  called  the  day  of  tJie  Torches ;  be- 
cause at  night  the  men  and  women  ran  about  with  them,  in 
imitation  of  Ceres,  who  having  liglited  a  torch  at  the  fire  of 
Mount  ^tna,  wandered  about  from  place  to  place  in  search 
of  her  daughter. 

The  sixth  was  the  most  famous  day  of  all.  It  was  called 
lacchus,  the  name  of  Bacchus,  son  of  Jupiter  and  Ceres, 
whose  statue  was  then  brought  out  with  great  ceremony, 
crowned  with  myrtle,  and  holding  a  torch  in  its  liand.  The 
procession  began  at  Ceramicus,  and  passing  through  the 
principal  parts  of  the  city,  continued  to  Eleusis.  The  way 
leading  to  it  was  called  the  sacred  vKiy^  and  lay  across  a 
bridge  over  the  river  Cephisus.  The  ])rocession  was  very 
numerous,  and  generally  consisted  of  thirty  thousand  per- 
sons. 

The  temple  of  Eleusis,  where  it  ended,  was  large  enough 
to  contain  the  whole  multitude  ;  and  Strabo  says  its  extent 
was  equal  to  that  of  the  theatres,  which  everyl>ody  knows 
were  capable  of  holding  a  much  greater  number  of  people.* 
The  whole  way  resoimded  with  the  sound  of  trumpets, 
clarions,  and  other  musical  instruments.  Hymns  vf^\'<i  sung 
in  honor  of  the  goddesses,  accompanied  with  dancing  and 
other  extraordii^ary  marks  of  rejoicing.  The  rout  before 
mentioned,  through  the  sacred  way  and  over  the  Cejjhisus, 
was  the  usual  way ;  but  after  tlie  Laeedasmonians,  in  the 
Peloponnesian  war,  had  fortified  Decelia,  the  Athenians 
were  obliged  to  make  their  proce-ision  by  sea,  till  Alcibiades 
re-established  the  ancient  custom. 

The  seventh  day  was  solemnized  by  games,  and  the 
gymnastic  combats,  in  which  the  victor  was  rewarded  with 
a  measure  of  barley ;  without  doubt,  because  it  was  at 
Eleusis  the  goddess  first  taught  the  method  of  raising  that 
grain,  and  the  use  of  it.  The  two  following  days  were 
employed  in  some  particular  ceremonies,  neither  important 
nor  remarkable. 

During  this  festival,  it  was  prohibited,  imder  very  great 
penalties,  to  arrest  any  person  whatsoever,  in  order  to  their 
being  imprisoned,  or  to  i)resent  any  bill  of  complaint  to  the 
iudges.  It  was  regularly,  celebrated  every  fifth  year,  that 
IS,  after  a  revolution  of  four  years :  and  no  history  observes 
that  it  was  ever  interrupted,  except  on  the  taking  of  Thebes 

*Her.  1.  viii.  c.  65.        Strabo,  I.  ix.  p.  395. 


INTRODUCTION.  ■  51 

by  Alexandei'  tlie  Great.*  Tlie  Athenians,  who  were  then 
upon  the  point  of  celebrating  tlie  great  mysteries,  were  so 
much  affected  with  the  ruin  of  that  city,  that  they  could 
not  resolve,  in  so  general  an  affliction,  to  solemnize  a  fes- 
tival which  breathed  nothing  but  merriment  and  rejoicing. f 
It  was  continued  down  till  the  time  of  the  Christian  empe- 
rors: and  Valentinian  would  have  abolished  it,  if  Pra-tex- 
tatus,  the  proconsul  of  Greece,  had  not  represented,  in  the 
most  lively  and  affecting  terms,  the  universal  sorrow  which 
the  abrogation  of  that  feast  would  occasion  among  the 
people ;  upon  which  it  was  suffered  to  subsist.  It  is  suj)- 
posed  to  have  been  finally  suppressed  by  Theodosius  the 
Great;  as  were  all  the  rest  of  the  pagan  solemnities. 

OF    AUGURIES,    ORACLES,    &C. 

Nothing  is  more  frequently  mentioned  in  ancient  his- 
tory than  oracles,  auguries,  and  divinations.  No  war  Avas 
made,  or  colony  settled  ;  nothing  of  consequence  was  under- 
taken, either  public  or  private,  without  tlie  gods  being  first 
consulted.  This  was  a  custom  universally  established 
among  the  Egyptian,  Assyrian,  Grecian,  and  Roman  na- 
tions ;  which  is  no  doubt  a  proof,  as  has  been  already  ob- 
served, of  its  being  derived  from  ancient  tradition,  and  that 
it  had  its  origin  in  the  i*eligion  and  worship  of  the  true  God. 
It  is  not  indeed  to  be  questioned,  but  that  God  before  the 
deluge  did  manifest  his  will  to  mankind  in  different  meth- 
ods, as  he  lias  since  done  to  his  people,  sometimes  in  his 
own  person,  aud  vioa  ?)oce,  sometimes  by  the  ministry  of 
angels,  or  of  ])roi)hets  inspired  by  himself,  and  at  other 
times  by  ap)>aritions  or  in  dreams.  When  the  descendants 
of  Noah  dispersed  themselves  into  different  regions,  they 
carried  this  tr;idition  along  with  them,  which  was  every- 
where  retained,  though  altered  and  corruj)ted  by  the  dark- 
ness and  ignorance  of  idolatry.  None  of  the  ancients  hav£ 
insisted  more  upon  the  necessity  of  consulting  the  gods  on 
all  occasions  by  augurs  and  oracles,  than  Xeuo])hon,  and  he 
founds  that  necessity,  as  I  have  more  than  once  observed 
elsewhere,  upon  a  principle  deduced  from  the  most  refined 
reason  and  discernment.  He  represents,  in  several  places, 
that  man  of  himself  is  very  frequently  ignorant  of  what  is 
advantageous  or  pernicious  to  him  ;  that  far  from  being* 
capable  of  penetrating  the  future,  the  present  itself  escapef 

*  Plut.  in  Vit.  Alex.  p.  671.  t  Zozim.  Hist.  1.  iv. 


62  INTRODUCTION. 

him :  so  narrow  and  short-sighted  is  he,  in  all  his  views, 
that  the  slightest  obstacles  can  frustrate  his  greatest  de- 
signs ;  that  the  Divinity  alone,  to  Avhoni  all  ages  are  present, 
can  impart  a  certain  knowledge  of  the  future  to  him  ;  that 
no  other  being  has  power  to  facilitate  the  success  of  his  en- 
terprises ;  and  that  it  is  reasonable  to  believe  he  will  guide 
and  protect  those  who  adore  him  with  the  most  sincere 
affection,  who  invoke  him  at  all  times  with  the  greatest  con- 
fidence and  fidelity,  and  consult  him  with  most  sincerity  and 
resignation. 

OF   AUGURIES. 

What  a  reproach  it  is  to  human  reason,  that  so  luminous 
a  principle  should  have  given  birth  to  the  absurd  reasonings 
and  Avretched  notions  in  favor  of  the  science  of  augurs  and 
soothsayers,  and  been  the  occasion  of  espousing  with  blind 
devotion  the  most  ridiculous  puerilities  ;  should  have  made 
the  most  important  affairs  of  state  depend  upon  a  bird's 
happening  to  sing  upon  the  right  or  left  hand ;  upon  the 
greediness  of  chickens  in  pecking  their  grain  ;  the  inspection 
of  the  entrails  of  beasts  ;  the  liver's  being  entire  and  in 
good  condition,  which,  according  to  them,  did  sometimes 
entirely  disappear,  withoiit  leaving  any  trace  or  mark  of  its 
having  ever  subsisted  !  To  these  sui)erstitious  observances 
may  be  added,  accidental  recounters,  words  spoken  by 
chance,  and  afterwards  turned  into  good  or  bad  presages ; 
forebodings,  prodigies,  monsters,  eclipses,  comets,  every  ex- 
traordinary phenomenon,  every  unforeseen  .accident,  with 
an  infinity  of  chimeras  of  the  like  nature. 

Whence  could  it  hap])en,  that  so  many  great  men,  illus- 
trious generals,  able  politicians,  and  even  learned  philoso- 
ghers,  have  actually  given  in  to  such  absurd  imaginations? 
lutarch,  in  particular,  so  estimable  in  other  respects,  is  to 
be  pitied  for  his  servile  observance  of  the  senseless  customs 
of  the  pagan  idolatry,  and  his  ridiculous  credulity  in  dreams, 
signs,  and  prodigies.  He  tells  us  somewhere,  that  he  ab- 
stained a  great  while  from  eating  eggs,  upon  account  of  a 
dream,  with  which  he  has  not  thought  fit  to  make  us  farther 
acquainted.  * 

The  M'isest  of  the  pagans  did  not  Avant  a  just  sense  of 
the  art  of  divination,  and  often  spoke  of  it  to  each  other, 
snd  even  in  public,  with  the   utmost  contempt,  and  in  a 

*  Sympos.  lib.  ii.  Qusest.  3,  p.  635. 


IXTEODUCTION,  53 

manner  sufficiently  expressive  of  its  ridicule.  The  ^rave 
censor  Cato  was  of  opinion,  that  one  soothsayer  could  not 
look  at  another  without  laughing.  Hannibal  was  amazed 
at  the  shnplicity  of  Prusias,  Avhom  he  had  advised  to  give 
battle,  upon  his  being  diverted  from  it  by  the  inspection  of 
the  entrails  of  a  victim.  "  What,"  said  he,  "  have  you 
more  confidence  in  the  liver  of  a  beast,  than  in  so  old  and 
experienced  a  captain  as  I  am?"  Marcellus,  who  had  been 
five  times  consul,  and  w^as  augur,  said,  that  he  had  discoA'- 
ered  a  method  of  not  being  jnit  to  a  stand  by  the  sinister 
flight  of  birds,  wdiich  was,  to  keep  himself  close  shut  up  in 
his  litter. 

Cicero  explains  himself  upon  augury  without  ambiguity  or 
reserve.  Nobody  was  more  capable  of  sjieaking  jiertinently 
upon  it  than  himself  (as  Mr.  Morin  observes  in  his  disserta- 
tion upon  the  same  subject).  As  he  was  ado])tcd  into  the 
college  of  augurs,  he  had  made  himself  acquainted  with  the 
most  concealed  of  their  secrets,  and  had  all  possible  oppor- 
tunity of  informing  himself  fully  in  their  science.  That  he 
did  so,  sufficiently  a])])ears  from  the  two  books  he  has  left  us 
upon  divination,  in  which  it  may  be  said  he  has  exhausted 
the  subject.  In  his  second,  wherein  he  refutes  his  brother 
Quintus,  who  had  espoused  the  cause  of  the  augurs,  he  dis- 
putes and  defeats  his  false  reasonings  with  a  force,  and  at 
the  same  time  with  so  refined  and  delicate  a  raillery,  as 
leaves  us  nothing  to  wish ;  and  he  demonstrates  by  proofs, 
that  rise  upon  each  other  in  their  force,  the  falsity,  con- 
trariety, and  impossibility  of  that  art.*  But  wdiat  is  very 
surprising,  in  the  midst  of  all  his  alignments,  he  takes  occa- 
sion to  blame  the  generals  and  magistrates,  who,  on  impor- 
tant conjunctures,  had  contemned  the  prognostics ;  and 
maintains  that  the  use  of  them,  as  great  an  abuse  as  it  was 
in  his  own  opinion,  ought  nevertheless  to  be  respected  out 
of  regard  to  religion,  and  the  prejudice  of  the  people. 

All  that  I  have  hitherto  said,  tends  to  proA'e  that  pagan- 
ism was  divided  into  two  sects,  almost  equally  enemies  of 
religion :  the  one  by  their  superstitious  and  blind  regard  for 
the  augers,  and  the  other  by  their  irreligious  contempt  and 
derision  of  them. 

The  principle  of  the  first,  founded  on  one  side  upon  the 

*  Errabat  niulfis  in  rebus  antlqultas  :  quam  vel  usu  jam,  vel  doctriiia,  vel 
vetuatateiniiniiiatam.videnniB  Retinetur  autem  el  ad  opiuioiieni  vulgi,  et  ad  niag- 
iias  utilitales  reip,  mos,  religio,  dlsciplina,  jus  aiiguruiii,  coUegii  iiuctoriias.  Nee 
vero  won  omui  supplicio  digni  P.  Claudius,  J>-  Juiii  s<"(>iistiles,  qui  eomra  auspi- 
cia  uavigarunt.  Parendum  enim  fuit  religioni,  nee  patriusmostam  conturaacitei 
repudiaiidus.— Bivin.  1.  li.  u.  70,  71. 


£4:  INTRODUCTION-. 

ignorance  and  weakness  of  man  in  the  a:ffairs  of  ]ife,  and  on 
the  other  upon  tlie  prescience  of  tlie  Divinity,  and  liis  ahnighty 
providence,  was  true  ;  but  the  consequence  deduced  from  it, 
in  regard  to  the  augurs,  false  and  absurd.  They  ought  to 
have  proved  tliat  it  was  certain  the  Divinity  himself  had 
established  these  external  signs,  to  denote  his  intentions,  and 
that  he  had  obliged  himself  to  a  punctual  conformity  to 
them  upon  all  occasions  ;  but  they  h.id  nothing  of  this  kind 
in  their  system.  Augury  and  soothsaying,  therefore,  were 
the  effect  and  invention  of  the  ignorance,  rashness,  curi- 
osity, and  blind  passions  of  man,  avIio  ])resumed  to  interro- 
gate God,  and  would  oblige  him  to  give  answers  upon  every 
idle  imagination  and  unjust  enterprise. 

The  others,  avIio  gave  no  real  credit  to  any  thing  advanced 
by  the  science  of  th?  augui's,  did  not  fail,  jiowever,  to  ob- 
serve their  trivial  ceremonies,  out  of  ])o!icy,  for  tlie  better 
subjecting  the  minds  of  the  people  to  themselves,  and  to 
reconcile  them  to.  theii  own  purposes  by  tlie  assistance  of 
superstition  ;  but  by  their  contempt  for  auguries,  and  the 
entire  conviction  of  their  falsity,  they  were  led  into  a  dis-  ■ 
belief  of  the  Divine  Providence,  and  to  despise  religion 
itself ;  conceiving  it  inse])arable  from  the  numerous  absur- 
dities of  this  kind,  Avhich  rendered  it  ridiculous,  and  conse- 
quently unworthy  a  man  of  sense. 

Both  the  one  and  the  other  behaved  in  this  manner, 
because,  having  mistaken  the  Creator,  and  abused  the  light 
of  nature,  which  might  have  taught  them  to  know  and  to 
adore  him,  they  were  deservedly  abandoned  to  their  own 
darkness  and  absurd  opinions  ;  and,  if  we  had  not  been  en- 
lightened by  the  true  religion,  even  at  this  day  we  might 
have  given  ourselves  up  to  the  same  suj^erstitions. 

OF    OKACLES. 

No  country  was  ever  richer  in,  nor  more  productive  of 
oracles,  than  Greece.  I  shall  confine  myself  to  those  which 
were  the  most  noted. 

The  oracle  of  Dodona,  a  city  of  the  Molossians,  was  much 
celebrated ;  where  Jupiter  gave  answers  either  by  vocal 
oaks  or  doves,  which  had  also  their  language,  or  by  resound- 
ing basins  of  brass,  or  by  the  mouths  of  priests  and  priest- 
esses.* 

*  Certain  instruments  were  fastened  to  the  tops  of  oaks,  whieli,  being  shaken 
by  the  vviiul  or  by  somootlier  means,  gave  a  confused  sound.  Servlus  observes,  that 
the  same  word  iu  the  Thessalian  language  siguiiies  dove  und  2}rophetess,  which 


INTRODUCTION".  55 

The  oracle  of  Tvoplioiiius  in  Boeotia,  though  he  was  a 
mere  liero,  was  in  great  reputation.*  After  many  prelimi- 
nary ceremonies,  as  washing  in  the  river,  offering  sacrifices, 
drinking  a  water  called  Letlie,  from  its  quality  of  making 
people  foi\get  every  thing,  the  votaries  went  down  into  his 
cave,  by  small  ladders,  thi'ough  a  ^ery  narrow  ])assage.  xVt 
the  bottom  Avas  another  little  cavern,  of  which  the  entrance 
was  also  very  small.  There  tliey  lay  down  upon  the  ground, 
with  a  certain  composition  of  honey  in  each  hand,  wliich. 
they  were  indispensably  obliged  to  carr^'  with  them.  Their 
feet  were  placed  within  the  opening  of  the  little  cave ; 
which  was  no  sooner  done  than  they  ])erceived  themselves 
borne  into  it  with  great  force  and  velocity.  P^'uturity  was 
there  revealed  to  them  ;  but  not  to  all  in  the  same  mannei*. 
Some  saw,  others  heard  wonders.  From  thence  they  re- 
turned quite  stu]>efied  and  out  of  their  senses,  and  v/ere 
placed  in  the  chair  of  Mnemosyne,  goddess  of  memory ;  not 
without  great  need  ol  her  assistance  to  recover  their  remem- 
brance, after  their  great  fatigue,  of  what  they  had  seen  and 
heard ;  admitting  they  had  seen  or  heard  any  thing  at  all. 
Pausanias,  who  had  consulted  that  oracle  himself,  and  gone 
through  all  these  ceremo  lies,  has  loft  a  most  amjjle  descrip- 
tion of  it,  to  which  Plutarch  adds  some  particular  circum- 
stances, which  I  omit,  to  avoid  a  tedious  }>rolixity.t 

The  temple  and  oracle  of  the  Brancludfe,$  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Miletus,  so  called  from  Branchus,  the  son  of  Apollo, 
was  very  ancient,  and  in  great  esteem  with  all  the  lonians 
and  Dorians  of  Asia.  Xerxes,  in  his  return  from  Greece, 
burnt  this  temple,  after  its  priests  had  delivered  its  treasures 
to  him.  Tliat  prince,  in  return,  granted  them  an  establish- 
ment in  the  remotest  ])art  of  Asia,  to  secure  them  against 
the  vengeance  of  the  Greeks,  After  the  war  was  over,  the 
Milesians  re-established  that  temple  with  a  magnificence 
which,  according  to  Strabo,  surpassed  that  of  all  the  other 
temples  of  Greece.  When  Alexander  the  Great  had  over- 
thrown Darius,  he  utterly  destroyed  the  city  where  the 
priests  Branchidte  had  settled,  of  Avhich  their  descendants 
Avere  at  that  time  in  actual  ]>ossession,  punishing  in  the  chil- 
,  dren  the  sacrilegious  ])erfidy  of  their  fathers. 

Tacitus  relates  something  very  singular,  though  not  very 

had  given  room  for  the  fa! mlous  tradition  of  doves  that  spoke.  It  was  easy  to 
make  those  brazen  basins  sound  by  sonic  secret  means,  and  to  give  v/hat  signifi- 
cation tliev  pleased  to  a  confused  and  inarticulate  noiso. 

*  Pa  isan.  1.  ix.  p.  002,  GOi.  t  Plut.  de  Geu.  Socr.  p.  509. 

t  Herod.  ] .  i.  c.  157.    -Strab.  1.  xiv.  p.  634. 


56  INTRODUCTION^. 

probable,  of  the  oracles  of  Claros,  a  town  of  Ionia,  in  Asia 
Minor,  near  Colo])hon.  "  Germanicns,"  says  he,  "  went  to 
consult  Apollo  at  Claros.  It  is  not  a  woman  wlio  ijives  the 
answers  there,  as  at  Delphos.  but  a  man  chosen  out  of  cer- 
tain families,  and  almost  always  of  Miletus.  It  suffices  to 
let  him  know  the  number  and  names  of  those  who  come  to 
consult  him.  After  wliich  he  retires  into  a  cave,  and  hav- 
ing drank  of  the  waters  of  a  spriijg  witliin  it,  he  delivers 
answers  in  verse  upon  what  the  ))ersons  have  in  their 
thoughts,  though  he  is  often  ignorant,  and  knows  nothing 
of  composing  in  measure.  It  is  said,  that  he  foi'etold  to 
Germanicns  his  sudden  death,  but  in  dark  and  ambiguous 
terms,  according  to  the  custom  of  oracles."  * 

I  omit  a  great  number  of  other  oracles,  to  proceed  to 
the  most  famous  of  them  all.  It  is  obvious  that  I  mean  the 
oracle  of  Apollo  at  Delphos.  He  was  worshipped  there 
under  the  name  of  the  Pythian,  a  title  derived  from  the  ser- 
pent Python,  which  he  had  killed,  or  from  a  Greek  word 
that  signifies  to  inquire^  TzoOirrOai  because  people  came 
thither  to  consult  him.  From  thence  the  Del])hic  ))riestess 
was  called  Pythia,  and  the  games  there  celebrated,  the 
Pythian  games. 

Delphos  was  an  ancient  city  of  Phocis  in  Achaia.  It 
stood  upon  the  declivity,  and  about  the  middle  of  the  moun- 
tain Parnassus,  built  upon  a  small  extent  of  even  gi-ound, 
and  surrounded  with  precii)ices,  which  fortified  it  without 
the  help  of  art.  Diodorus  says,  that  there  Avas  a  cavity  upon 
Parnassus,  from  Avhence  an  exhalation  rose,  which  made  the 
goats  dance  and  skip  about,  and  intoxicated  the  brain. f  A 
shepherd  having  approached  it,  out  of  a  desire  to  know  the 
causes  of  so  extraordinary  an  effect,  was  immediately  seized 
with  violent  agitations  of  body,  and  pronounced  words 
which,  without  doubt,  he  did  not  understand  himself;  but 
which,  however,  foretold  futurity.  Others  made  the  same 
experiment,  and  it  was  soon  rvimored  throughout  the  neigh- 
boring countries.  The  cavity  was  no  longer  ap])roached 
without  reverence.  The  exhalation  was  concluded  to  have 
something  divine  in  it.  A  priestess  was  a])pointed  for  the 
reception  of  its  effects,  and  a  tripod  placed  upon  the  vent, 
called  by  the  Latins  Cortina,  perhaps  from  the  skin  that 
covered  it.J  From  thence  she  gave  her  oracles.  The  city 
of  Delphos  rose  insensibly  round  about  this  cave,  where  a 
temple  w^as  erected,  which  at  length  became  very  magnifi- 

•  Tacit.  Annal.  ii.  c.  54.  +  Lib.  xiv.  pp.  427,  428.  %  Corium. 


IXTRODUCTTOX.  57 

cent.     The  reputation  of   this  oracle  almost  effaced,  or  at 
least  very  much  exceeded,  that  of  all  others. 

At  first  a  single  Pythia  sufficed  to  answer  those  Avho 
came  to  consult  the  oracle,  not  yet  amounting  to  any  great 
number  :  but  in  ])rocess  of  time,  when  it  grew  into  universal 
repute,  a  second  was  ap])ointed  to  mount  the  tri])od  alter- 
nately with  the  first,  and  a  third  chosen  to  succeed  in  case 
of  death  or  disease.  There  were  other  assistants  besides 
these  to  attend  the  Pythia  in  the  sanctuary,  of  whom  the 
most  considerable  were  called  prophets;  *  it  was  their  busi- 
ness to  take  care  of  the  sacrifices,  and  to  inspect  the  victims. 
To  these  the  demands  of  the  inquirers  were  delivered, 
either  by  word  of  mouth,  or  in  writing,  and  they  returned 
the  answers,  as  we  shall  see  in  the  sequel. 

We  must  not  confound  the  Pythia  with  the  Sibyl  of 
Delphos.  The  ancients  re])resent  the  latter  as  a  woman 
that  roved  from  country  to  country,  uttering  her  predic- 
tions. She  was  at  the  same  time  the  Sibyl  of  Deli)hos, 
Erythrae,  Babylon,  Cumae,  and  many  other  places,  from  her 
having  resided  in  them  all. 

The  Pythia  could  not  prophesy  till  she  was  intoxicated 
by  the  exhalation  of  the  sanctuary.  This  miraculous  vapor 
had  not  that  effect  at  all  times,  and  upon  all  occasions. 
The  god  was  not  always  in  the  inspiring  humor.  At  first 
lie  imparted  himself  only  once  a  year,  but  at  length  he  was 
prevailed  upon  to  visit  the  Pythia  every  month.  All  days 
were  not  proper,  and  upon  some  it  was  not  permitted  to 
consult  the  oracle.  These  unfortunate  days  occasioned  an 
oracle's  being  given  to  Alexander  the  Great,  worthy  of  re- 
mark. He  went  to  Delphos  to  consult  the  god,  at  a  time 
when  the  priestess  pretended  it  was  forbidden  to  ask  him 
any  questions,  and  would  not  enter  the  temple.  Alexander, 
who  was  always  Avarm  and  tenacious,  took  hold  of  her  by 
the  arm  to  force  her  into  it,  when  she  cried  out.  Ah,  my 
soil,  you  are  not  to  be  resisted!  or,  my  son,  you  are  invi)v- 
cihle!  ^  Upon  wliich  words,  he  declared  he  would  have  no 
other  oracle,  and  was  contented  with  what  he  had  received. 

The  Pythia,  before  she  ascended  the  trij)od,  was  a  long 
time  preparing  for  it  by  sacrifices,  purifications,  a  fast  of 
three  days,  and  many  other  ceremonies.  The  god  denoted 
his  approach  by  the  moving  of  a  laurel,  that  stood  before  the 
gate  of  the  temple,  which  shook  also  to  its  very  foundations. 

*  npo0)]Tai..  t  fi-viKvovTO  tjfl  u>  Trat. 


68 


INTPvODUCTIOX. 


As  soon  as  the  divine  vapor,*  like  a  penetrating  fire, 
had  diffused  itself  through  the  entrails  of  the  priestess,  her 
hair  stood  upright  upon  her  head,  her  looks  c!;re\v  wild  and 
furious,  she  foamed  at  the  mouth,  a  sudden  and  violent 
trembling  seized  her  whole  body,  with  all  the  symptoms  of 
distraction  and  frenzy.f  She  uttered  at  intervals  some 
words  almost  inarticulate,  which  the  ])ro])hets  carefully  col- 
lected. After  she  had  been  a  certain  time  u])on  the  tripod, 
she  was  re-conducted  to  her  cell,  where  she  generally  con- 
tinued many  days,  to  recover  from  her  fatigue  ;  and  as 
Lucan  says,  a  sudden  death  was  often  either  the  reward  or 
})uuishment  of  her  enthusiasm.  $ 

"  Niimiiiis  atit  pcEiui  est  mors  iinniatuni  recepti, 
A  lit  pretiuni." 

The  prophets  had  ])oets  \nider  them,  who  made  the 
oracles  into  verses,  which  were  often  bad  enough,  and  gave 
occasion  to  say,  it  Avas  very  sur])rising  that  Apollo,  who 
presided  over  the  choir  of  the  muses,  should  ins])ire  his 
prophetess  no  better.  But  Plutarch  informs  us,  that  the 
god  did  not  compose  the  verses  of  the  oracle.  He  inflamed 
the  Pythia's  imagination,  and  kindled  in  her  soul  that  liv- 
ing light,  which  unveiled  all  futurity  to  her.  The  words 
she  uttex'ed  in  the  heat  of  her  enthusiasm,  having  neither 
method  nor  connection,  and  coming  only  by  starts,  to  use 
that  expression, §  from  the  bottom  of  her  stomach,  or  rather 
from  her  belly,  were  collected  with  cai-e  by  the  ])rophets,  who 
gave  them  afterwards  to  the  ])oets  to  be  tin*ned  into  verse. 
These  Apollo  left  to  their  own  genius  and  natural  talents ; 
as  we  may  suppose  he  did  the  Pythia,  Avhen  she  composed 

* Cui  taliafaiiti 

Ante  fores,  siihito  nou  viiltus,  non  color  unns, 
Koi)  comtiB  niansere  oomaB  ;  sed  pecJus;^  anbelura, 
Kt  rabie  fera  eortia  tumeiit  ;  iiiajorque  videri, 
Nee  inoriale  soiians  :  atliata  est  iiuniiiie  quaiido 
Jam  propiori;  dei.  Vir^.  JEn.  1.  vi.  v.  46-51 

t  Among  the  various  marks  which  God  has  given  us  in  the  Scriptures  to  di»- 
tinguish  Ills  oracles  from  those  of  the  devil,  ihe  fury  or  madness,  attributed  by 
Virgil  to  the  Pythia,  '•  et  rabiefera  corda  tument,"  is' one.  Itis  I,  says  God,  that 
show  the  falsehood  of  the  diviner's  predictions,  and  give  to  such  as  divine  the  mo- 
tions of  fury  and  madness ;  or,  according  to  Isa.  xliv.  25,  '•  that  frusiratelh  tlie 
tokens  of  the  liar,  and  naketh  diviners  mad.  Instead  of  which,  the  prophets  of 
the  true  God  constantly  give  the  divine  ."inswers  in  an  equal  and  calm  toue  of 
voice,  and  with  a  noble' tranquillity  of  behavior.  Another  distinguishing  mark 
is,  the  demons  giving  their  oracles  in  secret  place*,  hy-ways,  and  in  the  obscurity 
of  eaves  ;  whereas  God  gave  his  in  open  day.  and  before  all  the  world  :  •'  I  have 
not  spoken  in  .secret,  in  a  dark  place  of  ihe  earth."  Isa.  xlv.  19.  '•  I  hive  not 
spoken  iu  sec-et  from  the  bediming."  Isa.  xlviii.  16-  So  that  God  did  not  per- 
mit the  devil  to  imitate  his  oracles,  without  imnosing  such  conditions  upon  him, 
as  might  distinguish  between  the  true  and  false  inspiration. 

t  Lib.  v.  §  EyyatTTpi/iudoj. 


IKTRODUCTTON.  59 

verses,  -svhich,  though  not  often,  liappenea  sometimes.  The 
substance  of  the  oracle  was  inspired  by  A]:»ollo,  tlie  manner 
of  expressing  it  was  the  priestess's  own  ;  the  oracles  were, 
.however,  often  given  in  prose. 

The  general  characteristics  of  oracles  were  ambiguity, 
obscurity,  and  convertibility,  to  use  that  expression,  so  that 
one  answer  would  agree  with  several  various,  and  some- 
times directly  opposite  events.*  By  the  help  of  this  artifice, 
the  demons,  who  of  tliemselves  are  not  cajjable  of  knowing 
futiirity,  concealed  their  ignorance,  and  amused  the  credu- 
lity of  tlie  ])agan  world.  When  Cra;sus  was  on  the  ])oint 
of  iuA'ading  the  Medes,  he  consulted  the  oracle  of  Dei])h()s 
i;])on  the  success  of  that  war,  and  was  answered,  that  by 
passing  the  river  Ilalys,  he  would  ruin  a  great  einj)ire. 
What  emjjire,  his  own,  or  that  of  liis  enemies y  lie  was  to 
guess  that ;  but  whatever  tlie  event  iniglit  be,  the  oracle 
could  not  fail  of  being  in  the  right.  As  much  may  be  said 
upon  the  same  god's  answer  to  Pyrrhus : 

Aio  te,  jEackla,  Ron./tnos  viiicere  posse. 

I  repen.t  it  in  Latin,  because  the  equivocality,  which  equally 
implies  that  Pyrrhus  could  conquer  the  Romans,  or  the  Ko- 
mans  Pyrrhus,  will  not  subsist  in  a  translation.  Under 
the  cover  of  such  i:mbiguities,  the  god  eluded  all  difficulties, 
and  was  never  in  the  wrong. 

It  mtist,  however,  be  confessed  that  sometimes  the  an- 
swer of  the  oracle  was  clear  and  circumstantiid.  I  have 
related,  in  the  liistory  of  Croesus,  tlie  stratagem  he  made  use 
of  to  assure  himself  of  the  veracity  of  the  oracle,  which  was 
to  demand  of  it,  by  liis  ambassador,  what  he  was  doing  at  a 
certain  time  ])reiixed.  The  oracle  of  Deljihos  replied,  that 
he  Avas  causing  a  tortoise  and  a  lamb  to  be  dressed  in  a 
vessel  of  brass,  which  was  really  so.f  The  emperor  Trajan 
made  a  similar  trial  of  the  god  at  Heliopolis,  by  sending 
him  a  letter  sealed  up,  to  which  he  demanded  an  answer. | 
The  oracle  made  no  other  return  than  to  command  a  blank 
]ia})er,  well  folded  and  sealed,  to  be  delivered  to  him. 
Traj:ni,  upon  the  receipt  of  it,  was  struck  with  amazement 
to  see  an  answer  so  coiTespondent  with  his  own  letter,  in 
which   he   knew  he   had   written  nothing.     The   Avonderful 

*  Quod  si  alii luis  dixeiit  nuiha  ab  idolis  es-e  iniKdlcIa;  lioc  sciendum,  quod 
Bemper  iiieiidaeiuni  juiixeriiit  vertiali,  e  pic  seiUeutias  tempeiariiit,  ut,  seu  lioni 
Ben  mali  quid  accidissit.  utrumquepo  sit  iute!li<;i.  Hieroiiym.  in  cap.  xlii.  Isaiae. 
He  cites  the  two  examples  of  (JriBsus  and  Pyrrhus. 

t  iMacrob.  1.  i.     Sattirnal.  c-  xxiii. 

tOue  method  of  consulting  the  oracle  was  by  sealed  letters,  which  were  laid 
upon  the  altar  of  the  god  unopened. 


60  INTRODUCTTOX. 

facility  with  which  demons  can  transfer  themselves  almost 
in  an  instant  from  place  to  ])lace,  made  it  not  impossible  for 
them  to  give  the  two  related  answers,  and  seem  to  foretell 
in  one  country  what  they  had  seen  in  another ;  this  is  Ter- 
tullian's  opinion.* 

Admitting  it  to  be  true,  that  some  oracles  have  been  fol- 
lowed precisely  by  the  events  foretold,  we  may  believe,  that 
God,  to  punish  the  blind  and  sacrilegious  credulity  of  the 
pagans,  has  sometimes  permitted  demons  t<^  have  a  knowl- 
edge of  things  to  come,  and  to  foretell  them  distinctly 
enough.  Which  conduct  of  God,  though  very  much  above 
human  comprehension,  is  frequently  attested  in  the  holy 
Scriptures. 

It  has  been  questioned,  whether  the  oracles,  mentioned 
in  profane  history,  should  be  ascribed  to  the  operations  of 
demons,  or  only  to  the  malignity  and  imposture  of  men. 
Vandale,  a  Dutch  physician,  has  maintained  the  latter  ;  and 
Monsieur  Fontenelle,  when  a  young  man,  adopted  that 
opinion,  in  the  persuasion,  to  use  his  own  words,  that  it  was 
indifferent,  as  to  the  truth  of  Christianity,  whether  the  or- 
acles were  the  effect  of  the  agency  of  spirits,  or  a  series  of 
impostures.  Father  Baltus,  the  Jesuit,  ])rofessor  of  the 
Holy  Scriptures  in  the  university  of  Stratsburg,  has  refuted 
thein  both  in  a  very  solid  treatise,  wherein  he  demonstrates 
invincibly,  with  the  unanimous  authority  of  the  fathers,  that 
demons  Avere  the  real  agents  in  the  oracles.  He  attacks, 
with  equal  force  and  success,  the  rashness  and  presum])tion 
of  the  anabaptist  physician,  Avho,  calling  hi  question  the 
capacity  and  discernment  of  the  holy  doctors,  absurdly 
endeavors  to  efface  the  high  idea  which  all  true  belie\  ers 
have  of  those  great  leaders  of  the  church,  and  to  depreciate 
their  venerable  authority,  which  is  so  great  a  difficulty  to 
all  who  deviate  from  the  princi])les  of  ancient  tradition. 
Now  if  that  was  ever  certain  and  uniform  in  any  thing,  it  is 
so  in  this  ])oint ;  for  all  the  fathers  of  the  church,  and  eccle- 
siastical writers  of  every  age,  maintain  and  attest,  that  the 
devil  was  the  author  of  idolatry  in  general,  and  of  oracles 
in  particular. 

This  o])inion  does  not  prevent  our  believing  that  the 
priests  and  priestesses  were   frequently  guilty  of  fraud  and 

*  Omnis  spiritus  ales.  Hoc  et  aiigeli  et  dseinoiies.  Iptur  momeitto  ubique 
eunt :  lotus  orliis  illis  1(k  us  uiuis  e.--t :  quul  ubi  geiatir-  taio  fa<  ile  sciuiit.  guam 
eninitiiint.  Velocitas  diviiiitas  ••reditur.  quia  substantia  iciioiaiur.  (setenim 
testndiiiem  decoqiii  cum  carnibuH  pecudis  Tythius  eo  modo  reiiuiiciavit,  quo 
8UX)ra  diximus.    Momento  apud  Lytliam  f ucrai.— Tertul.  in  Apolog. 


INTRODUCTION^.  61 

imposture  in  the  answers  of  the  oracles.  For  is  not  the 
devil  the  father  and  prince  of  lies  ?  In  Grecian  history  Ave 
have  seen  more  than  once  the  Delphic  priestess  suffer  her- 
self to  be  corrupted  by  presents.  It  was  from  that  moti^'e 
she  persuaded  the  Lacedaemonians  to  assist  the  people  of 
Athens  in  the  expulsion  of  the  thirty  tyrants  ;  that  she 
caused  Demaratus  to  be  divested  of  the  royal  dignity,  to 
make  way  for  Cleomenes;  and  dressed  up  an  oracle  to  sup- 
port the  imposture  of  Lysander,  when  he  endeaA'ored  to 
change  the  succession  to  the  throne  of  Sparta.  And  I  am 
apt  to  believe,  that  Themistocles,  who  well  kncAv  the  im- 
portance of  acting  against  the  Persians  by  sea,  inspired  the 
god  Avith  the  answer  he  gnve,  to  defend  themselves  vxith 
walls  of  icood*  Demosthenes,  convinced  that  the  oracles 
were  frequently  sugges'ted  by  passion  or  interest,  and  sus- 
pecting, Avith  reason,  that  Philip  had  instructed  them  to 
speak  in  his  favor,  boldly  declared  that  the  Pythia  philq)- 
pized,  and  bade  the  Athenians  and  Thebans  remember,  that 
Pericles  and  Epaminondas,  instead  of  listening  to,  and 
amusing  themselves  Avith,  the  frivolous  ansAvers  of  the 
oracle,  those  idle  bugbears  of  the  base  and  cowardly,  con- 
sulted only  reason  in  the  choice  and  execution  of  their 
measures. 

The  same  father  Baltus  examines,  Avith  equal  success, 
the  cessation  of  oracles,  a  second  point  in  the  dispute.  Mr. 
Vandale,  to  oppose  Avith  some  adVantage  a  truth  so  glorious 
to  Jesus  Christ,  the  subverter  of  idolatry,  had  falsified  the 
sense  of  the  fathers,  by  making  them  say,  that  oracles  ceased 
precisely  at  the  moment  of  Chrisfs  birth.  The  learned 
apologist  for  the  fathers  shoAvs,  that  all  they  allege  is,  that 
oracles  did  not  cease  till  after  our  Saviour's  birth,  and  the 
preaching  of  liis  gosj^el ;  not  on  a  sudden,  but  in  proportion 
as  his  salutary  doctrines  became  knoAvn"  to  mankind,  and 
gained  ground  in  the  Avorld.  This  unanimous  opinion  of 
the  fathers  is  confirmed  by  the  unexceptionable  evidence  of 
great  numbers  of  the  pagans,  who  agree  with  them  as  to  the 
time  when  the  oracles  ceased. 

What  an  honor  to  the  Christian  religion  was  this  silence 
imposed  upon  the  oracles  by  the  victory  of  Jesus  Christ ! 
Every  Christian  had  this  poAver.  Tertullian,  in  one  of  his 
apologies,  challenges  the  pagans  to  make  the  experiment, 
and  consents  that  a  Christian  should  be  put  to  death,  if  he 
did  not  oblige  these  givers  of  oracles  to  confess  themselves 

•  Plut.  ill  Demosth.  p.  854. 


62  FNTEODUCTION'. 

devils.*  Lactantius  informs  us,  that  every  Christian  could 
silence  them  1/y  the  sign  of  the  cross. f  ^Viid  all  the  world 
knows,  that  when  Julian  the  Aj)ostate  was  at  Daphne,  a 
suburb  of  Antioch,  to  consult  Apollo,  the  god,  notwith- 
standing all  the  sacrifices  offered  to  him,  continued  mute, 
and  only  recovered  his  speech  to  answer  those  who  inquired 
the  cause  of  his  silence,  that  they  must  ascribe  it  to  the 
interment  of  certain  bodies  in  the  neighborhood.  Those 
were  the  bodies  of  Christian  martyrs,  among  which  was  that 
of  St.  Babylas. 

This  triumph  of  the  Christian  religion  ought  to  give  us 
a  due  sense  of  our  obligations  to  Jesus  Christ,  and,  at  the 
same  time,  of  the  darkii  -s  to  which  all  mankind  were 
abandoned  before  his  coming.  We  have  seen  among  the 
Carthaginians,  fathers  and  mothers  more  cruel  than  wild 
beasts,  inhumanly  giving  up  their  children,  and  annually 
depopulating  their  cities,  by  destroying  the  most  florid  of 
their  youth,  in  obedience  to  the  bloody  dictates  of  their 
oracles  and  false  gods.J  The  victims  were  chosen  without 
any  regard  to  rank,  sex,  age  or  condition.  Such  bloody 
executions  were  honored  with  the  name  of  sacrifices,  and 
designed  to  make  the  gods  propitious.  "  What  greater 
evil,"  cries  Lactantius,  "  could  they  inflict  in  their  moSt  vio- 
lent displeasure,  than  to  depi'ive  their  adorers  of  all  sense  of 
humanity,  to  make  them  cut  the  throats  of  their  own  chil- 
dren, and  pollute  their  sacrilegious  hands  with  such  execra- 
ble parricides ! " 

A  thousand  frauds  and  impostures,  openly  detected  at 
Delphos,  and  everywhere  else,  had  not  opened  men's  eyes, 
nor  in  the  least  diminished  the  credit  of  the  oracles,  which 
subsisted  upwards  of  two  thousand  years,  and  was  carried 
to  an  inconceivable  height,  even  in  the  minds  of  the  great- 
est men,  the  most  profound  philosophers,  the  most  ])Owerful 
princes,  and  generally  among  the  most  civilized  nations,  and 
such  as  valued  themselves  most  upon  their  wisdom  and  pol- 
icy. Tlie  estimation  they  were  in  may  be  judged  from  the 
magnificence  of  the  temple  of  Delphos.  and  the  immense 

•  TertuU,  in  Apolog.  t  Lib,  de  Vera  Sapient,  p.  xxvii. 

t  Tarn  barltaros.  tarn  immanes  fuips**  lioiniiies,  ut  panitidinm  shuiti,  id  e?t 
tetrum  atque  execrabile  liuiiuino  geueri  t;uinns,  sacrilioium  voi-aveiit.  Cum 
teiients  atque  iiiuocenteH  aiiimais,  quiB  iiiaximaj  est  jetas  pareiitibus  dulcioi-,  sine 
ullo  respeetu  pietatis  extinguerunt,  immanitatemquft  omnium  liestiaruni ,  quie 
tameu  foetus  suos  amant,  foritate  tiuperarent.  O  demeiitiam  insanabilem  !  Quid 
illis  isti  dii  ampliiis  facere  posseiit,  pi  esswit  iratissimi,  quam  faoiunt  propitii? 
Cum  SU08  cvill  ores  parricidils  iuquinant,  orbilatibus  uiactant,  liumaiiis  sensibua 
Bpoliaiit.— Lactant.  1. 1.  c.  21. 


I>rTR0DUCT10V.  63 

riches  amassed  in  it,  through  the  superstitious   credulity  of 
nations  and  monarchs. 

The  temple  of  Delphos  having  been  burnt  about  tlie 
fifty-eighth  Olympiad,  the  Amphyctions,  those  celebrated 
judges  of  Greece,  took  upon  themselves  the  care  of  rebuild- 
ing it.*  They  agreed  with  an  architect  for  300  talents, 
which  amounts  to  900,000  livres.t  The  cities  of  Greece 
were  to  furnish  that  sum.  The  inhabitants  of  Delphos 
w^ere  taxed  a  fourth  part  of  it,  and  collected  contributions 
in  all  parts,  even  in  foreign  nations,  for  that  i)urpose.  Ama- 
sis,  at  that  time  king  of  Egypt,  and  the  Grecian  inhabitants 
of  his  country,  contributed  considerable  sums  towards  it. 
The  Alcmaeonidae,  a  potent  family  of  Athens,  were  charged 
with  the  conduct  of  the  building,  and  made  it  more  magnif- 
icent, by  considerable  additions  of  their  own,  than  had  been 
proposed  in  the  model. 

Gyges,  king  of  Lydia,  and  Crcesus,  one  of  his  successors, 
enriched  the  temple  of  Delphos  with  an  incredible  number 
of  presents.  Many  other  princes,  cities,  and  private  persons, 
by  their  example,  in  a  kind  of  emulation  of  each  other,  had 
heaped  iip  in  it,  tri])ods,  vessels,  tables,  shields,  crowns, 
chariots,  and  statues  of  gold  and  silver  of  all  sizes,  eqxially 
infinite  in  number  and  value.  The  presents  of  gold,  wliich 
Croesus  alone  made  to  this  temple,  amounted,  according 
to  Herodotus,!  to  upwards  of  254  talents,  that  is,  about 
762,000  French  livres  ;  §  and  perhaps  those  of  silver  to  as 
much.  Most  of  these  pi'csents  were  existing  in  the  tune 
of  Herodotus.  Diodorus  Siculus,||  adding  those  of  other 
princes  to  them,  makes  their  amount  ten  thousand  talents, 
or  thirty  millions  of  livres.^ 

Among  the  statues  of  gold,  consecrated  by  Croesus  in 
the  temple  of  Delphos,  was  placed  that  of  a  fenxale  baker  ;** 
the  occasion  of  which  was  this  :  Alyattus,  Croesus'  father, 
having  married  a  second  wife,  by  whom  he  had  children, 
she  laid  a  plan  to  get  rid  of  her  son-in-l:nv,  that  the  crown 
might  descend  to  lier  own  issue.  For  this  purpose,  she  en- 
gaged the  female  baker  to  put  jioison  into  a  loaf  that  Avas  to 
be  served  at  the  young  prince's  table.  The  woman,  who 
was  struck  with  horror  at  the  crime,  in  which  she  ought  to 
have  had  no  part  at  all,  gave  Ci'ocsus  notice  of  it.  The 
poisoned  loaf  was  served  to  the  queen's  own  children,  and 
their   death    secured   the   croAvn   to    the    lawful   successor. 

•  Herod.  1.  ii.  c.  180.  &  1.  v.  c.  62.  t  About  §197,209. 

t  Herod.  1  i.  c.  r>0,  61.  §  About  8140,970.  II  Diod.  1.  xvi.  p.  453. 

Ii  About  $5,772,000.  •♦  Plut.  de  Pyth.  Orac.  p.  401. 


64  INTRODUCTION. 

When  he  ascended  the  throne,  in  gratitude  to  his  benefac- 
tress, he  erected  a  stntue  to  her  in  the  temple  of  Delphos. 
But  may  we  conclude  that  a  person  of  so  mean  a  condition 
could  deserve  so  great  an  honor  ?  Plutarch  answers  in  the 
affirmative  ;  and  Avith  a  much  better  title,  he  says,  than 
many  of  the  so  much  vaunted  conquerors  and  heroes,  who 
have  acquired  their  fame  only  by  murder  and  devastation. 

It  is  not  surprising  that  such  immense  riches  should 
tempt  the  avai  ice  of  mankind,  and  ex])ose  Delphos  to  being 
frequently  pillaged.  Without  mentioning  more  ancient 
times,  Xerxes,  who  invaded  Greece  with  a  million  of  men, 
endeavored  to  seize  upon  the  spoils  of  this  tem])le.  About 
a  hundred  years  after,  the  Phoceans,  near  neighbors  of  Del- 
phos, plundered  it  at  several  times.  The  same  rich  booty 
was  the  sole  motive  of  the  irruption  of  the  Gauls  into 
Greece,  under  Bi-ennus.  The  guardian  god  of  Delphos,  if 
we  may  believe  historians,  sometimes  defended  this  temple 
by  surjirising  prodigies  ;  and  at  others,  either  from  impo- 
tence or  confusion,  suffered  himself  to  be  plundered.  When 
Nero  made  this  tem]jle,  so  famous  throughout  the  universe, 
a  visit,  and  found  in  it  five  hundred  brass  statues  of  illustri- 
ous men  and  gods  to  his  liking,  which  had  been  consecrated 
to  Apollo  (those  of  gold  and  silver  having  undoubtedly 
disappeared  upon  his  approach),  he  ordered  them  to  be 
taken  down  and,  shipping  them  on  board  his  vessels,  carried 
them  with  him  to  Home. 

Those  who  would  be  more  particularly  informed  con- 
cerning the  oracles  and  riches  of  the  temple  of  Delphos,  may 
consult  some  dissertations  upon  this  subject  printed  in  the 
memoirs  of  the  Academy  of  Belles  Lettres*  of  which  I  have 
made  good  use,  according  to  my  custom. 

OF    THE    GAMES  AND    COMBATS. 

Games  and  combats  made  a  part  of  their  religion,  and 
had  a  share  in  almost  all  the  festivals  of  the  ancients ;  and 
for  that  reason,  it  is  proper  to  treat  of  them  in  this  place. 
Whether  we  consider  their  origin,  or  the  design  of  their  in- 
stitution, we  shall  not  be  surj^rised  at  their  being  so  much 
practised  in  the  best  governed  states. 

Hercules,  Theseus,  Castor,  and  Pollux,  and  the  greatest 
heroes  of  antiquity,  were  not  only  the  institutors  or  re- 
storers  of  them,  but  thought  it  glorious  to  share  in  the 

•  Vol.  ill. 


IXTRODUCTIOX.  65 

exercise  of  them,  and  meritorious  to  succeed  therein.  Tlie 
subduers  of  monsters,  nnd  of  the  common  enemies  of  man- 
kind, thought  it  no  disgrace  to  them  to  aspire  to  tlie  victories 
in  these  combats ;  nor  tliat  the  new  wreaths,  with  wliich 
their  brows  were  encircled  on  the  solemnization  of  these 
games,  took  any  lustre  from  those  they  had  before  acquired. 
Hence  the  most  famous  poets  made  these  combats  the  sub- 
ject of  their  verses  ;  the  beauty  of  whose  poetry,  while  it 
immortalized  themselves,  seemed  to  promise  an  eternity  of 
fame  to  those  whose  victories  it  so  divinely  celebrated. 
Hence  arose  that  uncommon  ardor  which  animated  all 
Greece  to  imitate  the  ancient  heroes,  and,  like  them,  to 
signalize  themselves  in  the  public  combats. 

A  reason  more  solid,  which  results  from  the  nature  of 
these  combats,  and  of  the  people  who  used  them,  may  be 
given  for  their  prevalence.  The  Greeks,  by  nature  warlike, 
and  equally  intent  upon  forming  the  bodies  and  minds  of 
their  youth,  introduced  these  exercises,  and  annexed  honors 
to  them,  in  order  to  prepare  the  younger  sort  for  the  pro- 
fession of  arms,  to  confirm  their  health,  to  render  them 
stronger  and  more  robust,  to  inure  them  to  fatigues,  and  to 
make  them  intrepid  in  close  fight,  in  which,  the  use  of  fire- 
arms being  then  unknown,  the  strength  of  body  generally 
decided  the  victory.  These  athletic  exercises  supplied  the 
place  of  those  in  use  among  our  nobility,  as  dancing, 
fencing,  riding  the  great  horse,  etc. ;  but  they  did  not  con- 
fine themselves  to  a  graceful  mien,  nor  to  the  beauties  of 
a  shape  and  face  ;  they  were  for  joining  strength  to  the 
charms  of  person. 

It  is  true,  these  exercises,  so  illustrious  by  their  founders, 
and  so  useful  in  the  ends  at  first  proposed  from  them,  intro- 
duced public  masters,  who  taught  them  to  young  persons, 
and,  practising  them  with  siiccess,  made  public  show  and 
ostentation  of  their  skill.  This  sort  of  men  applied  them- 
selves solely  to  the  practice  of  this  art,  and,  carrying  it  to 
an  excess,  they  formed  it  into  a  kind  of  science,  by  the 
addition  of  rules  and  refinements,  often  challenging  each 
other  out  of  a  vain  emulation,  till  at  length  they  degenerated 
into  a  profession  of  people,  who,  without  any  other  employ- 
ment of  merit,  exhibited  themselves  as  a  sight  for  the  di- 
version of  the  public.  Our  dancing-masters  are  not  unlike 
them  in  this  respect,  whose  natural  and  original  designation 
was  to  teach  youth  a  graceful  manner  of  walking,  and  a  good 
address ;  but  now  we  see  them  mount  the  stage,  and  per- 

5 


66  INTKODUCTIOX. 

form  ballets  in  the  garb  of  comedians,  capering,  jumping, 
skipping,  and  making  a  variety  of  strange  unnatural  motions. 
We  shall  see,  in  the  sequel,  what  o])inion  the  ancients  had 
of  their  professed  combatants  and  wrestling  masters. 

There  were  four  kinds  of  games  solemnized  in  Greece. 
The  Olympic^  so  called  from  Olympia,  otherwise  Pisa,  a 
town  of  Elis  in  Peloponnesus,  near  which  they  were  cele- 
brated after  the  exijiration  of  every  four  years,  in  honor  of 
Jupiter  Olympius.  The  Pi/thic,  sacred  to  A])ollo  Pythius,* 
so  called  from  the  serpent  Python  killed  by  him  ;  they  Avere 
celebrated  at  Delphos  every  four  years.  The  N^emcean, 
which  took  their  name  from  Xemje,  a  city  and  forest  of 
Peloponnesus,  and  were  either  instituted  or  restored  by 
Hercules,  after  he  had  slain  the  lion  of  tlie  Nema3an  forest. 
They  were  solemnized  every  two  years.  And  lastly,  the 
Isthmian,  celebrated  upon  the  isthmus  of  Corinth,  every 
four  years,  in  honor  of  Neptune.  Theseus  was  the  restorer 
of  them,  and  they  continued  even  after  the  ruin  of  Corinth.f 
That  persons  might  be  present  at  these  public  sports  with 
greater  quiet  and  security,  there  was  a  general  sus]:)ension  of 
arms,  and  cessation  of  hostilities,  throughout  all  Greece, 
during  the  time  of  their  celebration. 

In  these  games,  which  were  solemnized  with  incredible 
magnificence,  and  drew  together  a  prodigious  concourse  of 
spectators  from  all  ])arts,  a  simple  wreath  was  all  the  reward  of 
the  victors.  In  the  01ym}»ic  games  it  was  composed  of  wild 
olive ;  in  the  Pythic,  of  laui'el ;  in  the  Nemajan,  of  green 
parsley  ;  %  and  in  the  Isthmian,  of  the  same  herb  dried.  The 
institutors  of  these  games  imj^lied  from  thence,  that  only 
honor,  and  not  mean  and  sordid  interest  ought  to  be  the 
.motive  of  great  actions.  Of  what  were  men  not  capable, 
accustomed  to  act  solely  from  so  glorious  a  principle. §  We 
have  seen  in  the  Persian  war,  that  Tigranes,  one  of  the 
most  considerable  captains  in  the  army  of  Xerxes,  having 
heard  the  jn-izes  in  the  Grecian  games  described,  cried  out 
with  astonishment,  addressing  himself  to  Mardonius,  who 
commanded  in  chief.  Heavens  !  against  what  men  are  you 
leading  us  ?  insensible  to  interest,  they  combat  only  for 
glory/  ||  Which  exclamation,  though  looked  upon  by 
Xerxes  as  an  effect  of  abject  fear,  abounds  with  sense  and 
judgment. 

*  Several  rea.-oii8  are  given  for  this  name.  t  Pans.  1.  ii.  p.  88 

X  Apium.  §  Herod.  1.  viii.  c.  26. 

II  Xlairai  MapSoi/te,  k6ivov<;  kit'  avSpa-;  iiyayti  (uo;^7i<TO(X€i'OUSi  rjiJieai,  oi  TO  Trepi  )^pr)iiia 
Totv  Tov  ayoiva.  Troiouirai,  dAAa  irept  aper^t- 


INTRODUCTION.  67 

It  was  from  the  same  pviiieijtle  the  Romans,  wliile  tliey 
bestowed  upon  other  occasions,  croAVns  of  g'olcT  of  great 
vahie,  persisted  always  in  giving  only  a  Avreath  of  oaken 
leaves  to  him  who  had  saved  the  life  of  a  citizen.  "  O 
manners,  worthy  of  eternal  remembrance  !  "  cried  Pliny,  in 
relating  this  laudable  custom  ;  "  O  grandeur,  truly  Roman, 
that  would  assign  no  other  reward  but  honor,  for  the  pre- 
servation of  a  citizen !  a  service,  indeed,  all  above  reward  ; 
thereby  sufficiently  evincing  their  opinion  that  it  was  crimi- 
nal to  save  a  man's  life  from  the  motive  of  lucre  and  inter- 
est !  "  *  0  mores  ceternos,  que  tarita  opera  honore  solo 
donaverint  ;  et  cum,  reliquas  coronas  auro  cormnendarcnt, 
salutem,  ciois  in  />re?;?*o  esse  noluerint,  clara  professione 
servari  quideni  horninem  nefas  esse  lucri  causa  ! 

Among  all  the  Grecian  games,  the  Olympic  held  unde- 
niably the  first  raidc,  and  that  for  three  reasons  :  they  were 
sacred  to  Jupiter,  the  greatest  of  the  gods  ;  instituted  by 
Hercules,  the  first  of  the  heroes ;  and  celebrated  with  more 
pomp  and  magnificence,  amidst  a  greater  concourse  of  spec- 
tators, attracted  from  all  parts,  than  any  of  the  rest. 

If  Pausanias  may  be  believed,  women  were  prohibited  to 
be  present  at  them  upon  pain  of  death  ;  and  during  their 
continuance  it  was  ordained,  that  no  woman  should  approach 
the  j)laee  where  the  games  were  celebrated,  or  pass  on  that 
side  of  the  river  Alpheus.  One  only  was  so  bold  as  to  vio- 
late "this  law,  and  slipped  in  disguise  among  the  combatants. 
She  was  tried  fqr  the  offence,  and  would  have  suffered  for 
it,  according  to  the  law,  if  the  judges,  in  regard  to  her 
father,  her  brother,  and  her  son,  who  had  all  been  victors 
in  the  Olympic  games,  had  not  pardoned  her  offence  and 
saved  her  life.f 

This  law  Avas  perfectly  conformable  to  the  Grecian  man- 
ners, among  whom  the  ladies  were  very  reserved,  seldom 
appeared  in  public,  had  sejjarate  apartments,  called  Gynce- 
cea,  and  never  ate  at  table  with  the  men  when  strangers 
were  present.  It  was  certainly  inconsistent  with  decency 
to  admit  them  at  some  of  the  games,  as  those  of  wrestling 
and  the  Pancratium,  in  which  the  combatants  fought  naked. 

The  same  Pausanias  tells  us  in  another  place,  that  the 
priestess  of  Ceres  had  an  honorable  seat  in  these  games,  and 
that  virgins  were  not  denied  the  liberty  of  being  present  at 
them.J  For  my  part,  I  cannot  conceive  the  reason  of  such 
inconsistency,  which  indeed  seems  incredible. 

*  nil).  1.  xvi.  c.  4.  ^  Pausau.  1.  v.  p.  297.  t  Ibid.  1.  vi.  p.  382. 


68  INTRODUCTION. 

Tlie  Greeks  thouglit  notliing  comparable  to  the  victory 
in  these  games.  They  looked  upon  it  as  the  perfection  of 
glory,  and  did  not  belieAC  it  i)ermitted  to  mortals  to  desire 
any  thing  beyond  it.  Cicero  assures  us,  that  Avith  them  it 
was  no  less  honorable  than  the  consular  dignity  in  its 
original  splendor  with  the  ancient  Romans.*  And  in  an- 
other ])lace  he  says,  that  to  conquer  at  Olympia  was  almost, 
in  the  estimation  of  the  Grecians,  more  great  and  glorious, 
than  to  receive  the  honor  of  a  triumph  at  Romcf  Horace 
speaks  in  still  stronger  terms  upon  this  kind  of  \  ictory.  He 
is  not  afraid  to  say,  that  U  exalts  the  victor  above  human 
nature  ;  thei/  were  no  lomjer  moi,  hut  f/ods.X 

We  shall  see  hereafter  Avhat  extraordinary  honors  were 
paid  to  the  victor,  of  which  one  of  the  most  affecting  was 
to  date  the  year  with  his  name.  Nothing  could  more  effect- 
ually eidiven  their  endeavors,  and  make  thein  regardless  of 
expenses,  then  the  assurance  of  immortalizing  their  names, 
which,  for  the  future,  would  be  annexed  to  the  calendar, 
and  in  the  front  of  all  laws  made  in  the  same  year  with  the 
victory.  To  this  motive  may  be  added,  the  joy  of  knowing 
that  their  praises  Avould  be  celebrated  by  the  most  famous 
poets,  and  share  in  the  entertainment  of  the  most  illustrious 
assemblies  ;  for  these  odes  were  sung  in  every  house,  and 
had  a  ])art  in  every  entertaiinnent.  What  could  be  a  more 
powerful  incentive  to  a  people,  who  had  no  other  object  and 
aim  than  that  of  human  glory  ? 

I  shall  confine  myself  upon  this  head  to  the  Olympic 
games,  which  continued  five  days  ;  and  shall  describe,  in  as 
brief  a  manner  as  possible,  the  several  kinds  of  combats  of 
which  they  were  composed.  M.  Burette  has  treated  this 
subject  in  several  dissertations,  printed  in  the  Memoirs  of 
the  Academy  of  Belles  Lettres  ;  wherein  purity,  perspicu- 
ity, and  elegance  of  style,  are  united  with  profound  eru- 
dition. I  make  no  scruple  in  appro] a-iating  to  my  use  the 
riches  of  my  brethren  ;  and  in  what  I  have  already  said  upon 
the  01ym])ic  games,  have  made  very  free  with  the  late  Abbe 
jMassieu's  remarks  u])on  the  odes  of  Pindar. 

The  combats  which  had  the  greatest  share  in  the  solera- 

•Olymjiioruni  victoria,  Gracis  coiisulatus  iUe  antiquus  videbatur.— Tuscul. 
Quest,  lib.  ii.  n.  41. 

tOhmpioiii<'uin  esse  apud  Gisecis  prope  majus  fuit  et  gloriosus,  quam  Romas 
triumphasie. — Pro  Flacco,  num.  xxxi. 

-Palmaque  iiobilis 


Terrarum  dominos  evehit  ad  deos.  Hor.  Od.  i.  lib.  1. 

Sive  quos  Flea  domum  reducit 

Palma  calestes.  Hor-  Od.  ii.  lib.  4. 


INTRODUCTION.  69 

nity  of  the  pul/lic  games,  were  boxing,  wrestling,  the  pan- 
cratium, the  discus  or  quoit,  and  racing.  To  these  may  Ije 
added  leaping,  throwing  the  dart,  and  that  of  the  trochus 
or  wheel;  but  as  these  Avere  neither  important,  nor  of  any 
great  reputation,  I  shall  content  myself  with  having  only 
mentioned  them  in  this  place.  For  the  better  methodizing 
the  particulars  of  these  games  and  exercises,  it  will  be  ne- 
cessary to  begin  with  an  account 

OF    THE    ATHLETE,    OR    COMI5ATAXTS. 

The  term  athletae  is  derived  from  the  Greek  word  aOhi<;^ 
which  signilies  labor,  combat.  This  name  Avas  given  to 
those  who  exercised  themseh'es  with  design  to  dispute  the 
prizes  in  the  public  games.  The  art  by  which  they  formed 
themselves  for  these  encounters,  was  called  gymnastic,  from 
the  athletae  practising  naked. 

Those  who  were  designed  for  this  profession,  frequented, 
from  their  most  tender  age,  the  Gymnasia  or  Palaestra?, 
which  were  a  kind  of  academies  maintained,  for  that  pur- 
pose, at  the  public  expense.  In  these  places,  such  young 
people  were  under  the  direction  of  different  masters,  who 
employed  the  most  effectual  methods  to  inure  their  bodies 
for  the  fatigues  of  the  public  games,  and  to  train  them  for 
the  combats.  The  regimen  they  were  under  was  very  hard 
and  severe.  At  first  they  had  no  other  nourishment  than 
dried  figs,  nuts,  soft  cheese,  and  a  gross  heavy  sort  of  bread 
called  //«^«.  They  were  absolutely  forbidtlen  the  use  of 
wine,  and  enjoined  continence ;  which  Horace  expresses 
thus : 

Qui  Btudet  optatam  cursu  contiiigere  metam 
Multa  tulit  fecit  lue  ]iuer  ;  siidavio  et  alt;it, 
Abstiiiuit  veiiere  et  vi;io. 

Who  in  the  Olympic  race  the  prize  would  gain 
Has  borne  froin  enrly  yonth  fatigue  and  p.aiii  ; 
Excess  of  heat  and  cold  has  often  try'd, 
Love's  softness  banish'd,  and  the  glass  denied.* 

St.  Paul,  by  an  illusion  to  the  athletae,  exhorts  the  Corin- 
thians, near  whose  city  the  Isthmian  games  Avere  celebrated, 
to  a  sober  and  penitent  life.  Those  who  strive,  says  he,/br 
the  mastery,  are  temperate  in  all  things :  now  they  do  it  to 
obtain  a  corruptible  crovm,  xoe  an  incorruptible.  Tertullian 
uses  the  same  thought  to  encourage  the  martyrs.  He  makes 
a  comparison  from  Avhat  the  hopes  of  victory  made  the 

•Art.  Poet.  V.  412. 


70  INTRODrrXTON'. 

atliletse  endure.  He  repeats  tlie  severe  and  painful  exercises 
they  were  obliged  to  undergo  ;  the  continual  denial  and  con- 
straint in  which  they  passed  the  best  years  of  their  lives  ; 
and  the  voluntary  privation  which  they-  imposed  upon  them- 
selves of  all  that  was  most  affecting  and  grateful  to  their 
passions.*  It  is  true,  the  athletse  did  not  always  observe  so 
severe  a  regimen,  but  at  length  substituted  in  its  stead  a 
voracity  and  indolence  extremely  remote  from  it. 

The  athletae,  before  their  exercises  Avcre  rubbed  with 
oils  and  ointments,  to  make  their  bodies  more  supple  and 
vigorous.  At  first  they  made  use  of  a  belt,  with  an  apron 
or  scarf  fastened  to  it,  for  their  more  decent  apjiearance  in 
the  combats;  but  one  of  the  combatants  happening  to  lose 
the  victory  by  this  covering's  falling  off,  that  accident  was  the 
occasion  of  sacrificing  modesty  to  convenience,  and  retrench- 
ing the  apron  for  the  future.  The  athletje  were  only  naked 
in  some  exercises,  as  wrestling,  boxing,  the  pancratium,  and 
the  foot-race.  They  practised  a  kind  of  novitiate  in  the 
Gymnasia  for  ten  months,  to  accom})lish  themselves  in  the 
several  exercises  by  assiduous  application  ;  and  this  they  did 
in  the  presence  of  such  as  curiosity  or  idleness  conducted  to 
look  on.  But  when  the  celebration  of  the  Olympic  games 
drew  nigh,  the  athletae  who  were  to  appear  in  them  were 
kept  to  double  exercise. 

Before  they  were  admitted  to  combat,  other  proofs  were 
required.  As  to  birth,  none  but  Greeks  were  to  be  received. 
It  was  also  necessary  that  their  manners  should  be  imexcep- 
tionable,  and  their  condition  free.  No  foreigner  was  admit- 
ted to  combat  in  the  Olympic  games  ;  and  when  Alexander, 
the  son  of  Amyntas,  king  of  Macedon,  jiresented  himself  to 
dispute  the  prize,  his  competitors,  without  any  regard  to  the 
royal  dignity,  opposed  his  reception  as  a  Macedonian,  and 
consequently  a  barbarian  and  a  stranger ;  nor  could  the 
judges  be  prevailed  upon  to  admit  him  till  he  had  proved 
m  due  form,  his  family  originally  descended  from  the  Ar- 
gives. 

The  persons  who  presided  in  the  games,  called  Agono- 
thetce,  Athlothetcp.)  and  Hellanodicm,  registered  the  name 
and  country  of  each  champion  ;  and  upon  the  opening  of  the 

fames,  a  herald  proclaimed  the  names  of  the  combatants, 
'hey  were  then  made  to  take  an  oath,  that  they  would  reli- 
giously observe  the  several  laws  prescribed  in  each  kind  of 

*  Neinpe  enim  et  athletae  segregaiitur  ad  strictlorem  discipllnam,  ut  robori 
sedificando  vacent ;  coiititentur  a  luxuria,  a  cibis  lietioribus,  a  poiu  jucuudiore; 
oogimiur,  cruciautur,  fatigantur. — Tertul.  ad  Martyr. 


INTRODUCTION.  71 

combat,  and  to  do  nothing  contrary  to  the  established  orders 
and  regulations  of  the  games.  Fraud,  artifice,  and  excessive 
violence,  were  absolutely  prohibited  ;  and  the  maxim  so 
generally  received  elsewhere,  that  it  is  indifferent  whether 
an  enemy  is  conquered  by  deceit  or  valor,  was  banished 
from  these  combats.*  The  address  of  a  combatant  expert 
in  all  the  niceties  of  his  art,  who  knows  how  to  shift  and 
ward  dexterously,  to  put  the  cliange  upon  his  adversary  with 
art  and  subtlety,  and  to  improve  the  least  advantages,  must 
not  be  confounded  here  with  the  cowardly  and  knavisli  cun- 
ning of  one,  who,  without  regard  to  the  laws  prescribed,  em- 
ploys the  most  unfair  means  to  vanquish  his  competitor. 
Those  who  disjmted  the  ])rize  in  the  several  kinds  of  combats, 
drew  lots  for  their  i)recedency  in  them. 

It  is  time  to  bring  our  champions  to  blows,  and  to  run 
over  the  different  kinds  of  combats,  in  Avhich  they  exercised 
themselves. 

OF    W^RESTLING. 

Wrestling  is  one  of  the  most  ancient  exercises  of  which 
we  have  any  knowledge,  having  been  practised  in  the  time 
of  the  patriarchs,  as  the  wrestling  of  the  angel  Avith  Jacob 
proves.  Jacob  supported  the  angel's  attacks  so  vigorously, 
that  the  latter,  perceiving  that  he  could  not  throAV  so  rough 
a  wrestler,  was  induced  to  make  him  lame,  by  touching  the 
sinew  of  his  thigh,  which  immediately  shrunk  up.f 

Wrestling  among  the  Greeks,  as  well  as  other  nations, 
was  practised  at  first  with  simplicity,  little  art,  and  in  a 
natural  manner ;  the  weight  of  the  body  and  the  strength 
of  the  muscles  having  more  share  in  it  than  address  and 
skill.  Theseus  was  the  first  that  reduced  it  to  method,  and 
refined  it  with  the  rules  of  art.  He  was  also  the  first  who 
established  the  ])ublic  schools  called  Palcestrm,  where  the 
young  people  had  masters  to  instruct  them  in  it. 

The  Avrestlers,  before  they  began  their  combats,  were 
rubbed  all  over  in  a  rough  manner,  and  afterwards  anointed 
with  oils,  which  added  to  the  strength  and  flexibility  of  their 
limbs.  But  as  this  unction,  by  making  the  skin  too  slippery, 
rendered  it  difficult  for  them  to  take  hold  of  each  other,  they 
remedied  that  inconvenience,  sometimes  by  rolling  them-" 
selves  in  the  dust  of  the  Palaestrae,  sometimes  by  throwing 
a  fine  sand  upon  each  other,  kept  for  that  purjjose  in  the 
Xystas,  or  porticoes  of  the  Gymnasia. 

♦  Dolus  an  virtus,  quia  iu  noste  requirat  ?  t  Gen.  xxxii.  24 


72 '  IXTRODUCTIOX. 

Thus  prepared,  tlie  wrestlers  began  their  combat.  They 
were  matched  two  agahist  two,  and  sometimes  several  cou- 
ples contended  at  the  same  time.  In  this  combat,  the  whole 
aim  and  design  of  the  wrestlers  was  to  throw  their  adver- 
sary upon  the  ground.  Both  strength  and  art  were  employ- 
ed to  this  purpose  ;  they  seized  each  other  by  the  arms, 
drew  forwards,  pushed  backwards,  used  many  distortions 
and  twistings  of  the  body ;  locking  their  limbs  into  each 
other's,  seizing  by  the  neck,  throttling,  pressing  in  their  arms, 
struggling,  plying  on  all  sides,  lifting  from  the  ground,  dash- 
ing their  heads  together  like  rams,  and  twisting  one  another's 
necks.  The  most  considerable  advantage  in  the  wrestler's 
art,  was  to  make  himself  master  of  his  adversary's  legs,  of 
which  a  fall  was  the  immediate  consequence.  From  whence 
Plautus  says,  in  his  Pseudolus,  speaking  of  wine.  He  is  a 
dangerous  wrestler^  he  presently  takes  one  hy  the  heels* 
The  Greek  terms  vTztia/.zXi'^z.iy  and  -ref)'^''%t'.'y,  antl  the  Latin 
word  supplantare^  seem  to  imply,  that  one  of  these  arts 
consisted  in  stooping  down- to  seize  the  antagonist  under  the 
soles  of  his  feet,  and  in  raising  them  up  to  give  him  a  fall. 

In  this  manner  the  athletae  wrestled  standing,  the  combat 
ending  with  the  fall  of  one  of  the  com])etitors.  But  Avheu 
it  happened  that  the  wrestler  who  was  down  drew  his  adver- 
sary along  with  him,  either  by  art  or  accident,  the  combat 
continued  upon  the  sand,  the  antagonists  tumbling  and  twin- 
ing with  each  other  in  a  thousand  different  ways,  till  one  of 
them  got  uppermost,  and  compelled  the  other  to  ask  cpiarter, 
and  confess  himself  vanquished.  There  was  a  third  sort  of 
wrestling  called  Ayni>yi'.p:t7;ui-^  from  the  athlete's  u.ingonly 
their  hands  in  it,  Avithout  taking  hold  of  the  body  as  in  the 
other  kinds ;  and  this  exercise  served  as  a  prelude  to  "the 
greater  combat.  It  consisted  in  intermingling  their  fingers 
and  in  squeezing  them  with  all  their  force  ;  in  pushing  one 
another,  by  joining  the  palms  of  their  hands  together ;  in 
twisting  their  fingers,  wrists,  and  other  joints  of  the  arm, 
without  the  assistance  of  any  other  member  ;  and  the  victory 
was  his  who  obliged  his  opponent  to  ask  quarter. 

The  combatants  were  to  fight  three  times  successively, 
and  to  throw  their  antagonist  at  least  twice,  before  the  prize 
could  be  adjudged  to  them. 

Homer  describes  the  wrestling  of  Ajax  and  Ulysses ; 
Ovid,  that  of  Hercules  and  Achelous  ;  Lucan,  of  Hercules 

*  Captat  pedes  primum,  luetator  doloaus  eat. 


INTRODUCTION.  73 

and  Antaeus ;  and  Statius,  in  his  Thebaid,  that  of  Tydeus 
and  Agylleus.* 

The  wrestlers  of  greatest  reputation  among  the  Greeks, 
were  Milo  of  Crotona,  whose  history  I  have  related  else- 
where at  large,  and  Polydamas.  The  latter,  alone  and  with- 
out arms,  killed  a  furious  lion  upon  Mount  Olympus,  in 
imitation  of  Hercules,  whom  he  proposed  to  himself  as  a 
model  in  this  action.  Another  time,  having  seized  a  bull  by 
one  of  his  hinder  legs,  the  beast  could  not  get  loose  without 
leaving  his  hoof  in  his  hands.  He  could  hold  a  chariot  be- 
hind, while  the  coachman  whipped  his  horses  in  vain  to 
make  them  go  forward.  Darius  Nothus,  king  of  Persia, 
hearing  of  his  prodigious  strength,  was  desirous  of  seeing 
him,  and  invited  him  to  Susa.  Three  soldiers  of  that  prince's 
guard,  and  of  that  band  which  the  Persians  call  immortal, 
esteemed  the  most  warlike  of  their  troops,  were  ordered  to 
fall  upon  him.  Our  champion  fought  and  killed  them  all 
three. 

OF  BOXING,  OR  THE  CESTUS. 

Boxing  is  a  combat  at  blows  with  the  fist,  from  whence 
it  derives  its  name.  The  combatants  covered  their  fists  with 
a  kind  of  offensive  arms,  called  cestus,  and  their  heads  with 
a  sort  of  leather  cap,  to  defend  their  temples  and  ears,  which 
were  most  exposed  to  blows,  and  to  deaden  their  violence. 
The  cestus  was  a  kind  of  gauntlet  or  glove,  made  of  straps 
of  leather,  and  plated  with  brass,  lead,  or  iron.  Their  use 
was  to  strengthen  the  hands  of  the  combatants,  and  to  add 
violence  to  their  blows. 

Sometimes  the  athletae  came  immediately  to  the  most 
violent  blows,  and  began  tlieir  charge  in  the  most  furious 
manner.  Sometimes  whole  hours  passed  in  harassing  and 
fatiguing  each  other,  by  a  continual  extension  of  their  arms, 
rendering  each  other's  blows  ineffectual,  and  endeavoring  in 
that  manner  of  defence  to  keep  off  their  adversary.  But 
when  they  fought  with  the  utmost  fury,  they  aimed  chiefly 
at  the  head  and  face,  which  parts  they  were  most  careful  to 
defend  by  either  avoiding  or  parrying  the  blows  made  at 
them.  When  a  combatant  came  to  throw  himself  with  all 
his  force  and  vigor  upon  anothex',  they  had  a  surprising  ad- 
dress in  avoiding  the  attack,  by  a  nimble  turn  of  the  body, 
Avhich  threw  the  imprudent  adversary  down,  and  deprived 
him  of  the  victory. 

*  Iliad.  1.  xxiii.  v.  708,  &c.  Ovitl.  Metam.  1.  ix.  v.  31,  &c.  Pbars.  1.  iv.  v.  712. 
Stat.  1.  vi.  V-  847. 


74  IXTRODrCTIOX. 

However  fierce  the  combatants  were  against  each  other, 
their  being  exhausted  by  the  length  of  tlie  combat  would 
frequently  reduce  them  to  the  necessity  of  making  a  truce, 
upon  which  the  battle  was  suspended  for  some  minutes,  that 
were  em]>loyed  in  recovering  from  their  fatigue,  and  rubbing 
off  the  sweat  in  which  they  were  bathed  ;  after  which  they 
rencAved  the  fight,  till  one  of  them,  by  letting  fall  his  arms 
through  weakness,  or  by  swooning  awav,  explained  that  he 
could  no  longer  support  the  pain  or  fatigue,  and  desired 
quarter ;  which  was  confessing  himself  vanquished. 

Boxing  was  one  of  the  most  rude  and  dangerous  of  the 
gymnastic  combats ;  because,  besides  the  danger  of  being 
crippled,  the  combatants  ran  the  hazard  of  their  lives.  They 
sometimes  fell  down  dead,  or  dying,  upon  the  sand ;  though 
that  seldoni  ha])pened,  exce])t  the  vanquished  person  per- 
sisted in  not  acknowledging  his  defeat ;  yet  it  Avas  common 
for  them  to  quit  the  fight  with  a  countenance  so  disfigured, 
that  it  was  not  easy  to  know  them  afterwards  ;  carrying 
away  with  them  the  sad  marks  of  their  vigorous  resistance, 
such  as  bruises  and  contusions  in  the  face,  the  loss  of  an  eye, 
their  teeth  knocked  out,  their  jaws  broken,  or  some  more 
considerable  fracture. 

We  find  in  the  poets,  both  Latin  and  Greek,  several 
descriptions  of  this  kind  of  combat.  In  Homer,  that  of 
Epeus  and  Euryalus  ;  in  Theocritus,  of  Pollux  and  Amycus  ; 
in  Appollonius  Rhodius,  the  same  battle  of  Pollux  and 
Amycus ;  in  Virgil,  that  of  Dares  and  Entellus ;  and  in 
Statins,  and  Valerius  Flaccus,  of  several  other  combatants.* 

OF    THE    PAXCRATIUM. 

The  pancratium  was  so  called  from  two  Greek  words,t 
■which  signify  that  the  whole  force  of  the  body  was  necessary 
for  succeeding  in  it.  It  united  boxing  and  wrestling  in  the 
same  fight,  borroAving  f rom  one  its  manner  of  struggling  and 
flinging,  and  from  the  other,  the  art  of  dealing  blows,  and  of 
avoiding  them  AA'ith  success.  In  wrestling  it  was  not  per- 
mitted to  strike  Avith  the  hand,  nor  in  boxing  to  seize  each 
other  in  the  manner  of  Avrestlers  ;  but  in  the  pancratium,  it 
was  not  only  allowed  to  make  use  of  all  the  gripes  and  arti- 
fices of  AArestling,  but  the  hands  and  feet,  and  even  the  teeth 
and  nails,  might  be  emi>loyed  to  conquer  an  antagonist. 

This   combat  Avas  the  most  rough   and   dangerous.     A 

*  Dioscor.  Idyl.  xxil.     Argouaut.  lib.  ii.     ^neid.  1.  v.     Thabaid.  1.  vlL     AT" 
gonaut.  1.  iv.  t  Hat'  Kparoj. 


INTRODUCTION-.  75 

pancratist  in  the  01ym]>ic  shames  (called  Arrichion,  or  Ar- 
rachion,)  perceiving  himself  almost  suffocated  by  his  ad- 
versary, who  had  got  fast  hold  of  him  hy  the  throat,  at 
the  same  time  that  he  held  him  by  the  foot,  broke  one  of 
his  enemy's  toes,  the  extreme  anguish  of  which  obliged  him 
to  ask  quarter  at  the  very  instant  Arrichion  himself  ex]>ired. 
The  agonothetae  crowned  Arrichion,  though  dead,  and  pro- 
claimed him  victor.  Philostratus  has  left  us  a  ver^'  lively 
description  of  a  painting,  which  rej^resented  this  combat. 

OF    THE    DISCUS,    OR    QUOIT. 

This  discus  was  a  kind  of  quoit  of  a  round  form,  made 
sometimes  of  wood,  but  more  frequently  of  stone,  lead,  or 
other  metal,  as  iron  or  brass.  Those  who  used  this  exercise 
were  called  discoboli,  that  is,  flingers  of  the  discus.  The 
e})ithet  xarajadihn-,  which  signifies  borne  icpon  the  shoulders, 
given  to  this  instrument  by  Homer,  sufficiently  shows,  that 
it  was  of  too  great  a  weight  to  be  carried  from  place  to  place 
in  the  hands  only,  and  that  the  shoulders  were  necessary  for 
the  support  of  such  a  bui'den  any  length  of  time. 

Tlie  intent  of  this  exercise,  as  of  almost  all  the  others, 
was  to  invigorate  the  body,  and  to  make  men  more  capable 
of  supporting  the  weight  and  use  of  arms.  In  war  they  were 
often  obliged  to  carry  such  loads  as  appear  excessive  in  these 
days,  either  of  provisions,  fascines,  pallisades,  or  in  scaling 
tlie  Avails,  when,  to  equal  the  height  of  them,  several  of  the 
besiegers  mounted  upon  the  shoulders  of  each  other. 

The  athletai,  in  hurling  tne  discus,  put  themselves  into 
the  posture  best  adapted  to  add  force  to  their  cast.  They 
advanced  one  foot,  upon  which,  leaning  the  whole  Aveight  of 
their  bodies,  they  poised  the  discus  in  their  hands,  and  then 
whirling  it  round  several  times  almost  horizontally,  to  add 
force  to  its  motion,  they  threw  it  off  with  the  joint  strength 
of  hands,  arms,  and  body,  which  had  all  a  share  in  the  vigor 
of  the  discharge.  He  that  threw  the  discus  farthest  was  the 
victor. 

The  most  famous  painters  and  sculptors  of  antiquity,  in 
tlieir  endeavors  to  represent  naturally  the  attitudes  of  the 
discoboli,  have  left  posterity  many  master-pieces  in  their 
several  arts.  Quintilian  exceedingly  extoles  a  statue  of  that 
kind,  which  had  been  finished  with  infinite  care  and  applica- 
tion by  the  celebrated  Myron  :  What  can  he  more  finished, 
says  he,  or  express  more  happily  the  muscular  distortiona 


76  iwrnoDucTiov. 

of  the  body  in  the  exercise  of  the  discus,  than  the  Discobolus 
of  Myron  f  * 

OF    THE    PEXTATHLUM. 

The  Greeks  gave  this  name  to  an  exercise  composed  of 
five  others.  It  is  the  common  opinion,  that  those  five  exer- 
cises were  wrestling,  running,  leaping,  throwing  the  dart,  and 
the  discus.  It  is  believed  that  this  sort  of  combat  was  de- 
cided in  one  day,  and  sometimes  the  same  morning ;  and 
that  the  prize,  which  was  single,  could  not  be  given  but  to 
the  victor  in  all  those  exercises. 

The  exercise  of  leaping,  and  throwing  the  javelin,  of 
which  the  first  consisted  in  lea])ing  a  certain  length,  and  the 
other  in  hitting  a  mark  with  a  javelin,  at  a  certain  <listance, 
contributed  to  the  forming  of  a  soldier,  by  making  him  nim- 
ble and  active  in  battle,  and  expert  in  throwing  the  spear 
and  dart. 

OF   EACES. 

Of  all  the  exercises  which  the  athletae  cultivated  with  so 
much  pains  and  industry,  to  enable  them  to  appear  in  the 
public  games,  running  was  in  the  highest  estimation,  and 
held  the  foremost  rank.  The  Olympic  games  generally 
opened  with  races,  and  were  solemnized  at  first  with  no 
other  exercise. 

The  place  where  the  Athletae  exercised  themselves  in 
running,  was  generally  called  the  stadium  by  the  Greeks ; 
as  was  that  wherein  they  disputed  in  earnest  for  the  prize. 
As  the  lists  or  course  for  these  games  was  at  first  but  one 
stadium  in  length,  it  took  its  name  from  its  measure,  and 
was  called  the  stadium,t  whether  precisely  of  that  extent, 
or  of  a  much  greater.  Under  that  denomination  was  in- 
cluded, not  only  the  space  in  which  the  athletae  ran,  but 
also  that  which  contained  the  spectators  of  the  gymnastic 
games.  The  place  where  the  athletae  contended  was  called 
scamma,  from  its  lying  lower  than  the  rest  of  the  stadium, 
on  each  side  of  which,  and  at  its  extremity,  ran  an  ascent 
or  kind  of  terrace,  covered  with  seats  and  benches,  upon 
which  the  spectators  were  seated.     The  most  remarkable 

•Quid  tain  dis.ortum  et  elaboratum,  quant  est  ille  Discobolus  Myrojiis? — 
Quintil.  lib   ii.  cap.  13. 

f  The  sUuliuiii  was  a  laiul-nieaHUr.  among  the  Greeks,  aiul  was,  according  to 
Herodotus,  lib.  ii.  c.  149,  six  hundred  feet  in  extent.  Piinysays,  lib.  ii.  c.  L'.j,  that 
it  was  six  hundred  and  twenty-live.  Those  two  aiiihors  per.'iaps  agree,  eon-ider- 
ins;  the  ditferenee  between  ihe  Greek  and  Koin.mfoot ;  besides  which,  the  length 
of  the  8ta<iiian  varies,  acco.diug  to  the  dillercucv)  of  limes  ana  places. 


INTRODUCTION.  77 

parts  of  the  stadium  -were  its  entrance,  middle,  and  ex- 
tremity. 

The  entrance  of  the  course,  from  whence  the  competi- 
tors started,  was  marked  at  first  only  by  a  line  drawn  on 
the  sand,  from  side  to  side  of  the  stadium.  To  that  at 
length  was  substituted  a  kind  of  barrier,  which  was  only  a 
cord  strained  tight  in  the  front  of  the  horses  or  men  that 
were  to  run.  It  was  sometimes  a  rail  of  Avood.  The  open- 
ing of  this  barrier  was  a  signal  for  the  racers  to  start. 

The  middle  of  the  stadium  was  remarkable  only  by  the 
circumstance  of  having  the  ])rizes  allotted  to  the  victors  set 
up  there.  St.  Chrysostom  draws  a  fine  comparison  from 
this  custom.  As  the  Judges,  says  he,  ifi  the  races  and  other 
ffames,  eccpose  in  the  midst  of  the  stadium^  to  the  vieia  of 
the  chaminons^  the  croicns  xohich  they  are  to  receive ;  in 
like  manner  the  Lord,  by  the  mouth  of  his  prophets,  has 
placed  the  jyrizes  in  the  midst  of  the  course,  which  he  de- 
signs for  those  who  have  the  courage  to  contend  for  them* 

•At  the  extremity  of  the  stadium  was  a  goal  where  the 
foot  races  ended  ;  but  in  those  of  the  chariots  and  horses 
they  were  to  run  several  times  round  it,  without  stopping, 
and  afterwards  conclude  the  race  by  regaining  the  other  ex- 
tremity of  the  lists,  from  whence  they  started. 

There  were  three  kinds  of  races,  the  chariot,  the  horse, 
and  the  foot-race.  I  shall  begin  with  the  last  as  the  most 
simple,  natural,  and  ancient. 

I.       OF    THE    FOOT-RACE. 

The  runners,  of  whatever  number  they  were,  ranged 
themselves  in  a  line,  after  having  drawn  lots  for  their  places. 
While  they  waited  the  signal  to  start,  they  practised,  by 
way  of  ])relude,  vaiious  motions  to  awaken  their  activity, 
and  to  keep  their  limbs   pliable   and  in  a  right  temjjer.f 

•  Horn.  Iv.  in  Matth .  c.  16. 

t  Tunc  rite  citatos 

Exploraiit,  acuiintque  gradus,  variasque  per  artes 
Iiistimulant  docto  laiigueiitia  membra  tiiniultu. 
Poplite  nunc  flexo  sidunt,  nunc  lubiica  forti 
Pectora  collidunt  plaiisu  ;  nunc  igiiea  toll  tint 
Crura,  brevemque  f  ugam  nee  opino  tine  reponunt. 

Stat.  TLeb.  lib.  vi.  v.  587,  &c. 
They  tiy,  they  vouse  their  speed,  with  various  aits  ; 
Their  languid  limbs  they  prompt  to  act  their  part-s. 
Now  with  bent  lianis,  amidst  the  practis'd  crowd, 
They  sit ;  now  strain  their  lungs,  and  shout  aloud  ; 
Now"  a  short  flighi  with  tiery  step<  tlifey  trace. 
And  with  a  suddeu  stop  abridge  the  mimic  race. 


78  IXTRODUCTIOX. 

They  kept  themselves  bi-eathing  by  small  leaps,  and  making 
short  excursions,  which  were  a  kind  of  trial  of  their  speed 
and  agility.  Upon  the  signal  being  given,  they  flcAv  to- 
wards the  goal,  with  a  rapidity  scarce  to  be  followed  by  the 
eye,  which  was  solely  to  decide  the  victory ;  for  the  agon- 
istic laws  prohibited,  imder  the  penalty  of  infamy,  the  at- 
taining it  by  any  foul  method. 

In  the  simple  race,  the  extent  of  the  stadium  was  run 
but  once,  at  the  end  of  which  the  prize  attended  the  victor, 
that  is,  he  who  came  in  first.  In  the  race  called  Aiau'/.nc^ 
the  com]>etitors  ran  twice  that  length,  that  is,  after  having 
anived  at  the  goal,  they  returned  to  the  barrier.  To  these 
may  be  added  a  third  sort,  called  Atihyo:^  which  was  the 
longest  of  all,  as  its  name  implies,  and  was  composed  of 
several  diauli.  Sometimes  it  consisted  of  twenty-four 
stadia  backward  and  forward,  turning  twelve  times  around 
the  goal. 

There  were  runners  in  ancient  times,  as  well  among  the 
Greeks  as  Romans,  who  were  much  celebrated  for  their 
swiftness.  *  Pliny  tells  us,  that  it  Avas  thought  jirodigious  in 
Phidippides  to  run  eleven  hundred  and  forty  stadia  f  be- 
tween Athens  and  Lacedasmon  in  the  space  of  two  days, 
till  Anystis,  of  the  latter  place,  and  Philonides,  the  runner 
of  Alexander  the  Great,  went  twelve  hundred  stadia  X  in 
one  day,  fi-om  Sicyon  to  Elis.  These  runners  were  denomi- 
nated rj/jspoofjiifiiiu.,  as  we  find  in  that  passage  of  Herodotus  § 
which  mentions  Phidippides.  In  the  consulate  of  Fonteius 
and  Vipsanus,  in  the  reign  of  Nero,  a  boy  of  nine  yeai's  old 
ran  seventy-five  thousand  paces  |1  between  noon  and  night. 
Pliny  adds,  that  in  his  time  there  were  runners,  who  ran 
one  hundred  and  sixty  thousand  paces  1[  in  the  circus.  Our 
wonder  at  such  a  prodigious  speed  will  increase,  continues 
he,**  if  we  reflect,  that  when  Tiberius  went  to  Germany  to 
his  brother  Drusus,  then  at  the  point  of  death,  he  could 
not  arrive  there  in  less  than  four-and-twenty  hours,  though 
the  distance  Avas  but  tAvo  hundred  thousand  paces,tt  and 
he  changed  his  carriage  three  times,  $|  and  Avent  Avith  the 
utmost  diligence. 

•  Plin.  1.  vii.  c.  20.  t  Fifty-seven  leagues.  +  Sixty  leagues. 

§  Herod.  1.  vi.  c,  106.         ||  Tliirty  leagues.  t  More  than  53  leagues. 

**  Val.  Max.  1.  v.  c.  5.        tt  Sixty-seven  leagues. 

$t  He  had  only  a  guide  and  one  officer  with  him. 


IXTRODUCTTOX.  ,       79 

IT.       OF    THE    HORSE-KACES. 

The  race  of  a  single  horse  with  a  rider  was  less  cele- 
brated by  the  ancients,  yet  it  had  its  favorers  among  the 
most  considerable  persons,  and  even  kings  themselves,  and 
was  attended  with  uncommon  glory  to  the  victor.  Pindar, 
in  his  first  ode,  celebrates  a  victory  of  this  kind,  obtained 
by  Hiero,  king  of  Syracuse,  to  whom  he  gives  the  title  of 
AiXrjz,  that  is,  victor  in  the  horse-race ;  which  name  was 
given  to  the  horses  carrying  only  a  single  rider,  hilr-z-. 
Sometimes  the  rider  led  another  horse  by  the  bridle,  and 
then  the  horses  were  called  desultorii^  and  their  riders  de- 
sidtores  /  because,  after  a  nimiber  of  turns  in  the  stadium, 
they  changed  horses,  by  dexterously  vaulting  from  one  to 
the  other.  A  surprising  address  was  necessary  upon  this 
occasion,  especially  in  an  age  unacquainted  Avith  the  use  of 
stirrups,  and  when  the  horses  had  no  saddles,  which  made 
the  leap  still  more  difficult.  Among  the  African  troops  there 
were  also  cavalry  called  desidtores^  who  vaulted  from  one 
horse  to  anothei-,  as  occasion  required,  and  these  were  gen- 
erally Numidians.* 

HT.       OF    THE    CHARIOT-RACES. 

This  kind  of  race  was  the  most  renowned  of  all  the 
exercises  used  in  the  games  of  the  ancients,  and  that  from 
whence  most  honor  redounded  to  tlie  victors  ;  which  is  not 
to  be  wondered  at,  if  Ave  consider  Avhence  it  arose.  It  is  plain 
that  it  was  derived  from  the  constant  custom  of  princes, 
heroes,  and  great  men,  of  fighting  in  battle  upon  chariots. 
Homer  has  an  infinity  of  examples  of  this  kind.  This  being 
admitted  as  a  custom,  it  is  natural  to  suppose  it  very  agree- 
able to  these  heroes,  to  have  their  charioteers  as  expert  as 
possible  in  driving,  as  their  success  depended,  in  a  very 
great  measure,  upon  the  address  of  their  drivers.  It  was 
anciently,  therefore,  only  to  persons  of  the  first  consideration, 
that  this  office  was  confided.  Hence  arose  a  laudable  emu- 
lation tx>  excel  others  in  the  art  of  guiding  a  chariot,  and  a 
kind  of  necessity  to  practise  it  very  much,  in  order  to  suc- 
ceed. The  high  rank  of  the  persons  who  made  use  of  chariots, 
ennobled,  as  it  always  happens,  an  exercise  i^eculiar  to  them. 

*Kec  omnes Nuiiiid:e  indextro  locaticoniu,sed  quibusdesultorum  in  modum 
binos  tralien'iibus  equoR,  inter  acerrimam  ssepe  pupnam,  in  recentem  equum  ex 
fesso  armatis,  transnltare  nios  erat ;  tanta  velocitas  ipeis,  tamque  docile  equorum 
genus  ect, — Liv.  lib.  xxiii. 


80        ,  INTRODUCTION. 

The  other  exercises  were  adapted  to  private  soldiers  and 
horsemen,  as  wrestling,  running,  and  the  single  horse-race  ; 
but  the  use  of  chariots  in  the  field  was  always  reserved  to 
princes  and  generals  of  armies. 

Hence  it  was,  that  all  those  who  presented  themselves  in 
the  Olympic  games  to  dispute  the  prize  in  the  chariot-races, 
Avere  persons  considerable  either  for  their  riclies,  their  birth, 
their  employments,  or  great  actions.  Kings  themselves  eager- 
ly aspired  to  this  glory,  from  the  belief  that  the  title  of  victor 
in  these  games,  was  scarce  inferior  to  that  of  conqueror,  and 
that  the  Olympic  pa.lm  added  new  dignity  to  the  splendors 
of  a  throne.  Pindar's  odes  inform  us,  that  Gelon  and  Hiero, 
kings  of  Syracuse,  were  of  that  opinion.  Dionysius,  Avho 
reigned  there  long  after  them,  carried  the  same  ambition 
much  higher.  Philiji  of  Macedon  had  these  victories  stamped 
upon  his  coins,  and  seemed  as  much  gratified  with  them, 
as  with  those  obtained  against  the  enemies  of  his  state.  All 
the  world  knows  the  answer  of  Alexander  the  Great  on  this 
subject.  When  his  friends  asked  him,  whether  he  would 
dispute  the  prize  of  the  races  in  these  games  ?  Yes,  said  he, 
if  kings  were  to  be  my  antagoiiists.*  Which  shows  that  he 
would  not  have  disdained  these  contests,  if  there  had  been 
competitors  in  them  worthy  of  him. 

The  chariots  were  generally  drawn  by  two  or  four  horses 
abreast;  bigm,  quadrigce.  Sometimes  mules  supplied  the 
place  oi  horses,  and  tlien  the  chariot  was  called  wTriji/ij. 
Pindar,  in  the  fifth  ode  of  his  first  book,  celebrates  one  Psau- 
mis,  who  had  obtained  a  triple  victory ;  one  by  a  chariot 
drawn  by  four  horses,  r£^/);--to;  another  by  one  drawn  by 
mules,  d-ri'^Tj  ;  and  the  third  by  a  single  horse,  xiXrjn,  which 
the  title  of  the  ode  expresses. 

These  chariots,  upon  a  signal  given,  started  together  from 
a  place  called  Carceres.  Their  places  were  regulated  by  lot, 
which  was  not  an  indifferent  circumstance  to  the  victory  ; 
for  as  they  were  to  turn  round  a  boundary,  the  chariot  on 
the  left  was  nearer  than  those  on  the  right,  which  in  conse- 
quence had  a  greater  compass  to  take.  It  apjjears  from 
several  passages  in  Pindar,  and  especially  from  one  in  Sopho- 
cles, which  I  shall  cite  very  soon,  that  they  ran  twelve  times 
round  the  stadium.  He  that  came  in  first  the  twelfth  round 
was  victor.  The  chief  art  consisted  in  taking  the  best  ground 
at  the  turning  of  the  boundary ;  for  if  the  charioteer  drove 
too  near  it,  he  was  in  danger  of  dashing  the  chariot  to  pieces  j 

•  Plut.  in  Alex.  p.  666. 


IlfTRODUCTIOX.  81 

and  if  he  kept  too  wide  of  it,  his  nearest  antagonist  might 
pass  inside  of  him,  and  get  foremost. 

It  is  obvious  that  these  chariot-races  could  not  be  run 
without  some  danger  :  for  as  the  motion  of  the  wheels  was 
very  rapid,  and  grazed  against  the  boundary  in  turning,  the 
least  error  in  driving  would  h  ve  broke  the  chariot  in  pieces, 
and  might  have  dangerously  wounded  the  charioteer.*  An 
example  of  which  we  find  in  the  Electra  of  Sophocles,  who 
gives  an  admirable  descri])tion  of  a  chariot-race  run  by  ten 
competitors.  The  false  Orestes,  at  the  twelfth  and  Inst 
round,  having  only  one  antagonist,  the  rest  having  been 
thrown  out,  was  so  unfortunate  as  to  break  one  ofhisAvheels 
against  the  boundary,  and  falling  out  of  his  seat  entangled 
in  the  reins,  the  horses  dragged  him  violently  forward  along 
with  them,  and  tore  him  to  pieces  ;  but  this  very  seldom 
hapi)ened.  To  avoid  such  danger,  Nestor  gave  the  following 
directions  to  his  son  Antilochus,  who  was  going  to  dispute 
the  prize  in  the  chariot-races.  "  My  son,"  says  he,  "  drive 
your  horses  as  near  as  possible  to  the  goal ;  for  which  reason, 
always  inclining  your  body  over  your  chariot,  get  the  left  of 
your  competitors,  and  encouraging  the  horse  on  the  right, 
give  him  the  rein,  while  tlie  near  horse,  hard  held,  turns  the 
boundary  so  close  to  it,  that  the  nave  of  the  wheel  seems  to 
graze  u])on  it ;  but  have  a  care  of  running,  against  the  stone, 
lest  you  would  wound  your  horses,  and  dash  the  chariot  in 
pieces."  f 

Father  Montfaucon  mentions  a  difficulty,  in  his  o]>inion, 
of  much  importance  in  regard  to  the  places  of  those  who 
contended  for  the  prize  in  the  chariot-race.  They  all  started, 
indeed,  from  the  same  line,  and  at  the  same  time,  and  so  far 
had  no  advantage  of  each  other ;  but  he  whose  lot  gave  him 
the  first  place,  being  nearest  the  boundary  at  the  end  of  the 
career,  and  having  but  a  small  compass  to  describe  in  turn- 
ing about  it,  had  less  way  to  make  than  the  second,  third, 
fourth,  etc.,  especially  when  the  chariots  were  drawn  by  four 
horses,  which  took  up  a  greater  space  between  the  first  and 
the  others,  and  obliged  them  to  make  a  larger  circle  in  coming 
round.  This  advantage  twelve  times  together,  as  it  must 
happen,  admitting  the  stadium  Avas  to  be  run  round  twelve 
times,  gave  such  a  superiority  to  the  first,  as  seemed  to  as- 
sure him  infallibly  of  the  victory  against  all  his  competitors. 
To  me  it  seems  that  the  fleetness  of  the  horses,  joined  with 

*  Metaque  ferviiiis  evilata  rotis.  — Horat.  Od.  i.  lib.  i. 

The  goal  shunn'd  by  the  burning  wheels. 
t  Horn.  Iliad,  1.  xxiii.  v.  334,  &c. 

6 


82  rNTRODUCTio^r. 

the  address  of  the  driver,  might  countervail  this  odds,  either 
hy  getting  before  the  first,  or  by  taking  liis  ])lac'e,  i-f  not  in 
the  first,  at  least,  in  some  of  the  subsequent  rounds  ;  for  it 
is  not  to  be  supposed,  that  in  the  progress  of  the  race,  tlie 
antagonists  always  continued  in  the  same  ordei-  in  which  they 
started.  They  often  changed  places  in  a  short  interval  of 
time,  and  in  that  variety  and  vicissitude  consisted  all  the 
diversion  of  the  spectators. 

It  was  not  required  that  those  who  aspired  to  the  victory 
should  enter  the  lists,  and  drive  their  chariots  in  person. 
Their  being  spectators  of  the"  games,  or  even  sending  their 
liorses  thither,  was  sufficient ;  l)ut  in  either  case,  it  was  ])re. 
viously  necessary  to  register  the  names  of  the  ))ersons  for 
whom  the  horses  were  to  run,  either  in  the  chariot  or  single 
horse  races. 

At  the  time  that  the  city  of  Potidaea  surrendered  to  Philip, 
thi'ee  couriers  brought  him  advices  ;  the  first,  that  the  Illyr- 
ians  had  been  defeated  in  a  great  battle  by  his  general 
Parmenio  ;  the  second,  that  he  had  carried  the  jirize  of  the 
horse-race  in  the  Olympic  games ;  and  the  third,  that  the 
queen  was  delivered  of  a  son.  Plutarch  seems  to  insinuate, 
that  Philip  was  equally  delighted  with  each  of  these  circum- 
stances.* 

Hiero  sent  horses  to  Olympia,  to  run  for  the  prize,  and 
caused  a  magnificent  pavilion  to  be  erected  for  them.  Upon 
this  occasion  Themistocles  harangued  the  Greeks,  to  persuade 
them  to  pull  down  the  tyrant's  pavilion,  who  had  refused 
his  aid  against  the  common  enemy,  and  to  hinder  his  horses 
from  running  with  the  rest.  It  does  not  aj>])ear  that  any 
regard  was  had  to  this  remonstrance  ;  for  we  find  by  one  of 
Pindar's  odes,  comj>osed  in  honor  of  Hiero,  that  he  won  the 
prize  in  the  equestrian  races.f 

No  one  ever  carried  the  ambition  of  making  a  great  figure 
in  the  public  games  of  Greece  so  far  as  Alcibiades,  in  which 
he  distinguished  himself  in  the  most  splendid  manner,  by  the 
great  number  of  horses  and  cliariots  which  he  kept  only  for 
the  races.  There  never  was  either  private  ])erson  or  king 
that  sent,  as  lie  did,  seven  chariots  at  once  to  the  Olympic 
games,  wherein  he  carried  the  first,  second,  and  third  prizes  ; 
an  honor  no  one  ever  had  before  him.J  The  famous  poet 
Euripides  celebrated  these  victoi'ies  in  an  ode,  of  which  Plu- 
tarch has  preserved  a  fragment  in  Vit.  Alcib.     The  victor, 

*  Plut.  ill  Alex.  p.  666.  t  Pint,  iii  Themist.  p.  124. 

X  Plut.  in  Alcibiad.  p.  196. 


IXTRODUCTTOX.  83 

after  having  made  a  smnptuous  feast  to  .Tn]iitor,  gave  a  mag- 
nificent feast  to  the  innumerable  multitude  of  the  spectators 
at  the  games.  It  is  not  easy  to  comprehend  how  the  wealth 
oi  a  ]n-ivate  person  should  suffice  for  so  enormous  an  ex])ense ; 
but  Antisthenes,  the  scholar  of  Socrates,  who  relates  what 
he  saw,  informs  us,  that  many  cities  of  the  allies,  in  emula- 
tion with  each  other,  supplied  Alcibiades  with  all  things 
necessary  for  the  support  of  such  incredible  magnificence  ; 
equipages,  horses,  tents,  sacrifices,  the  most  exquisite  pro- 
visions, the  most  delicate  wines  ;  in  a  word,  all  that  was 
necessary  to  the  su])port  of  his  table  or  train.  The  passage 
is  remarkable  ;  for  the  same  author  assures  us,  that  this  was 
not  only  done  when  Alcibiades  went  to  the  Olympic  games, 
but  in  all  his  military  expeditions  and  journeys  by  land  or 
sea.  "  Whenever,"  says  he,  '•  Alcibiades  travelled,  he  made 
use  of  four  of  the  allied  cities  as  his  serA-ants.  P^phesus  fur- 
nished him  with  tents,  as  magnificent  as  those  of  the  Persians  ; 
Chios  took  care  to  provide  for  his  horses  ;  Cyzicum  su])])lied 
him  with  sacrifices,  and  provisions  for  his  table  ;  and  Lesbos 
gave  him  wine,  with  all  the  other  necessaries  for  his  house." 
I  must  not  omit,  in  s])eaking  of  the  Olympic  games,  that 
the  ladies  wei*e  admitted  to  dispute  the  ])rize  in  them  as 
well  as  the  men  ;  which  many  of  them  obtained.  Cynisca, 
sister  of  Agesilaus  king  of  Sparta,  first  opened  this  new 
path  of  glory  to  her  sex,  and  Avas  proclaimed  conqueror  in 
tlie  race  of  chariots  with  four  horses.*  This  victory,  which 
till  then  had  no  example,  did  not  fail  of  being  celebrated 
with  all  possible  splendor.f  A  magnificent  monument  was 
erected  in  Sparta  in  honor  of  Cynisca ;  and  the  Lacedaemo- 
nians, though  otherwise  very  little  sensible  to  the  charms  of 
poetry,  ajipointed  a  poet  to  transmit  this  new  trium]>h  to 
posterity,  and  to  immortalize  its  memory  by  an  in.scri]>tion 
in  verse,  t  She  herself  dedicated  a  chariot  of  brass,  drawn 
by  four  horses,  in  the  temple  of  Delphos,  in  which  the 
charioteer  was  also  represented ;  a  certain  proof  that  she 
did  not  drive  it  herself.  §  In  ])rocess  of  time,  the  picture 
of  Cynisca,  drawn  by  the  famous  Apelles,  Avas  annexed  to 
it,  and  the  whole  adorned  Avith  many  inscriptions  in  honor 
of  that  Spartan  heroine.  || 

OF    THK    HONORS    AXD   REAVARDS    GRANTED    TO    TTIE  VICTORS. 

These  honors  and  rewards  Avere  of  several  kinds.     The 

*  Pausau.  1.  iii.  p.  172.  t  Pag.  2S-8.  $  Pag.  172. 

§  Id.  1.  V.  p.  309.  I  Fauean.  1.  vi.  p.  344. 


84  IKTRODUCTION. 

acclamations  of  the  spectators  in  honor  of  the  victors  were 
only  a  prelude  to  the  rewards  desiarned  them.  These  re- 
wards were  different  wreaths  of  wild  oYive,  pine,  parsley, 
or  laurel,  accordins:  to  the  different  places  where  the  gam«s 
were  celebrated.  Those  crowns  were  always  attended  with 
branches  of  palm,  that  the  victors  cari-ied  in  their  right 
hand ;  which  custom,  according  to  Plutarch,  arose,  perhaps, 
from  the  nature  of  the  palm-tree,  which  displays  new  vigor 
the  more  endeavors  are  used  to  crush  or  bend  it,  and  is  a 
symbol  of  the  champion's  courage  and  resistance  in  the  at- 
tainment of  the  prize.*  As  he  might  be  victor  more  than 
once  in  the  same  games,  and  sometimes  on  the  same  day,  he 
might  also  receive  several  crowns  and  palms. 

When  the  victor  had  received  the  crown  and  palm,  a 
herald,  preceded  by  a  trumpet,  conducted  him  through  the 
stadium,  and  proclaimed  aloud  the  name  and  country  of  the 
successful  champion,  who  passed  in  that  kind  of  review  be- 
fore the  people,  while  they  redoubled  their  acclamations  and 
applauses  at  the  sight  of  him. 

When  he  returned  to  his  own  country,  the  people  came 
out  in  a  body  to  meet  him,  and  conducted  him  into  the 
city,  adorned  with  all  the  marks  of  his  victory,  and  riding 
upon  a  chariot  drawn  by  four  horses.  He  made  his  entry, 
not  through  the  gates,  but  through  a  breach  purposely 
made  in  the  walls.  Lighted  torches  were  carried  before 
him,  and  a  numerous  train  followed  to  do  honor  to  the  pro- 
cession. 

The  athletic  triumph  almost  always  concluded  with 
feasts  made  for  the  victors,  their  relations  and  friends,  either 
at  the  expense  of  the  public,  or  by  particular  persons,  who 
regaled  not  only  their  families  and  friends,  but  often  a  great 
part  of  the  spectators.  Alcibiades,  after  having  sacrificed 
to  the  Olympian  Ju]iiter,  which  was  always  the  first  cai-e  of 
the  A'ictor,  treated  the  Avhole  assembly.f  Leo}>hron  did  the 
same,  as  Athenaeus  reports  ;  who  adds,  that  Empedocles  of 
Agrigentum,  haAing  conquered  in  the  same  games,  and  not 
having  it  in  his  powei',  being  a  Pythagorean,  to  regale  the 
people  with  flesh  or  fish,  he  caused  an  ox  to  be  made  of  a 
paste,  comjjosed  of  myrrh,  incense  and  all  sorts  of  spices, 
pieces  of  which  were  given  to  every  person  present. t 

One  of  the  most  honorable  privileges  granted  to  the 
athletic  victors,  was  the  right  of  precedence  at  the  public 
games.     At   Sparta  it  was  a  custom  for  the  king  to  take 

•Sympos.  1.  viii.  quseat.  4.  t  riut.  in  Alcib.  p.  196.  t  Lib.  i.  p.  3. 


INTRODUCTION.  85 

them  with  him  in  military  expeditions,  to  fight  near  liis  per- 
son, and  to  be  his  guard;  whicli,  with  reason,  was  ju<lged 
very  honorable.  Another  jtrivilege,  in  which  advantage 
was  united  with  honor,  was  that  of  being  maintained  for 
the  rest  of  their  lives  at  the  expense  of  their  country.* 
That  this  charge  might  not  become  too  expensive  to  the 
state,  Solon  reduced  the  pension  of  a  victor  in  the  Olympic 
games  to  five  hundred  drachms ;  f  in  the  Isthmian  to  a  hun- 
dred ;  t  <^rid  in  the  rest  in  proportion.  The  victor  and  his 
country  considered  this  pension  less  as  a  relief  of  the  cham- 
])ion's  indigence,  than  as  a  mark  of  honor  and  distinction. 
They  were  also  exempted  from  all  civil  offices  and  em- 
ployments. 

The  celebration  of  the  games  being  over,  one  of  the  first 
cares  of  the  magistrates  Avho  presided  in  them,  Avas  to  inscribe, 
in  the  public  register,  the  name  and  country  of  the  athleto9 
who  had  carried  the  ]>rizes,  and  to  annex  the  species  of  com- 
b.it  in  which  they  had  been  victorious.  The  chariot-race 
h  id  the  ])reference  over  all  other  games.  From  whence 
the  historians,  who  date  occurrences  by  the  Olympiads,  as 
Thucydides,  Dionysius  of  Halicarnassus,  Diodorus  Siculus, 
and  Pausanias,  almost  always  ex])ress  the  Olympiad  by  the 
name  and  country  of  the  victors  in  that  race. 

The  praises  of  the  victorious  athletae  were,  among  the 
Greeks,  one  of  the  principal  subjects  of  the  lyric  poetry. 
We  find  that  all  the  odes  of  the  four  books  of  Pindar  turn 
upon  it,  each  of  which  takes  its  title  from  the  games,  in 
which  the  combatants  signalized  themselves  Avhose  victories 
those  poems  celebrate.  The  poet,  indeed,  frequently  en- 
riches his  matter,  by  calling  into  the  champion's  assistance, 
incapable  alone  of  inspiring  all  the  enthusiam  necessary, 
the  aid  of  the  gods,  heroes,  and  princes,  who  have  any  re- 
1  ition  to  his  subject ;  and  to  support  the  flights  of  imagina- 
tion, to  which  he  abandons  himself.  Before  Pindar,  the 
poet  Simonides  practised  the  same  manner  of  writing,  in- 
termingling the  praises  of  the  gods  and  heroes,  with  those 
of  the  chami)ions  whose  victories  he  sang.  It  is  related, 
upon  this  head,  that  one  of  the  victors  in  boxing,  called 
Scopas,  having  agreed  with  Simonides  for  a  poem  ujion  his 
victory,  the  poet,  according  to  custom,  after  having  given 
the  highest  praises  to  the  cham]>ion,  expatiated  in  a  long 
digression  to  the  honor  of  Castor  and   Pollux. §     Scopas, 

*  Diog.  Laert.  in  Solon,  p.  37.  t  About  $47.  t  About  $9. 

§  Cic.  Orat,  1.  ii.  n.  352,  353.    Phsed.  1.  ii.  Fab.  24.    Quintil.  1.  xi.  c.  2. 


86  INTRODUCTION 

satisfied  in  appearance  M'ith  the  performance  of  Simonides, 
paid  him,  however,  only  tlie  third  ])art  of  tlie  sum  aji:reed 
on,  referring  him  for  the  remainder  to  the  Tyndarides,  whom 
he  had  celebrated  so  well.  And  in  fact  he  was  well  paid 
by  them,  if  we  may  believe  the  sequel :  for,  at  the  feast 
given  by  the  cham])ion,  while  the  guests  wei-e  at  table,  a 
servant  came  to  Simonides,  and  told  him,  that  two  men, 
covered  with  dust  and  sweat,  were  at  the  door,  and  desired 
to  speak  with  him  in  all  haste.  He  had  scarce  set  his  foot- 
out  of  the  chamber,  in  order  to  go  to  them,  when  the  roof 
fell  in,  and  crushed  the  champion  with  all  his  guests  to 
death. 

Sculpture  united  with  poetry  to  perpetuate  tlie  fame  of 
the  champions.  Statues  were  erected  to  the  victors,  espe- 
ciidly  in  the  Olympic  games,  in  the  very  place  where  they 
had  been  crowned,  and  sometimes  in  that  of  their  birth 
also ;  which  was  commonly  done  at  the  e\'])ense  of  their 
country.  Among  the  statues  which  adorned  Olympia,  were 
those  of  several  children  of  ten  or  twelve  years  old,  who 
had  obtained  the  ])rize  at  that  age  in  the  01ym]>ic  games. 
They  did  not  only  raise  such  monuments  to  the  champions, 
but  to  the  very  horses  to  whose  swiftness  they  were  indebted 
for  the  agonistic  crown  ;  and  Pausanias  mentions  one,  which 
was  erected  in  honor  of  a  mare,  called  Aura,  whose  history 
is  worth  repenting.  Phidolas,  her  rider,  liaving  fallen  off 
in  the  beginning  of  the  race,  the  mare  continued  to  run  in 
the  same  manner  as  if  he  had  been  upon  her  back.  She 
outstrip])ed  all  the  rest,  and  upon  the  sound  of  the  trumpets, 
which  was  usual  towards  the  end  of  the  race  to  animate  the 
competitors,  she  re<k;  ibled  her  vigor  and  courage,  turned 
round  the  goal ;  and,  as  if  she  had  been  sensible  that  she 
had  gained  the  victory,  presented  herself  before  the  judges 
of  the  games.  The  Eleans  declared  Phidolas  victor,  with 
permission  to  erect  a  monument  to  himself,  and  the  mare 
that  had  served  him  so  well.  * 

THE     DIFFERENT    TASTE    OF     THE    GREEKS    AND    ROMANS,    IN 
REGARD    TO    PUI5LIC    SHOWS. 

Before  I  make  an  end  of  these  remarks  u]ion  the  com- 
bats and  games,  so  much  in  estimation  among  the  Gi-eeks,  I 
beg  the  i*eader's  jx'rmission  to  make  a  reflection  Avhich  may 
serve  to  explain  the  difference  of  character  between  the 
Greeks  and  Romans  with  regard  to  this  subject. 

•  Lib.  vi.  p.  368. 


INTRODUCTION".  87 

The  most  common  entertainment  of  tlio  latter,  at  wlileli 
tlie.  fair  sex,  by  nature  tender  and  compassionate,  were  ])res- 
ent  in  throngs,  was  tlie  combats  of  the  ghidiators,  and  of 
men  Avitli  hears  and  lions  ;  in  Avhich  the  cries  of  the  wounded 
and  dying,  and  tlie  abundant  effusion  of  human  blood,  su])- 
])lied  the  grateful  spectacle  for  a  whole  people,  who  feasted 
their  cruel  eyes  with  the  savage  pleasure  of  seeing  men 
murder  one  another  in  cool  blood  ;  and  in  the  times  of  the 
persecutions,  with  the  tearing  in  pieces  of  old  men  and  in- 
fants, of  Avomen  and  tender  virgins,  whose  age  and  weak- 
ness are  apt  to  excite  compassion  in  the  hardest  hearts. 

In  Greece  these  combats  were  absolutely  unknown,  and 
were  only  introduced  into  some  cities,  after  their  sul)jection 
to  the  Roman  people.  The  Athenians,  however,  whose 
distinguishing  characteristics  were  benevolence  and  human- 
ity, never  admitted  them  into  their  city;  *  and  when  it  Avas 
proposed  to  introduce  the  cond^ats  of  the  gladiators,  th;it 
they  might  not  be  outdone  by  the  Corinthians  in  that  point, 
First  throio  down,  cried  out  an  Athenian  f  from  the  midst 
of  the  assembly,  the  altar  erected  above  a  thousand  years 
ago  by  our  ancestors  to  Mercy. 

It  must  be  allowed  in  this  respect,  that  the  conduct  and 
wisdom  of  the  Greeks  was  infinitely  superior  to  that  of  the 
Komans.  I  speak  of  the  wisdom  of  pagans.  Convinced 
that  the  multitude,  too  much  governed  by  the  objects  of 
sense  to  be  sufficiently  amused  and  entertained  with  the 
])leasures  of  the  understanding,  could  be  delighted  only 
with  sensible  objects,  both  nations  were  studious  to  divert 
them  with  games  and  shoAvs,  and  such  external  contri\ances 
as  Avere  jn-oper  to  affect  the  senses.  In  the  institution  of 
Avhich,  each  evinced  and  followed  its  peculiar  genius  and 
disposition. 

The  Komans,  educated  in  war,  and  accustomed  to  bat- 
tles, retained  notwithstandiiig  the  politeness  upon  Avhich 
they  i)iqued  themselves,  something  of  their  ancient  ferocity  ; 
and  hence  it  was,  that  the  effusion  of  blood,  and  the  mur- 
ders exhibited  in  their  public  shows,  far  from  inspiring  them 
with  horror,  formed  a  grateful  entertainment  to  them. 

The  insolent  ])omp  of  trium])hs  floAved  from  the  same 
source,  and  argued  no  less  inhumanity.  To  obtain  this 
honor,  it  Avas  necessary  to  prove,  that  eight  or  ten  thousand 
men  at  least  had  been   killed   in  battle.     The  spoils,  Avhich 

*  Lucian.  in  A^it.  Di^monact.  p.  1014. 

t  It  was  Demonax,  a  celebraied  philosopher,  whose  disciple  Lueiau  had  been. 
He  flourished  iu  the  reign  of  Marcus  Aurelius. 


88  INTEODUCTIOX. 

were  carried  witli  so  much  ostentation,  proclaimed,  that  an 
infinity  of  worthy  famihes  had  been  reduced  to  the  utmost 
misery.  The  innumerable  troop  of  captives  had  Ijeen  free 
persons  a  few  days  before,  and  were  often  distinguishable 
for  honor,  merit,  and  vii'tue.  The  representation  of  the 
towns  that  had  been  taken  in  the  war,  explained  that  they  had 
sacked,  plundered,  and  burnt  the  most  opulent  cities,  and 
either  destroyed,  or  enslaved  their  inhabitants.  In  fine, 
nothing  was  more  inhuman  than  to  drag  kings  and  princes 
in  chains  before  the  chariot  of  a  Roman  citizen,  and  to  in- 
sult their  misfortunes  and  humiliation  in  that  public  manner. 

The  triumphal  arches,  erected  during  the  reign  of  the 
emperors,  where  the  enemies  appeared  with  chains  upon 
their  hands  and  legs,  could  proceed  only  from  a  haughty 
fierceness  of  disposition,  and  an  inhuman  pride,  that  took 
delight  in  immortalizing  the  shame  and  sorroAv  of  subjected 
nations.* 

The  joy  of  the  Greeks  after  a  victory  was  far  more 
modest.  They  erected  trophies  indeed,  but  of  wood,  a  sub- 
stance Avhich  time  would  soon  consume ;  and  these  it  was 
prohibited  to  renew,  Plutarch's  reason  for  tliis  is  admir- 
able. After  time  had  destroyed  and  obliterated  the  marks 
of  dissension  and  enmity  that  had  divided  the  ])eople,  it 
would  have  been  the  excess  of  odious  and  barbarous  animos- 
ity to  have  thought  of  re-establishing  them,  and  to  have 
perpetuated  the  remembrance  of  ancient  quarrels,  which 
could  not  be  buried  too  soon  in  silence  and  oblivion.  He 
adds,  that  the  trophies  of  stone  and  brass  since  substituted 
for  those  of  wood,  reflect  no  honor  upon  those  who  intro- 
duced the  custom. t 

I  am  pleased  with  the  grief  depicted  on  Agesilaus's 
countenance,  after  a  considerable  victory,  wherein  a  great 
number  of  his  enemies,  that  is  to  say,  of  Greeks,  were  left 
upon  the  field,  and  to  hear  him  utter,  with  sighs  and  groans, 
these  words,  so  full  of  moderation  and  humanity,  "  Oh  !  un- 
happy Greece,  to  deprive  thyself  of  so  many  brave  citizens, 
and  to  destroy  those  who  had  been  sufficient  to  Conquer  all 
the  barbarians. I  " 

The  same  spirit  of  moderation  and  humanity  prevailed 
in  the  public  shows  of  the  Greeks.  Their  festivals  had 
nothing  mournful  or  afiiictive  in  them.     Every  thing  in  those 

*  Plut.  in  Quaest.  Rom.  p.  273. 

t  "On  ToO  XP^"^  Td  (Titixda  T^?  rrpbs  tovs  nOXeniov;  £ia<^opas  anoLVpoiivTov  avTovf 
U,va.^aLu6dveiv  (tat  Kaivoirof^v  firi.4>66vov  iar^  Kat  ^iKaiTf\9itiJ.ov. 

t  Plut.  in  Lacon.  Apophthegm,  p.  211. 


INTRODUCTION.  89 

feasts  tended  to  delight,  friendship  and  harmony ;  and  in 
that  consisted  one  of  the  greatest  advantages  which  resulted 
to  Greece  from  the  solemnization  of  these  games.  The  re- 
publics, separated  by  distance  of  country  and  diversity  of 
interests,  having  the  opportunity  of  meeting  from  time  to 
time  in  the  same  place,  and  in  the  midst  of  rejoicing  and 
festivity,  allied  more  strictly  with  one  another,  stimulated 
each  other  against  the  barbarians  and  the  common  enemies 
of  their  liberty,  and  made  up  their  differences  by  the  media- 
tion of  some  neutral  state  in  alliance  with  them.  The  same 
language,  manners,  sacrifices,  exercises,  and  worship,  all 
"conspired  to  unite  the  several  little  states  of  Greece  into  one 
great  and  formidable  nation,  and  to  preserve  among  them 
the  same  disposition,  the  same  principles,  the  same  zeal  for 
their  liberty,  and  the  same  fondness  for  the  arts  and  sci- 
ences. 

OF  THE  PRIZES  OP  WIT,  AND  THE  SHOWS  AND  REPRESEN- 
TATIONS OF  THE  THEATRE. 

I  have  reserved  for  the  conclusion  of  this  head  another 
kind  of  competition,  which  does  not  at  all  depend  upon  the 
strength,  activity,  and  address  of  the  body,  and  may  be 
called  with  reason  the  combat  of  the  mind  ;  wherein  the 
orators,  historians,  and  poets,  made  trial  of  their  capacities, 
and  submitted  their  productions  to  the  censure  and  judg- 
ment of  the  public.  The  emulation  in  this  sort  of  dispute 
was  most  lively  and  ardent,  as  the  victory  in  question  might 
justly  be  deemed  to  be  infinitely  superior  to  all  the  others, 
because  it  affects  the  man  more  nearly,  is  founded  on  his 
personal  and  internal  qualities,  and  decides  the  merit  of  his 
wit  and  capacity  ;  which  are  advantages  we  are  apt  to  aspire 
at  with  the  utmost  vivacity  and  passion,  and  of  which  we 
are  least  of  all  inclined  to  renounce  the  glory  to  others. 

It  was  a  great  honor,  and  at  the  same  time  a  most  sen- 
sible pleasure,  for  writers  who  are  generally  fond  of  fame  and 
applause,  to  have  known  how  to  unite  in  their  favor  the  suf- 
frages of  so  numerous  and  select  an  assembly  as  that  of  the 
Olympic  games,  in  which  were  present  all  the  finest  geniuses 
of  Greece,  and  all  the  best  judges  of  the  excellency  of  a 
work.  This  theatre  was  equally  open  to  history,  eloquence, 
and  poetry. 

Herodotus  read  his  history  £rt;»the  Olympic  games  to  all 
Greece,  assembled  at  .them,  and  was  heard  with  such  ap- 


90  INTRODUCTION. 

plause,  that  the  names  of  tlie  nine  Muses  were  given  to  the 
nine  books  which  compose  his  work,  and  tlie  i)eoi»le  cried 
out  wherever  he  passed,  That  is  he  who  lias  lorittan  our 
history^  and  celebrated  our  glorious  successes  against  the 
barbarians  so  excellently.* 

All  who  had  been  present  at  tlie  games  afterwards  made 
every  part  of  Greece  resound  with  the  name  and  glory  of 
this  illustrious  historian. 

Lueian,  who  writes  the  fact  I  have  related,  adds,  that 
after  the  example  of  Herodotus,  many  of  the  sophists  and 
rhetoricians  went  to  Olympia  to  read  the  harangues  of 
their  composing ;  finding  that  to  be  the  shortest  and  most 
certain  method  of  acquiring  a  great  reputation  in  a  little 
time. 

Plutarch  observes,  that  Lysias,  the  famous  Athenian 
orator,  contemporary  with  Herodotus,  pronounced  a  speech 
in  the  Olympic  games,  Avherein  he  congratulated  the  Greeks 
upon  their  reconciliation  with  each  other,  and  their  having 
united  to  reduce  the  power  of  Dionysius  the  tyrant,  as  upon 
the  greatest  action  they  had  ever  done.f 

We  may  judge  of  the  passion  of  the  poets  to  signalize 
themselves  in  these  solemn  games,  from  that  of  Dionysius 
himself. t  That  prince,  who  had  the  foolish  vanity  to  believe 
himself  the  most  excellent  poet  of  his  time,  appointed  read- 
ers, called  in  the  Greek  '^o'/c'-w  >»/;  {rhapsodists)^  to  read 
several  pieces  of  liis  composing  at  Olympia.  When  they 
began  to  pronounce  the  verses  of  the  royal  poet,  the  strong 
and  harmonious  voices  of  the  readers  occasioned  a  profound 
silence,  and  they  were  heard  at  fii'st  with  the  greatest  atten- 
tion, which  continually  decreased  as  they  went  on,  and 
turned  at  last  into  downright  horse-laughs  and  hooting ;  so 
miserable  did  the  verses  appear.  He  comfortetl  himself  for 
this  disgrace  by  a  victory  lie  gained  some  time  after  in  the 
feast  of  Bacchus,  at  Athens,  at  which  he  caused  a  tragedy 
of  his  composition  to  be  represented. § 

The  disputes  of  the  poets  in  the  Olympic  games  were 
nothing  in  comparison  with  the  ardor  and  emulation  that 
prevailed  at  Athens  ;  which  is  what  remains  to  be  said  upon 
this  subject,  and  therefore  I  shall  conclude  with  it ;  taking 
occasion  to  give  my  readers,  at  the  same  time,  a  short  view 
of  the  shows  and  representations  of  the  theatre  of  the  an- 
cients.    Those  who  would  be  more  fully  informed   on   this 

*  Lncian.  in  Herod,  p.  622.  t  Plut.  de  Vit.  Orat.  p.  836- 

t  Diod.  1.  xiv.  p.  318.  §  Ibid.  1.  XV.  p.  384. 


IN"TRODUCTIO>r.  91 

subjeot,  will  find  it  treated  at  lai-ge  in  a  work  lately  made 
public  by  the  reverend  fatlier  Ijrunioi,  the  Jesuit ;  a  work 
Avhieh  abounds  with  ])rofound  knowledge  and  erudition, 
and  with  reflections  entirely  new,  deduced  from  the  njiture 
of  the  poems  of  which  it  treats.  I  shall  make  considerable 
use  of  that  work,  and  often  without  citing  it ;  which  is  not 
uncommon  with  me. 

EXTRAORDINARY    PASSION    OF    THE    ATHENIANS    FOR    THE  EN- 
TERTAINMENTS OF  THE  STAGE, EMULATION  OF  THE  POETS 

IN  DISPUTING  THE  PRIZES  OF  THOSE  REPRESENTATIONS. 

A  SHORT  IDEA  OF  DRAMATIC  POETRY. 

No  people  ever  expressed  so  much  ardor  and  eagerness 
for  tlie  entertainments  of  the  theatre  as  the  Greeks,  and 
especially  the  Athenians.  The  reason  is  obvious  ;  no  people 
ever  demonstrated  such  extent  of  genius,  nor  carried  so  far 
the  love  of  eloquence  and  poesy,  taste  for  the  sciences,  just- 
ness of  sentiment,  correctness  of  ear,  and  delicacy  in  all  the 
refinements  of  language.  A  ]>oor  woman  who  sold  herbs  at 
Athens,  discovered  Theophrastus  to  be  a  stranger,  by  a  sin- 
gle word  which  he  affectedly  made  use  of  in  expressing 
himself.*  The  common  ])eople  got  the  tragedies  of  Euri])- 
ides  by  heart.  The  genius  of  every  nation  ex}»resses  itself 
in  the  people's  manner  of  ])assing  their  time,  and  in  their 
pleasures.  The  great  em])loyment  and  delight  of  the  Athe- 
nians wei'e  to  amuse  themselves  with  works  of  Avit,  and  to 
judge  of  the  dramatic  pieces  that  were  acted  by  public 
authority  several  times  a  year,  especially  at  the  feasts  of 
Bacchus,  when  the  tragic  and  comic  poets  dis))uted  for  the 
prize.  The  former  used  to  jiresent  four  of  their  pieces  at  a 
time,  except  Soj^hocles,  who  did  not  think  fit  to  contuiue  so 
laborious  an  exercise,  and  confined  himself  to  one  perform- 
ance when  he  disputed  the  prize. 

The  state  appointed  judges,  to  determine  upon  the  merit 
of  the  tragic  or  comic  pieces,  before  they  were  represented 
in  the  festivals.  Tiiey  were  acted  befoi-e  them  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  peo])le,  but  undoubtedly  with  no  great  prepara- 
tion. The  judges  gave  their  suffrages,  and  that  performance 
which  had  the  most  voices  was  declared  victorious,  received 
the  crown  as  such,  and  was  represented  with  all   possible 

*  Attica  anus  Theophrastuni,  lioinijiem  aUoqiii  tlisertissimuiii,  aniiotata  uniu8 
alIecta,tioue  verbi,  hospitem  dixit, — Quint,  1.  viii.  c.  1. 


92  IXTBODUCTIOX. 

pomp  at  the  exp'^nse  of  tlie  republic.  This  did  not,  liowever, 
exclude  such  pieces  as  were  only  in  the  second  or  tliii'd  class. 
The  best  had  not  always  the  preference  ;  for  what  times  liave 
been  exempt  from  p.'.riy,  caprice,  ignorance,  and  prejudice  ? 
-^Elian  is  very  angry  with  the  judges,  Avho  in  one  of  these 
disputes,  gave  only  the  second  place  to  Euripides.  He  ac- 
cuses them  of  judging  either  without  capacity  or  of  suffering 
themselves  to  be  bribed.*  It  is  easy  to  conceive  the  warmth 
and  emulation  which  these  disj^utes  and  public  rewards  ex- 
cited among  the  poets,  and  how  much  they  contributed  to 
the  perfection  to  which  Greece  carried  scenic  performances. 

The  dramatic  poem  introduces  the  persons  themselves, 
speaking  and  acting  upon  the  stage ;  in  the  e)>ic,  on  the 
contrary,  the  poet  only  relates  the  different  ad\entures  of 
Ids  characters.  It  is  natural  to  be  delighted  with  fine  de- 
scriptions of  events,  in  which  illustrious  persons,  and  whole 
nations  are  interested  ;  and  hence  the  epic  poem  had  its 
origin.  But  we  are  quite  differently  affected  with  hearing 
those  persons  themselves,  with  being  confidants  of  their  most 
secret  sentiments,  and  auditors  and  spectators  of  their  reso- 
lutions, enter])rises,  and  the  happy  or  unhap])y  events  attend- 
ing them.  To  read  and  see  an  action  are  quite  different 
tilings.  We  are  infinitely  more  moved  wnth  what  is  acted, 
than  what  we  merely  read.  Our  eyes,  as  well  as  our  minds, 
are  addressed  at  the  same  time.  The  spectator  agreeably 
deceived  by  an  imitation  so  nearly  approaching  life,  mis- 
takes the  pictin-e  for  the  original,  and  thinks  the  object  real. 
This  gave  birth  to  dramatic  poeti-y,  which  includes  tragedy 
and  comedy. 

To  these  may  be  added  the  satyric  poem,  which  derives 
its  name  from  the  satyrs,  rural  gods,  who  were  always  the 
chief  characters  in  it,  and  not  from  the  satire^  a  kind  of 
abusive  poetry,  which  has  no  resemblance  to  this,  and  is  of 
a  much  later  date.  The  satyric  poem  was  neither  tragedy 
nor  comedy,  but  something  between  both,  partici])ating  of 
the  character  of  each.  The  poets  w^ho  disputed  the  ju-ize, 
generally  added  one  of  these  pieces  to  their  tragedies,  to 
allay  the  gravity  and  solemnity  of  the  one,  with  the  mirth 
and  pleasantry  of  the  other.  There  is  but  one  example  of 
this  ancient  poem  come  down  to  us,  which  is  the  Cyclops  of 
Euripides. 

I  shall  confine  myself  upon  this  liead,  to  tragedy  and 

*  ^Eliau.  1.  ii.  e.  9. 


IXTRODUCTIOJf.  93 

comedy,  both  which  liad  their  origin  among  the  Greeks, 
who  looked  upon  them  as  fruits  of  their  own  growth,  of 
which  they  could  never  have  enough.  Athens  was  remark- 
able for  an  extraordinary  a]>petite  of  this  kind.  These  two 
poems,  which  Avere  for  a  long  time  comprised  under  the 
general  name  of  tragedy,  received  there  by  degrees  such 
improvements  as  at  length  raised  them  to  the  highest  per- 
fection. 

THE  ORIGIX  AND  PROGRESS  OF  TRAGEDY POETS  WHO  EX- 
CELLED IX  IT  AT  ATHEXS  ;  .ESCHYLUS,  SOPHOCLES,  AXD 
EURIPIDES. 

There  had  been  many  tragic  and  comic  poets  before 
Thespis ;  but  as  they  had  made  no  alteration  in  the  original 
rude  form  of  this  poem,  and  as  Thespis  was  the  first  that 
made  any  improvement  in  it,  he  was  generally  esteemed  its 
inventor.  Before  him,  tragedy  was  no  more  than  a  jumble 
of  buffoon  tales  in  the  comic  style,  intermixed  with  the 
singing  of  a  chorus  in  ]jraise  of  Bacchus  ;  for  it  is  to  the 
feasts  of  that  god,  celebrated  at  the  time  of  the  vintage, 
that  tragedy  owes  its  birth. 

La  tragedie,  informe  et  grossiere  en  naissant, 

N'etoiiqu'  un  simple  chfuur,  ou  chacuii  en  dansant, 

Et  du  dieu  des  raisin.s  entonant  les  louanges 

S'elTorcolt  d'attirerde  fertiles  vendanges. 

La,  le  vin  et  la  joieeveillant  les  esprits, 

Du  i)lus  habile  chantre  uu  bouc  etoit  le  prix.* 

Formless  and  gross  did  tragedy  arise. 
A  simple  choius,  ratlier  mad  tlian  wise  ; 
For  fruitful  vintases  the  dancing  throng 
Koar'd  to  the  God  of  grapes  a  drunken  song  : 
Wild  mirth  and  wine  sustain'd  the  frantic  note. 
And  the  best  singer  had  the  prize,  a  goat. 

Thespis  made  several  alterations  in  it,  which  Horace  de- 
scribes after  Aristotle,  in  his  Art  of  Poetry.  The  first  was 
to  carry  his  actors  about  in  a  cart,  whereas  before,  they 
used  to  sing  in  the  streets,  wherever  chance  led  them. 
Another  was,  *to  have  their  faces  smeared  over  with  wine- 
lees,  instead  of  acting  without  disguise,  as  at  first,  f     He 

*  Boileau  Art.  Poet.  Chant,  iii . 

t  Ignotum  traglcte  genus  invenisse  Camenae 

Didtur.  et  pTaust  is  vexisse  poemata  Thespis, 
Qui  cancrent  agerentque,  peruncti  fajcibusora. 

Hor.  de  Art.  Poet. 

Wlien  Thespin  first  expos'd  the  ti-agic  muse, 
Rude  were  ih*'  actors,  and  a  cart  the  scene  ; 
Where  ghastly  faces,  ^mpar'rt  with  lees  of  wine, 
Frighted  the  children,  and  amused  the  crowd. 

Roscom.  Art  of  Poet, 


94  INTRODUCTIOX. 

also  introduced  a  character  among  tlie  cliorns,  who,  to  give 
the  actors  time  to  rest  themselves  and  to  take  breath,  re- 
peated the  adventures  of  some  illustrious  person  ;  which 
recital  at  length  gave  place  to  the  subjects  of  tragedy. 

Thespis  fut  le  premier,  qui  barbouillfJ  tie  lie, 
Proniiiiia  par  les  boiir^  celte  lieuiei:se  folii^, 
Et  d'aoteiirs  mal  orues  cbargeaiit  uii  toinbercau, 
Amusa  les  passaiis  d'un  spectacle  iiouveau." 

First  Thespis,  smearM  with  lee?,  and  void  of  art, 

The  grateful  folly  vented  from  a  cart; 

All  1  as  ;.is  tawdry  act<i:8  drove  about, 

The  sight  was  new  and  charmed  the  gaping  rout. 

Thespis  lived  in  the  time  of  Solon.f  That  wise  legis- 
lator, upon  seeing  his  pieces  performed,  expressed  his  dis- 
like, by  striking  his  staff  against  the  ground  ;  ajjprehending 
that  these  poetical  fictions,  and  idle  stories,  from  mere 
theatrical  representations,  would  soon  become  matters  of 
importance,  and  have  too  great  a  share  in  all  public  and 
private  affairs. 

It  is  not  so  easy  to  invent  as  to  improve  the  inventions 
of  others.  The  alterations  Thespis  made  in  tragedy  gave 
room  for  ^schylus  to  make  new  and  more  considerable 
ones  of  his  own.  He  was  born  at  Athens  in  the  fii-st  year 
of  the  sixteenth  Olympiad.!  He  took  upon  him  the  pro- 
fession of  arms,  at  a  time  when  the  Athenians  reckoned 
almost  as  many  heroes  as  citizens.  He  was  at  the  battles 
of  Marathon,  Salamis,  and  Plataea,  where  lie  did  his  duty. 
But  his  disposition  called  him  elsewhere,  and  ])ut  him  upon 
entering  into  another  course,  where  no  less  glory  was  to  be 
acquired,  and  where  he  was  soon  without  any  competitors.§ 
As  a  superior  genius,  he  took  upon  him  to  reform,  or  rather 
to  create  tragedy  anew  ;  of  Avhicli  he  has,  in  conseqiience, 
been  always  acknowledged  the  inventor  and  father.  Father 
Brumoi,  in  a  dissertation  which  abounds  with  wit  and  good 
sense,  ex])lains  the  manner  in  which  JEschylus  conceived 
the  true  idea  of  tragedy  from  Homer's  epic. poems.  That 
poet  himself  used  to  say,  that  his  Avorks  were  only  copies 
in  relievo  of  Homer's  draughts,  in  the  Iliad  and  Odyssey. 

Tragedy,  therefore,  took  a  new  form  under  him.  He 
gave  masks  to  his  actors,  adorned  them  Avith  robes  and 
trains,  and  made  them  wear  buskins.  Instead  of  a  cart  he 
created  a  theatre  of  modern  extent,  and  entirely  changed 

*  Boileau  Art.  Poet.  Chant,  iii. 

t  A.  M.  3440.    Ant.  J.  C.  564.    Plut  in  Symp.  p.  95- 

t  A.M.  3464.    Ant.  J.  C.  540.  §  A.  M.  3514.    Aut.J.  C.490. 


INTRODUCTION.  05 

their  style  ;  which  from  being  merry  and  burlesque,  as  at 
first,  became  majestic  and  serious.  * 

Eschyle  dans  le  chfeur  jetta  les  personages  ; 
D'un  masque  plushouuete  habilla  les  visages; 
Siir  les  ais  d'un  theatre  en  public  exliausse 
Fit  paroitre  Tacteurd'uu  brodequin  chausse.t 

Frojn  ^I^schylustbe  chorus  learnt  new  grace  ; 
He  veil'd  with  decent  masks  the  actors  face, 
Taught  him  in  buskins  first  to  tread  the  stage, 
And  rais'd  a  theatre  to  please  the  age. 

But  that  Avas  only  the  external  part  or  body  of  tragedy. 
Its  soul,  which  was  the  most  important  and  essential  addi- 
tion of  ^schylus,  consisted  in  the  vivacity  and  spirit  of  the 
action,  sustained  by  the  dialogue  of  the  persons  of  the 
drama  introduced  by  him  ;  in  the  artful  working  up  of  the 
stronger  passions,  especially  of  terror  and  pity,  that,  by  al- 
ternately afflicting  and  agitating  the  soul  with  mournful  or 
terrible  objects,  produce  a  grateful  pleasure  and  deliglit 
from  that  very  trouble  and  emotion ;  in  the  choice  of  a  sul)- 
ject,  great,  noble,  interesting,  and  contained  within  the  true 
bounds  by  the  unity  of  time,  place,  and  action  ;  in  fine,  it  is 
the  conduct  and  disposition  of  the  whole  ])iece,  which  by 
the  order  and  harmony  of  its  parts,  and  the  happy  con- 
nection of  its  incidents  and  intrigues,  holds  the  mind  of 
the  spectator  in  suspense  till  the  catastroj)he,  and  then  re- 
stores him  his  tranquillity,  and  dismisses  him  with  satis- 
faction. 

Tlie  chorus  had  been  established  before  vEschylus,  as  it 
composed  alone,  or  next  to  alone,  what  was  tlien  called 
tragedy.  He  did  not,  therefore,  exclude  it,  but,  on  the  con- 
trary, thought  fit  to  incorporate  it,  to  sing  as  chorus  between 
the  acts.  Thus  it  sujiplied  the  interval  of  resting,  and  was 
a  kind  of  person  of  tlie  drama,  employed  either  in  giving 
useful  counsels  and  salutary  instructions,  in  espousing  the 
part  of  innocence  and  virtue,  in  being  the  de])ository  of 
secrets,  and  the  avenger  of  violated  religion,  or  in  sustain- 
ing all  those  characters  at  the  same  time,  according  to  Hor- 

*  Post  hunc  personse  palloeqne  repertor  honestis 

jEschylus,  et  uiodicis  instravit  jiulpita  lii;nis, 
Et  docuit  niagnumque  loqui,  nitique  cothurno. 

iior.  de  Art.  Poet. 

This  .Eschylus  (with  indignation)  saw. 

And  built  ii  stage,  lound  out  a  decent  dress, 

lirouglit  vizanls  in  ^acivi]er  disguise,) 

And  taught  men  how  to  speak,  and  how  to  act. 

Roscom.  Art  of  Poet, 
t  Boileau  Art.  Poet. 


9(5  IXTUODUCTIOX. 

ace.*  The  coryphasus,  or  principal  person  of  the  chorus, 
spoke  for  the  re^<t. 

In  one  of  ^Eschyhis's  pieces,  called  the  Enmenides,  the 
poet  represents  Orestes  at  the  bottom  of  the  stnge,  sur- 
rounded by  the  furies,  laid  asleep  by  Apollo.  Their  figure 
must  have  been  extremely  liorrible,  as  it  is  related,  that 
upon  their  waking,  and  appearing  tunuiltuously  on  the  thea- 
tre, where  they  were  to  act  as  a  chorus,  some  women  mis- 
carried with  surprise,  and  several  children  di"d  of  the 
fright.  The  chorus  at  that  time  consisted  of  fifty  actoi's. 
After  this  accident  it  was  reduced  to  fifteen,  by  an  express 
law,  and  at  lengtli  to  twelve. 

I  have  observed,  that  one  of  the  alterations  made  by 
^schylus  in  tragedy,  was  the  mask  worn  by  the  actors. 
These  dramatic  masks  had  no  resemblance  to  ours,  which 
only  cover  the  face,  but  were  a  kind  of  case  for  the  wliole 
head,  and  which,  besides  the  features,  represented  the  beard, 
the  hair,  the  ears,  and  even  tlie  ornaments  used  by  women 
in  their  head-dresses.  These  masks  varied  according  to  the 
different  pieces  that  were  acted.  They  are  treated  of  at 
large  in  a  dissertation  of  M.  Boindin's,  inserted  in  the  Me- 
moirs of  the  Academy  of  Belles  Letters.f 

I  could  never  comprehend,  as  I  have  observed  else- 
where,t  in  speaking  of  pronunciation,  how  masks  came  to 
continue  so  long  upon  the  stage  of  the  ancients  ;  for  cer- 
tainly they  could  not  be  used,  without  considerably  flatten- 
ing the  spirit  of  the  action,  which  is  principally  expressed 
in  the  countenance,  the  seat  and  mirror  of  what  passes  in 
the  soul.     Does  it  not  often  hapijen,  that  the  blood,  accord- 

Actoris  partes  chorus  offleiunique  virile 
Defeiulat ;  aieu  quid  inedios  iuterciiiat  actus, 
Quod  lion  proposito  conducat,  et  hiereat  apte. 
lile  btiiiis  faveatque,  et  coiicilietur  amiois, 
Etreuat  iratos.  et  aniet  peccare  tinieiites. 
Ille  dapes  laudet  mensse  brevis  :  ille  salubrem 
Juatitiaui,  iegesque,  et  apertis  otiu  portis. 
Ille  tegat  conimissa.  deosque  pveeetur  et  oret, 
Ut  redeat  niiseris,  abeat  fortuiia  .".upeibis. 

Hor.  de  Art.  Poet 

The  chorus  should  supply  what  action  wants, 
And  bath  a  generous  and" manly  pait : 
Bridles  wild  rage,  love;*  rigid  honesty. 
And  strict  observaneo  of  impartial  laws, 
Sobriety,  security  and  peace  : 
And  begs  the  gods  to  turn  blind  fortunes  wheel. 
To  raise  the  wretched,  and  pull  down  the  proud  ; 
But  nothing  muS',  be  sung  between  theacts, 
But  what  some  way  conduces  to  the  plot. 

Roscom.  Art  of  Poetry. 

t  Vol.  IV.  t  Manner  of  Teaching,  &c.,  Vol.  IV. 


TXTKODUCTIOX.  97 

ing  to  its  being  put  in  motion  by  different  passions,  sonio- 
times  covers  the  fnce  with  a  sudden  and  modest  bhish, 
sometimes  cnflames  it  with  the  heat  of  rage  and  fury,  some- 
times retires,  leaving  it  pale  witii  fear,  and  at  others,  diffuses 
a  calm  and  amiable  serenity  over  it  ?  All  these  affections 
are  strongly  imagined  and  distinguished  in  the  lineaments 
of  the  face.  The  mask  deprives  the  features  of  this  enei'gy 
of  language,  and  of  that  life  and  soul  by  which  it  is  the 
faithful  interpreter  of  all  the  sentiments  of  the  heart.  I  do 
not  wonder,  therefore,  at  Cicero's  remark  upon  the  action 
of  Roscius.  "  Our  ancestors,"  says  he,  "were  better  jiidges 
than  we  are.  They  could  not  wholly  appro-\e  even  of 
Roscius  himself  while  he  performed  in  a.  mask."  * 

-^schylus  was  in  the  sole  possession  of  the  glory  of  the 
stage,  with  almost  every  voice  in  his  favor,  Avhen  a  young 
rival  made  his  appearance  to  dispute  the  palm  Avith  him. 
This  was  Sophocles.  He  was  born  at  Colonos,  a  town  in 
Attica,  in  the  second  year  of  the  71st  Olympiad.  His 
fatlier  was  a  blacksmith,  or  one  that  kept  j)eople  of  that 
trade  to  Avork  for  him.  His  first  essay  was  a  master]^iece. 
When,  u]>on  the  occasion  of  Cymon  having  found  the 
bones  of  Theseus,  and  their  being  brought  to  Athens,  a 
dispute  between  the  tragic  poets  was  apj^ointed,  Sophocles 
entered  the  lists  with  -^schylus,  and  cairied  the  prize 
against  him.  The  ancient  victor,  laden  till  then  with  the 
wreaths  he  had  acquired,  believed  them  all  lost  by  failing  of 
the  last,  and  withdrew  in  disgust  into  Sicily  to  king  Hiero, 
the  protector  and  patron  of  all  the  learned  in  disgrace  at 
Athens.  He  died  there  soon  after,  in  a  very  singular  man- 
ner, if  we  may  believe  Suidas.  As  he  lay  aslee]i  in  the 
fields,  with  his  head  bare,  an  eagle,  taking  his  bald  crown 
for  a  stone,  let  a  tortoise  fall  upon  it,  which  killed  him.  Of 
jiinety,  or  at  least  seventy  tragedies,  composed  by  him,  only 
seven  are  now  extant. 

Nor  have  those  of  Sophocles  escaped  the  injury  of  time 
better,  though  one  hundred  and  seventeen  in  number,  and, 
according  to  some,  one  hundred  and  thirty.  He  retained, 
to  extreme  old  age,  all  the  force  and  vigor  of  his  genius,  as 
appears  from  a  circumstance  in  his  histoiy.  Plis  children, 
unworthy  of  so  great  a  father,  under  2:)retence  that  he  had 
lost  his  senses,  summoned  him  before  the  judges,  iu  ordex' 
to  obtain  a  decree,  that  his  estate  might  be  taken  f i-om  him, 

*  Quo  melius  uostri  illi  genes,  qui  pcrsouatum,  ne  Bosoiuia  quidem,  maguo 
pere  laudabaut.— Lib.  iii.  de  Orat.  n.  221. 


98  INTRODr'^TION'. 

and  put  into  their  hands.  He  made  iv^  other  defence  than 
to  read  a  traQ;edy  he  was  at  tliat  time  compopins;,  cnlled 
Qi^dijnis  at  Colonos,  Avith  Avhich  the  judges  were  so  charmed, 
that  lie  carried  his  cause  unanimously  :  and  his  children,  de- 
tested by  the  whole  assembly,  got  nothing  by  their  suit, 
but  the  shame  an  infamy  due  to  such  ilagrant  inpratitude. 
He  was  twenty  times  crowned  victor.  Some  say  he  exjiired 
in  repeating  his  Antigone,  for  want  of  power  to  recover  his 
breath,  after  a  violent  endeavor  to  pronounce  a  long  period 
to  the  end.  Others,  that  he  died  of  joy  upon  his  being  de- 
clared victor,  contrary  to  his  expectations.  The  figure  of  a 
hive  was  placed  upon  his  tomb,  to  perpetuate  the  name  of 
bee,  Avhich  had  been  given  him  from  the  sweetness  of  his 
verses  ;  Avhence,  it  is  probable,  the  notion  Avas  derived,  of 
the  bees  haA'ing  settled  upon  his  lips  Avhen  in  his  cradle.  He 
died  in  his  ninetieth  year  the  fourth  of  the  ninety-third 
Olympiad,*  after  haA'ing  surviA'ed  Euripides  six  years,  Avho 
Avas  not  so  old  as  himself. 

The  latter  Avas  born  in  the  first  year  of  the  seventy-fifth 
Olympiad,!  at  Salamis,  Avhither  liis  father  ]\Ienesarchus 
and  his  mother  Clito  had  retired,  when  Xerxes  Avas  prepar- 
ing for  his  great  expedition  against  Greece.  He  a])plied 
himself  at  first  to  philosophy,  and  among  others,  had  the 
celebrated  Anaxagoras  for  his  master.  But  the  danger  in- 
curred by  that  £\eat  man,  who  Avas  very  near  being  made 
the  victim  of  his  philosophical  tenets,  inclined  him  to  the 
study  of  poetry.  He  discovered  in  himself  a  genius  for  the 
drama,  unknoAvn  to  him  at  first ;  and  employed  it  Avith  such 
success,  that  he  entered  the  lists  with  the  greatest  masters, 
of  whom  we  haA-e  been  speaking.  His  Avorks  sufficiently 
denote  his  profound  applicatiou  to  ]>hilosophy.  t  They 
abound  Avith  excellent  maxims  of  morality ;  and  it  is  in 
that  A'ieAV,  Socrates  .in  his  time,  and  Cicero  long  after  him, 
set  so  high  a  value  upon  Euripides.  § 

One  cannot  sufiiciently  admire  the  extreme  delicacy  ex- 
pressed by  the  Athenian  audience  on  certain  occasions,  and 
their  solicitude  to  preserve  the  reverence  due  to  morality, 
A'irtue,  decency,  and  justice.  It  is  surjn-ising  to  observe 
the  warmth  Avith  Avhich  they  unanimously  rej^roved  what- 
ever seemed  inconsistent  Avith  them,  and  called  the  jjoet  to 

*  A .  M.  3599.     Ant.  J.  C.  405.  t  A.  M.  3524.    Ant.  J.  C.  4-^. 

+  Senteiitiis  dcnsus.  et  id  iis  quse  a,  sapientibus  suiit,  pene  ipsis  est  par. — Qnin- 
til.  lib.  X.  f.  1. 

§  Cui  ^Eurlpidi')  qnantara  credas  nescio  ;  ego  certe  siiigula  testimoni.a  puto — ■ 
Epist.  viii.  1.  l-i;  adl'amil. 


INTRODUCTION-.  99 

an  account  for  it,  notwithstanding  liis  having  tiic  best 
founded  excuse,  giving  such  sentiments  only  to  persons  no- 
toriously vicious,  and  actuated  by  the  most  unjust  passions. 

Euripides  had  put  into  the  mouth  of  Bcllerophon  a 
pompous  panegyric  upon  i-iches,  Avhich  concluded  with  this 
thought :  Miches  are  the  supreme  good  of  the  human  race^ 
and  ii}ith  reason  excite  the  admiration  of  the  gods  and 
men.  The  whole  theatre  cried  out  against  these  expres- 
sions, and  he  would  h;ive  been  banished  directly,  if  he  had 
not  desired  the  sentence  to  be  respited  till  the  conclusion  of 
the  piece,  in  which  the  advocate  for  riches  perished  mis- 
erably. 

He  was  in  danger  of  incurring  serious  inconveniences 
froni  an  answer  he  puts  into  the  moith  of  Hi])])olytus. 
Phrasdra's  nurse  represented  to  him,  that  lie  had  engaged 
himself  under  an  inviolable  oath  to  keep  her  secret.  Mg 
tongue^  it  is  true,  pronowiced  that  oath,  replied  \w,  hut  mg 
heart  gave  no  consent  to  it.  This  frivolous  distinction  a])- 
peared  to  the  whole  people,  as  an  ex])ress  contempt  of  reli- 
gion and  the  sanctity  of  an  oath,  that  tended  to  banish  all 
sincerity  and  good  faith  from  society  and  the  commerce  of 
life. 

Another  maxim  advanced  by  Eteocles  in  a  tragedy 
called  the  Phoenicians,  and  which  Caesar  had  <  Iways  in  his 
mouth,  is  no  less  pernicious.  If  justice  mag  be  violated  at 
all,  it  is  when  a  throne  is  in  qu&stion  ;  in  other  respects  let 
it  he  dulg  revered.*  It  is  highly  criminal  in  Eteocles,  or 
rather  in  Euripides,  says  Cicero,  to  made  an  exception  in 
that  very  point,  wherein  such  violation  is  the  highest  crime 
that  can  be  committed.  Eteocles  is  a  tyrant,  and  speaks 
like  a  tyrant,  who  vindicates  his  unjust  conduct  by  a  false 
maxim  ;  and  it  is  not  strange,  that  Caesar,  who  was  a  tyrant 
by  nature,  and  equally  unjust,  should  lay  great  stress  upon 
the  sentiments  of  a  prince  whom  he  so  much  resembled. 
But  what  is  remarkable  in  Cicero,  is  his  falling  upon  the 
poet  himself,  and  imputing  to  him  as  a  crime,  the  having  ad- 
vanced so  pernicious  a  principle  upon  the  stage. 

Lycurgus,  the  orator,  who  lived  in  the  time  of  Philip 
and   Alexander  the  Great,  to  reanimate  the  'spirit  of  the 

*  Ipse  aiitem  socer  (Casar)  in  ore  semper  Grnjcos  versus  Eiiripidis  de  Poeuissis 
babebat.  quos  diciun  ut  potero,  iiHoiidite fortasse,  sed  tameii  ut  res  possit  iiitel- 
ligi: 

Nam,  si  violandum  est  jns,  regnandi  gratia 
Violandum  est ;  aliis  rebus  pietatem  polns. 
Capitalis  Eteoclea  vel  potius  Euripides,  qui  id  uuum,  quod  omnium  scelera- 
,  tissi  mum  fuerii,  exceperit  — Otfic.  1.  iii.  n.  32 


100  *  INTRODUCTIOX. 

tragic  poets,  caused  three  statues  of  brass  to  be  erected  in 
the  name  of  the  people  to  ^schyhis,  Sophocles,  and  Eurijji- 
des  ;  and  having  ordered  their  works  to  be  transcribed,  he 
ap]>ointed  them  to  be  cai-efnlly  preserved  among  the  jniblic 
archives,  from  whence  they  wei-e  taken  from  time  to  time 
to  be  read  ;  the  players  not  being  ])ermitted  to  represent 
them  on  tlie  stage. 

Tlie  reader  expects,  no  doubt,  after  what  has  been  said 
relating  to  the  three  poets  who  invented,  impi'oved  and  car- 
ried tragedy  to  its  perfection,  that  I  should  discourse  upon 
the  j)eculiar  excellencies  of  their  style  and  character.  For 
that  I  must  refer  to  Father  Brumio,  who  will  do  it  much 
better  than  it  is  in  my  ])ovver.  After  having  laid  down,  as 
an  undoubted  principle,  that  the  epic  poet,  that  is  to  say, 
Homer,  pointed  out  the  way  for  the  tragic  poets,  and  having 
demonstrated,  by  reflections  drawn  from  human  nature, 
upon  what  })rinciples,  and  by  what  degrees,  this  hajjpy  imi- 
tation was  conducted  to  its  end,  he  goes  on  to  describe  the 
three  poets  above-mentioned  in  the  most  lively  and  shining 
colors. 

Tragedy  took  at  first,  from  ^schylus  its  in\entor,  a 
much  more  lofty  style  than  the  Iliad  ;  that  is,  the  laagnum 
loqiii  mentioned  by  Horace.  Perhaps  JEschylus,  who  was 
its  author,  was  too  pompous,  and  carried  the  tragic  style  too 
high.  It  is  not  Homer's  trumpet,  but  something  more. 
His  pompous,  swelling,  gigantic  diction,  resembles  rather 
the  beating  of  drums  and  the  shouts  of  battle,  than  the  no- 
bler harmony  and  silver  sound  of  the  trumpet.  The  eleva- 
tion and- grandeur  of  his  genius  would  not  permit  him  to 
speak  the  language  of  other  men,  so  that  his  muse  seemed 
rather  to  walk  on  stilts,  than  in  the  buskins  of  his  own  in- 
vention. 

Sophocles  understood  much  better  the  true  excellence  of 
tlie  dramatic  style  ;  he  therefore  copies  Homer  more  closely, 
and  blends  in  his  diction  that  honeyed  sweetness,  from 
whence  he  was  denominated  the  bee,  with  a  gravity  that 
gives  his  tragedy  the  modest  air  of  a  matron,  compelled  to 
appear  in  public  with  dignity,  as  Horace  expi-esses  it. 

The  style  of  Euripides,  though  noble,  is  less  removed 
from  the  familiar ;  and  he  seems  to  have  affected  rather  the 
pathetic  and  the  elegant,  than  the  nervous  and  the  lofty. 

As  Coi-neille,  says  M.  Brumoi  in  another  place,  after 
having  opened  to  himself  a  path  entirely  new  and  unknown 
to  the  ancients,  seems  like  an  eagle  towering  in  the  clouds, 


IXTRODUCTIOX.  101 

from  the  sublimity,  force,  unbroken  progress,  and  rapidity 
of  his  flight ;  and  as  Racine,  in  copying  the  ancients,  in  a 
manner  entirely  his  own,  imitates  the  swan,  that  sometimes 
floats  upon  the  air,  sometimes  rises,  then  falls  again  with  an 
elegance  of  motion,  and  a  grace  peculiar  to  herself ;  so 
^schylus,  Sophocles,  and  Euripides,  have  each  of  them  a 
particular  and  characteristic  method.  The  first,  as  the  inven- 
tor and  father  of  tragedy,  is  like  a  torrent  rolling  impetu- 
ously over  rocks,  forests,  and  precipices ;  the  second  re- 
sembles a  canal,  Avhich  flows  gently  through  delicious  gar- 
dens ;  *  and  the  third  a  river,  that  does  not  follow  its  course  in 
a  continual  line,  but  loves  to  turn  and  wind  its  silver  wave 
through  flowery  meads  and  rural  scenes. 

This  is  the  character  M.  Brumoi  gives  of  the  three  poets 
to  whom  the  Athenian  stage  was  indebted  for  its  perfection 
in  tragedy,  ^schylus  drew  it  out  of  its  original  chaos  and 
confusion,  and  made  it  appear  in  some  degree  of  lustre  ; 
but  it  still  retained  the  rude  unfinished  air  of  things  in  their 
beginning,  which  are  generally  defective  in  point  of  art  or 
method. t  Sophocles  and  Euripides  added  infinitely  to  the 
dignity  of  tragedy.  The  style  of  the  first,  as  has  been  ob- 
served, is  more  noble  and  majestic ;  of  the  latter,  more 
tender  and  pathetic ;  each  perfect  in  its  way.  In  this 
diversity  of  character,  it  is  diificult  to  decide  which  is  most 
excellent.  The  learned  have  always  been  divided  upon  this 
head  ;  as  we  are  at  this  day,  in  regard  to  the  two  poets  of 
our  own  nation,  whose  tragedies  have  made  our  stage  illus- 
trious, and  not  inferior  to  that  of  Athens. t 

I  have  observed,  that  tenderness  and  patlios  distinguish 
the  compositions  of  Euripides,  of  which  Alexander  of  Pherse, 
the  most  cruel  of  tyrants,  gave  a  striking  proof.  The  bar- 
barous man,  upon  seeing  the  Troades  of  Euripides  acted, 
found  himself  so  moved  with  it,  that  he  quitted  the  theatre 
before  the  conclusion  of  the  play,  professing  that  he  was 
ashamed  to  be  seen  in  tears  for  the  distress  of  Hecuba  and 
Andromache,  when  he  had  never  shown  the  least  compas- 
sion for  his  own  citizens,  of  whom  he  had  butchered  such 
numbers. 

*  1  know  not  whether  the  idea  of  a  canal^  that  flows  gently  through  delicious 
gardens,  may  piopeily  describe  the  charaoiei' of  Sophocles,  which  is  peculiarly 
disdiiguished  by  nobleness,  grandeur,  and  elevation.  That  of  an  impetuous  and 
rapid  stream,  whose  waves,  lioni  the  violence  of  their  niotion,  are  loud  and  to  be 
heard  afar  o:T,  seems  to  me  a  more  suitable  image  of  that  poet. 

t  Tragedias  primus  in  luceni  iEschylus  protulit :  sublimis,  et  gravis,  et  grandi- 
loquussiepe  usque  ad  vitium  ;  sed  rudis  in  plerisque  el  incompositus. — Quintil. 
I.  X.  c.  1.  +  Corueilie  and  iiacine. 


102  INTKODUCTION". 

When  I  speak  of  tenderness  and  pathos,  I  would  not  be 
understood  to  mean  a  passion  that  softens  the  heart  hito 
effemhiacy,  and  which,  to  our  reproach,  is  almost  solely 
confined  to  our  stage,  though  rejected  by  the  ancients  and 
condemned  by  the  nations  around  us  of  gi-eatest  reputation 
for  their  genius,  and  taste  in  science  and  polite  learning. 
The  two  great  principles  for  moving  the  passions  timongtlie 
ancients,  were  terror  and  pity.*  And  indeed,  as  we  natu- 
rally determine  every  thing  from  its  relation  to  ourselves,  or 
our  particular  evils,  the  fear  of  the  like  misfortunes,  with 
which  we  know  that  human  life  is  on  all  sides  invested, 
seizes  upon  us,  and  from  a  secret  impulse  of  self-love,  we  find 
ourselves  sensibly  affected  with  the  distresses  of  others  : 
besides  which,  the  sharing  a  common  nature  with  the  I'est 
of  our  species,  makes  us  sensible  to  whatever  befalls  them.f 
Upon  a  close  and  attentive  inquiry  into  those  two  passions, 
they  will  be  found  the  most  deeply  iriherent,  active,  exten- 
sive, and  general  affections  of  the  soul ;  including  all  orders 
of  men,  great  and  small,  rich  and  poor,  of  whatever  age  or 
condition.  Hence  the  ancients,  accustomed  to  consult 
nature,  and  to  take  her  for  their  guide  in  all  things,  con- 
ceived terror  and  compassion  to  be  the  soul  of  tragedy ;  and 
for  this  reason,  that  those  affections  ought  to  ])revail  in  it. 
The  passion  of  love  was  in  no  estimation  among  them,  and 
had  seldom  any  share  in  their  dramatic  pieces  ;  though  with 
us  it  is  a  received  opinion,  that  they  cannot  be  supported 
without  it. 

It  is  worth  our  trouble  to  examine  briefly  in  what  man- 
ner this  passion,  which  has  always  been  deemed  a  weakness 
and  a  blemish  in  the  greatest  characters,  got  such  footing 
upon  our  stage.  Corneille,  who  was  the  first  who  brought 
the  French  tingedy  to  any  perfection,  and  whom  all  the  i-est 
have  followed,  found  the  whole  nation  enamored  to  madness 
with  the  perusal  of  romances,  and  little  disposed  to  admire 
any  thing  not  resembling  them.  From  the  desire  of  pleas- 
ing his  audience,  Avho  Avere  at  the  same  time  his  judges,  he 
endeavored  to  move  them  in  the  same  manner  as  they  had 
been  accustomed  to  be  affected  ;  and  by  introducing  love  in 
his  scenes,  to  bring  them  the  nearer  to  the  predominant 
taste  of  the  age  for  romance.  From  the  same  source  arose 
that  multiplicity  of  incidents,  episodes,  and  adventures,  with 
which  our  tragic  pieces  are  crowded  and  obscured,  so  con- 
trary to  probability,  which  will  not  admit  Kuch  a  number  of 

•  <l>b^oy  /vat  lAto?  t  iioino  sum  liumaiii  nihil  a  ijiealiemim  puto. — Ter. 


INTRODUCTIOX.  103 

extraordinary  and  surprising  events  in  the  short  space  oi 
four-and-twenty  hours  ;  so  contr:try  to  the  simplicity  of  an- 
cient tragedy,  and  so  adapted  to  conceal,  in  the  assemblage 
of  so  mnny  different  objects,  the  sterility  of  the  genius  of 
a  poet,  more  intent  upon  the  marvellous,  than  upon  the 
probable  and  natural. 

Both  the  Greeks  and  Romans  ha'»e  preferred  the  iambic 
to  the  heroic  verse  in  their  tragedies  ;  not  only  because  the 
first  has  a  kind  of  dignity  better  adapted  to  the  stage,  hut 
Avhile  it  approaches  nearer  to  prose,  retains  sufficiently  the 
air  of  ])oetry  to  please  the  ear ;  and  yet  has  too  little  of  it 
to  put  the  audience  in  mind  of  tlie  poet,  who  ought  not  to 
appear  at  all  in  rejjresentations,  where  other  persons  are 
supposed  to  speak  and  act.  Monsieur  Dacier  makes  a  very 
just  reflection  on  this  subject.  He  says,  that  it  is  the  mis- 
fortune of  our  tragedy  to  have  almost  no  other  verse  than 
what  it  has  in  common  with  epic  poetry,  elegy,  pastoral, 
satire,  and  comedy ;  whereas  the  learned  languages  have  a 
great  variety  of  versification. 

This  inconvenience  is  highly  obvious  in  the  French 
tragedy  ;  which  necessarily  loses  sight  of  nature  and  prob- 
ability, as  it  obliges  heroes,  princes,  kings,  and  queens  to 
express  themselves  in  a  pompous  strain  in  their  familiar 
conversation,  which  it  would  be  ridiculous  to  attempt  in 
real  life.  The  giving  utterance  to  the  most  impetuous  pas- 
sions in  a  uniform  cadence,  and  by  hemistichs  and  rhymes, 
would  undoubtedly  be  tedious  and  offensive  to  the  ear,  if 
the  charms  of  poetiy,  the  elegance  of  expression,  the  sjjirit 
of  the  sentiments,  and,  perhaps,  more  than  all,  the  resistless 
force  of  custom,  had  not  in  a  manner  subjected  our  reason, 
and  spread  a  veil  before  our  judgment. 

It  was  not  chance,  therefore,  which  suggested  to  the 
Greeks  the  use  of  iambics  in  their  tragedy.  Nature  itself 
seems  to  have  dictated  that  kind  of  verse  to  them.  In- 
structed by  the  same  unerring  guide,  they  made  choice  of 
a  different  versification  for  the  chorus,  better  adapted  to 
the  motions  of  the  dance,  and  the  variations  of  the  song ; 
because  it  was  necessary  for  poeti'y  to  shine  but  in  all  its 
lustre,  while  the  mere  conversation  between  the  real  actors 
Avas  suspended.  The  chorus  was  an  embellishment  of  the 
representation,  and  a  relaxation  to  the  audience,  and  there- 
fore required  more  exalted  poetry  and  numbers  to  support 
it,  when  united  with  music  and  dancing. 


104  IXTEODTTCTIOX. 


OF    THE    ANCIENT,    MIDDLE,    AND    NEW    COMEDY. 

"While  tragedy  was  thus  rising  in  ])erfection  at  Atliens, 
comedy,  the  second  species  of  dramatic  poetry,  and  which, 
till  then,  had  been  much  neglected,  began  to  i>e  cultivated 
with  more  attention.  Nature  was  the  common  jjarent  of 
both.  We  are  sensibly  affected  with  the  dangers,  distresses, 
misfortunes,  and,  in  a  word,  with  whatever  relates  to  the 
lives  and  conduct  of  illustrious  persons  ;  and  this  gave  birth 
to  tragedy.  We  are  as  curious  to  know  the  adventures, 
conduct,  and  defects  of  our  equals,  which  supply  us  with 
occasions  of  laughing  and  being  merry  at  the  expense  of 
others.  Hence  originated  comedy,  which  is  properly  an 
image  of  private  life.  Its  design  is  to  expose  defects  and 
vice  upon  the  stage,  and  by  ridiculing  them,  to  make  them 
contemptible ;  and  consequently  to  instruct  by  diverting. 
Ridicule,  therefore  (or  to  express  the  same  word  by  another, 
pleasantry),  ought  to  prevail  in  comedy. 

This  species  of  entertainment  took,  at  different  times, 
three  different  forms,  at  Athens,  as  well  from  the  genius  of 
the  poets,  as  from  the  influence  of  the  government ;  which 
occasioned  various  alterations  in  it. 

The  ancient  comedy,  so  called  by  .Horace,  and  which  he 
dates  after  the  time  of  ^schylus,  retained  something  of  its 
original  rudeness,  and  the  liberty  it  had  been  used  to  take 
of  coarse  jesting  and  reviling  spectators,  from  the  cart  of 
Thespis.*  Though  it  was  become  regular  in  its  plan,  and 
worthy  of  a  great  theatre,  it  had  not  learnt  to  be  more  re- 
served. It  represented  real  transactions,  Avith  the  names, 
habits,  gestures,  and  likeness  in  masks,  of  Avhomsoever  it 
thought  fit  to  sacrifice  to  the  public  diversion.  In  a  state 
where  it  Avas  held  good  policy  to  unmask  Avhatever  carried 
the  air  of  ambition,  singularity  or  knavery,  comedy  as- 
sumed the  privilege  to  harangue,  reform,  and  advise  the 
people,  upon  the  most  important  occasions  and  interests. 
No  one  Avas  spared  in  a  city  ol  so  much  liberty,  or  rather 
license,  as  Athens  was  at  that  tiine.  Generals,  magistrates, 
government,  the  very  gods,  Avere  abandoned  to  the  poet's 
satirical  A^ein  ;  and  all  was  well  received,  providing  the 
comedy  Avas  diverting,  and  the  Attic  salt  not  AA-anting. 

In  one  of  these  comedies,  not  only  the  priest  of  Jupiter 
determines  to  quit  his  service,  because  no  more  sacrifices  are 

•  Swccessit  vetushis  Comocdia  non  sine  multa. 

Laude.  — Hor.  in  Art.  Poet. 


I>'TRODUCTIO]S".  '  105 

offered  to  the  god ;  but  Mercury  himself  comes  in  a  starving 
condition,  to  seek  his  fortune  among  mankind,  and  offers  to 
serve  as  a  porter,  sutler,  bailiff,  guide,  door-keeper ;  in  short, 
in  any  capacity,  rather  than  to  return  to  heaven.*  In 
another,  f  the  same  gods,  reduced  to  the  extremity  of  fam- 
ine, from  the  birds  having  built  a  city  in  the  air,  whereby 
their  provisions  are  cut  off,  and  the  smoke  of  incense  and 
sacrifices  prevented  from  ascending  to  heaven,  depute  tliree 
ambassadors  in  the  name  of  Jupiter  to  conclude  a  treaty  of 
accommodation  with  the  birds,  upon  such  conditions  as  they 
shall  appi-ove.  The  chamber  of  aixdience,  where  the  three 
famished  gods  are  received,  is  a  kitchen  well  stored  with 
excellent  game  of  all  sorts.  Here  Hercules,  deeply  smitten 
with  the  smell  of  roast  meat,  which  he  apprehends  to  be 
more  exquisite  and  nutritious  than  that  of  incense,  begs  leave 
to  make  his  abode,  and  to  turn  the  spit,  and  assist  the  cook 
upon  occasions.  The  other  pieces  of  Aristophanes  abound 
with  strokes  still  more  satirical  and  severe  upon  the  prin- 
cipal divinities. 

I  am  not  much  surprised  at  the  poet's  insulting  the  gods, 
and  treating  them  Avith  the  utmost  contempt,  from  whom  he 
had  nothing  to  fear ;  but  I  cannot  help  wondering  at  his 
having  brought  the  most  illustrious  and  powerful  persons  of 
Athens  upon  the  stage,  and  that  he  presumed  to  attack  the 
government  itself,  without  any  measure  of  respect  or  re- 
serve. 

Cleon,  having  returned  triumphant,  contrary  to  the 
general  expectation,  from  the  exjiedition  against  Sphacteria, 
was  looked  upon  by  the  people  as  the  greatest  captain  of 
that  age.  Aristophanes,  to  set  that  bad  man  in  a  true  light, 
who  was  the  son  of  a  currier,  and  a  currier  himself,  and 
whose  rise  was  owing  solely  to  his  temerity  and  imprudence, 
w^as  so  bold  as  to  make  him  the  subject  of  a  coniedy,t 
without  being  awed  by  his  power  and  influence :  but  he 
was  obliged  to  play  the  part  of  Cleon  himself,  and  appear- 
ed, for  the  first  time  upon  the  stage,  in  that  character ;  not 
one  of  the  comedians  dai'ing  to  represent  him,  or  to  ex- 
pose himself  to  the  resentment  of  so  formidable  an  enemy. 
His  face  was  smeared  over  with  wine  lees ;  because  no 
workman  could  be  found  that  would  venture  to  make  a 
mask  resembling  Cleon,  as  was  usual  when  persons  were 
brought  upon  the  stage.  In  this  piece  he  reproaches  him 
with  embezzling  the  public  treasures,  with  a  violent  passion 

*  Plutus.  t  The  birds.  %  The  Knights. 


106  »  IXTRODUCTIOX. 

for  bribes  and  presents,  with  craft  in  seducina;  tlie  people, 
and  denies  him  the  glory  of  the  action  at  S])hacteria,  which 
he  attributes  chiefly  to  the  share  his  colleagues  had  in  it. 

In  the  Acharnians,  he  accuses  Lainachus  of  having  been 
made  general  ratlier  by  bribery  tlian  merit.  Ho  imj)Utes  to 
liiin  his  youth,  inexperience,  and  idleness;  at  the  same  time 
that  he,  and  many  others,  whom  he  covertly  designates, 
convert  to  their  own  use  the  rewards  due  only  to  valor  and 
real  services.  He  reproaches  the  re]:)ubllc  M'ith  their  pref- 
erence of  the  younger  citizens  to  the  elder  in  the  govern- 
ment of  the  state,  and  the  command  of  their  armies.  He 
tells  them  plainly,  that  when  peace  shall  be  concluded, 
neither  Cleonymus,  Hyj)erbolus,  nor  many  other  such 
knaves,  all  mentioned  by  name,  shall  have  any  share  in  the 
public  affairs ;  they  being  always  ready  to  accuse  their 
fellow-citizens  of  crimes,  and  to  eni'ich  themselves  by  such 
informations. 

In  his  comedy  called  the  Wasps,  imitated  by  Racine,  in 
his  Plaideurs,  he  exposes  tlie  mad  passion  of  the  people  for 
prosecutions  and  trials  at  law,  and  the  enormous  injustice 
frequently  committed  in  passing  sentence  and  giving  judg- 
ment. 

The  poet,  concerned  to  see  the  rej^ublic  obstinately  bent 
upon  the  vmhappy  expedition  to  Sicily,  endeavors  to  excite 
in  the  people  a  thorough  disgust  for  so  ruinous  a  war,  and 
to  inspire  them  with  the  desire  of  a  peace,  as  much  the  in- 
terest of  the  victors  as  the  vanquished,  after  a  war  of  sev- 
eral years'  duration,  equally  pernicious  to  each  party,  and 
capable  of  involving  all  Greece  in  ruin.* 

None  of  Aristoi)hanes's  pieces  explains  better  his  bold- 
ness, in  speaking  upon  the  most  delicate  affairs  of  the  state 
in  the  crowded  theati-e,  than  his  comedy  called  LysUtrata. 
One  of  the  principal  magistrates  of  Athens  had  a  wife  of 
that  name,  who  is  supposed  to  have  taken  it  into  her  head 
to  compel  Greece  to  conclude  a  peace.  Slie  relates  how, 
during  the  war,  the  women  inquiring  of  their  husbands  the 
result  of  their  counsels,  and  whether  they  had  not  resolved 
to  make  peace  Avith  Sparta,,  received  no  answers  but  impe- 
rious looks,  and  orders  to  mind  their  own  affairs  ;  that,  how- 
ever, they  perceived  plainly  to  what  a  low  condition  the 
government  was  declined  ;  that  they  took  the  liberty  to 
remonstrate  mildly  to  their  husbands  upon  the  rashness  of 
their  counsels  ;  but  that  their  humble  representations  had 

*  The  Peace. 


INTRODUCTION.  107 

no  other  effect  than  to  offend  and  enrage  tliem  ;  that,  in  fine, 
being  confirmed  by  the  general  opinion  of  all  Attica,  that 
there  were  no  longer,  any  men  in  the  state,  nor  heads  for  the 
administration  of  affairs,  their  ])atience  being  quite  ex- 
hausted, the  women  had  thought  it  proper  and  advisable  to 
take  the  government  upon  themselves,  and  preser^•e  Greece, 
whether  it  would  or  not,  from  the  folly  and  madness  of  its 
resolves.  "  For  her  part,  she  declares,  that  she  has  taken 
possession  of  the  city  and  treasury,  in  order,"  says  she,  "•  to 
prevent  Pisander  and  his  confederates,  the  four  hundred 
administrators,  from  exciting  troubles  according  to  their 
custom,  and  from  robbing  the  pid)lic  as  usual."  (Was  ever 
any  thing  so  bold  ?) — She  goes  on  to  ])rove,  that  the  women 
only  are  capable  of  retrieving  affairs,  by  this  burlesque  argu- 
ment, that,  admittuig  things  to  be  in  such  a  state  of  perplex- 
ity and  confusion,  the  sex,  accustomed  to  mitangiing  their 
threads,  were  the  only  ])ersons  to  set  them  right  again,  as 
being  best  qualified  with  the  necessary  address,  patience, 
and  moderation.  The  Athenian  i)olitics  are  thus  made  in- 
ferior to  those  of  the  women,  who  are  only  'represented  in  a 
ridiculous  light,  in  derision  of  their  husbands  as  administra- 
tors of  the  government. 

These  extracts  from  Aristophanes,  taken  almost  word 
for  word  from  Father  Brumoi,  seemed  to  me  very  proper  to 
give  a  right  insight  into  that  poet's  character,  and  the  genius 
of  the  ancient  comedy,  which  was,  as  Ave  see,  a  satire  of  the 
most  poignant  and  severe  kind,  that  had  assumed  to  itself 
an  independency  in  i*espect  to  persons,  and  to  which  nothing 
was  sacred.  It  was  no  wonder  that  Cicera  condemns  so 
licentious  and  uncurbed  a  liberty.  It  might,  he  says,  have 
been  tolerable,  had  it  only  attacked  bad  citizens,  and  sedi- 
tious orators,  who  endeaAored  to  raise  commotions  in  the 
state,  such  as  Cleon,  Cleophone,  and  Hyperbolus  ;  but  when 
Pericles,  who  for  many  years  had  governed  the  common- 
M^ealth  both  in  Avar  and  ])eace  Avith  equal  Avisdoiu  and  author- 
ity (he  might  have  added,  and  a  Socrates,  declared  by 
Apollo  the  Avisest  of  mankind),  is  brought  upon  the  stage  to 
be  laughed  at  by  the  public,  it  is  as  if  our  Plautus,  or  Na;- 
\dus,  had  attacked  the  Sci}>ios,  or  CaBcilius  had  dared  to  re- 
vile Marcus  Cato  in  his  Avritings.* 

*  Queni  ilia  iion  aUigit,  vel  potius  quern  uon  vexavit  ?  Esto,  popiilares  hom- 
ines, iiiiprobos,  ill  renip  seditiosos,  Cleoiieni,  Cl^ophontein,  Hyperbolum  laes;t: 
paiianiur— Sed  Periclffiii,  cum  jam  sua;  civitati  maxima  auotorilate  plurimos 
amios  doiiiT  et  biOli  pratfiiisset,  violari  -versibiis,  et  eos  ap;i  in  soeiia,  iioii  plus 
(leonit,  qiiani  si  Plautus  iiosie;-  vnlnisstM,  fiut  N.pviiis  P.  et  Cu.  Scipioni,  aut 
CsBciliusiU.  Catuiu  malcdicerij. — Kx.  Iiagui.  Cic.  do  i^ep.  Ub.  iv. 


108  I^'TRODUCTION'. 

That  liberty  is  still  more  offensive  to  lis,  who  are  born 
in,  and  live  under,  a  monarchical  government,  which  is  far 
from  being  favorable  to  licentiousness.  But  Avithout  intend- 
ing to  justify  the  conduct  of  Aristophanes,  Avhich  is  certainly 
inexcusable,  I  think,  to  judge  properly  of  it,  it  Mould  be 
necessary  to  lay  aside  the  prejudices  of  nations,  and  times, 
and  to  imagine  we  live  in  those  remote  ages  in  a  state  purely 
democratical.  We  must  not  fancy  Aristoj-hanes  to  have 
been  a  person  of  little  consequence  in  his  republic,  as  the 
comic  writers  generally  are  in  our  days.  The  king  of  Persia 
had  a  very  different  idea  of  him.  It  is  a  known  story,  that 
in  an  audience  of  the  Greek  ambassadors,  his  first  inquiry 
was  after  a  certain  comic  poet  (meaning  Aristophanes)  that 
put  all  Greece  in  motion,  and  gave  such  effectual  counsels 
against  him.*  Aristophanes  did  that  u])on  the  stage,  which 
Demosthenes  did  afterwards  in  the  public  assemblies.  The 
poet's  reproaches  Avere  no  less  animated  than  the  orator's. 
In  his  comedies  he  uttered  the  same  sentiments  as  he  had  a 
right  to  deliver  from  the  public  rostrum.  They  were  ad- 
dressed to  the  same  people,  upon  the  same  occasions  of  the 
state,  the  same  means  of  success,  and  the  same  obstacles  to 
their  measures.  In  Athens  the  whole  ]ieople  Avere  the  soa'- 
ereign,  and  each  of  them  had  an  equal  share  in  the  sujireme 
authority.  Upon  this  they  Avere  continually  intent,  Avere 
fond  of  discoursing  upon  it  themselves,  and  of  hearing  the 
sentiments  of  others.  The  public  affairs  Avere  the  business 
of  every  individual ;  in  Avhich  they  Avere  desirous  of  being 
fully  informed,  that  they  might  know  hoAV  to  conduct  them- 
selves on  every  occasion  of  Avar  or  peace,  AAhich  frequently 
offered,  and  to  decide  upon  their  own  as  Avell  as  upon  the 
destiny  of  their  allies  or  enemies.  Hence  arose  the  liberty 
taken  by  the  comic  poets,  of  discussing  the  affairs  of  the 
state  in  their  performances.  The  people  Avere  so  far  from 
being  offended  at  it,  or  at  the  manner  in  Avhich  those  Avriters 
treated  the  principal  persons  of  the  state,  that  they  conceived 
their  liberty  in  some  measiire  to  consist  in  it. 

Three  poets  particularly  excelled  in  the  ancient  comedy  ; 
Eupolis,  Cratinus,  and  Aristoj^hanes.f     The  last  is  the  only 

•  Aristoph.  in  Acham. 

t  Eupolis'  atque  Cratinus.  Aristophanesqiie  poetae, 

Atque  alii,  quorum  Coina'diaprisL-a  viroruni,  est, 
Si  quia  eratdignusdescribi,  quod  mains  aut  fur, 
Quotl  mnschus  forel ,  ant  sicaiius  ant  alioqui 
Famosua  ;  niulta  cum  libertate  notabant.        — Hor.  Sat.  iv.L  i. 

With  Aristophanes'  satiric  rage, 
When  ancient  comedy  amus'd  the  age, 


INTRODUCTION.  109 

one  of  them  whose  pieces  have  come  down  to  us  entire,  and 
out  of  the  great  number  of  those,  eleven  are  all  that  remain. 
He  flourished  in  an  age  when  Greece  abounded  with  great 
men,  and  was  contemporary  with  Socrates  and  Euripides, 
whom  he  survived.  During  the  Pelo})onnesian  war,  he  made 
his  greatest  figure  ;  less  as  a  writer  to  amuse  the  people  with 
his  comedies,  than  as  a  censor  of  the  government,  retained 
to  reform  the  state,  and  to  be  almost  the  arbiter  of  his 
country. 

He  is  admired  for  an  elegance,  poignancy,  and  happiness 
of  expression,  or,  in  a  word,  that  Attic  salt  and  spirit,  to 
which  the  Roman  language  could  never  attain,  and  for  wliich 
Aristophanes  is  more  remarkable  than  any  other  of  the 
Greek  authors.*  His  particular  excellence  was  raillery. 
None  ever  touched  what  was  ridiculous  in  the  characters 
whom  he  wished  to  expose  with  such  success,  or  knew  better 
how  to  convey  it  in  all  its  force  to  others.  But  it  would  be 
necessary  to  have  lived  in  his  times  to  judge  with  taste  of 
his  works.  The  subtle  salt  and  spirit  of  the  ancient  raillery, 
according  to  M.  Brumoi,  is  evaporated  through  length  of 
time,  and  what  remains  of  it  is  become  flat  and  insipid  to 
us  ;  though  the  sharpest  part  will  retain  its  vigor  through- 
out all  ages. 

Two  considerable  defects  are  justly  imputed  to  this  poet, 
which  very  much  obscure,  if  not  entirely  efface  his  glory. 
These  are,  low  buffoonery  and  gross  obscenity ;  which  de- 
fects have  been  excused  to  no  purpose,  from  the  character 
of  his  audience  ;  the  bulk  of  which  generally  consisted  of 
the  poor,  the  ignorant,  and  dregs  of  the  people,  whom  how- 
ever it  was  as  necessary  to  please  as  the  learned  and  the 
rich.  The  depravit}^  of  taste  in  the  lower  order  of  peo])le, 
which  once  banished  Cratinus  and  his  company,  because  his 
scenes  wer^  not  grossly  comic  enough  for  them,  is  no  excuse 
for  Aristophanes,  as  Menander  could  find  out  the  art  of 
changing  that  grovelling  taste,  by  introducing  a  species  of 
comedy,  not  altogether  so  modest  as  Plutarch  seems  to  in- 
sinuate, yet  much  less  licentious  than  any  before  his  time. 

Or  Eupolis',  or  Cratiiius's  wit, 
And  others  that  aU-liceus'd  poem  writ : 
None,  worthy  to  be  shown,  escap'd  the  scene, 
No  public  kiiave,  or  thief  of  lofty  mien  ; 
The  loose  adult'rer  was  drawn  forth  to  sight  ; 
The  secret  niurd'rer  trembling  lurk'd  the  night; 
Vi<;e  play'd  itself  and  each  ambitious  spark, 
All  boldly  branded  with  the  poet's  mark. 
*  Antiqua  comoedia  siuceram  illam  sermouis  Attici  gratiam  prope  sola  reti- 
net. — Quintil. 


110  IXTEODUCTIOX. 

The  gross  obscenities  with  which  all  Aristophane's  com- 
edies abound,  have  no  excuse ;  they  only  denote  an  exces- 
sive libertinism  in  the  spectators,  and  depravity  in  the  poet. 
Had  his  vrorks  been  rema.rkable  for  the  utmost  wit,  which 
however  is  not  the  case,  the  privilege  of  langhing  himself, 
or  of  making  others  l-mgh,  would  have  been  too  dearly 
purchased  at  the  expense  of  decency  and  good  manners.* 
And  in  this  case  it  may  well  be  said,  that  it  were  better  to 
have  no  wit  at  all,  than  to  make  so  ill  a  use  of  it.f  M. 
Brumoi  is  very  much  to  be  commended  for  having  taken 
care,  in  giving  a  general  idea  of  Aristophanes's  writings,  to 
throw  a  veil  over  those  ]>arts  of  them  that  might  have  given 
offence  to  modesty.  Thoxigh  such  behavior  be  the  indis- 
pensable rule  of  religion,  it  is  not  always  observed  by  those 
who  pique  themselves  most  on  their  erudition,  and  some- 
times prefer  the  title  of  scholar  to  that  of  Christian. 

The  old  comedy  subsisted  till  Lysander's  time,  who, 
upon  having  made  himself  master  of  Athens,  changed  the 
form  of  government,  and  put  it  into  the  hands  of  thirty 
of  the  principal  citizens.  The  satirical  liberty  of  the  thear 
tre  was  offensive  to  them,  and  therefore  they  thought  fit  to 
put  a  stop  to  it.  The  reason  of  this  alteration  is  evident, 
and  confirms  the  reflection  made  before,  upon  the  privilege 
of  the  poets  to  criticise  with  impunity  the  persons  at  the 
head  of  the  state.  The  whole  authority  of  Athens  was 
then  invested  in  tyrants.  The  democracy  was  abolished. 
The  people  had  no  longer  any  share  in  the  government. 
They  were  no  more  the  prince ;  their  sovereignty  had  ex- 
pired. The  right  of  giving  their  opinions  and  suffrages 
upon  affairs  of  state  was  at  an  end  ;  nor  dared  they,  either 
in  their  own  persons  or  by  the  poets,  presume  to  censure 
the  sentiments  or  conduct  of  their  masters.  The  calling 
persons  by  their  names  upon  the  stage  was  prohibited  ;  but 
the  poetical  ill  nature  soon  found  the  secret  of  eluding  the 
intention  of  the  law,  and  of  making  itself  amends  f  )r  the 
restraint  which  was  imjiosed  upon  it  by  the  necessity  of 
using  feigned  names.  It  then  applied  itself  to  discover  the 
ridiculous  in  known  characters,  which  it  copied  to  the  life, 
and  from  tlience  acquired  the  double  advantage  of  gratify- 
ing the  vanity  of  the  poets,  and  the  malice  of  the  audience, 
in  a  more  refined  manner ;  the  one  had  the  delicate  pleasure 
of  putting  the  spectators  upon  guessing  their  meaning,  and 

*  Nimmm  risus  pretiiimest.  si  Probitatls  impen'lio constat.— Quintil.  lib.  vi.  c.  iii. 
t  Non  pejus  duxerim  tardi  iiigeiiii  ease  quam  maj.i. — Quintil.  lib.  i.  c.  3. 


IX  TKODUCTIOX.  Ill 

the  other  of  not  being  mistaken  in  their  suppositions,  and 
of  affixing  the  right  name  to  the  characters  represented. 
Such  "vvas  the  comedy  since  called  the  middle  comedy,  of 
which  there  are  some  instances  in  Aristophanes. 

It  continued  to  the  time  of  Alexander  the  Great,  who 
having  entirely  assured  himself  of  the  empire  of  Greece,  by 
the  defeat  of  the  Thebans,  caused  a  check  to  be  put  upon 
the  license  of  the  poets,  which  increased  daily.  From 
thence  the  neic  comedy  took  its  birth,  which  was  only  in 
imitation  of  private  life,  and  brought  nothing  upon  the 
stage  but  feigned  names  and  fictitious  adventures. 

Cliacun  peint  avec  art  dans  ce  iiouveau  miioir, 
S'y  vit  avecplaisir,  ou  crutiie  s'y  pas  voir. 
L'avare  des  preiiiierK  lit  dii  tableau  lids;lc 
D'uu  avaro  souvent  tra<;6  .•^urson  inodtile. 
Et  miUefois  lui  fat,  tiiiement  expiiin^ 
Metioanntle  joitrait  sur  lui-nieme  form^.* 

Ill  tliis  new  gla.  «,  while  each  liimself  fiirvey'd, 
He  Kat  \nt\\  pleasuie,  though  himself  was  play'd. 
The  miser  giinn'd  while  avarice  was  drawn, 
Kor  thought  the  iailhfiil  likeness  was  his  own  ; 
Hi8>3wii  dear  self  no  iniag'd  fool  could  find 
But  saw  athousand  other  fops  design'd. 

This  may  properly  be  called  fine  coniq^dy,  and  is  that  of 
Menander.  Of  one  hundred  and  eighty,  or  rather  eighty 
plays,  according  to  Suidas,  composed  by  him,  all  of  which 
Terence  is  said  to  have  translated,  there  remain  only  a  few 
fragments.  The  merit  of  the  originals  may  be  knoAvn  by 
the  excellence  of  their  copy.  Quintillian,  in  speaking  of 
Menander,  is  not  afraid  to  say,  that  with  the  beauty  of  his 
works,  and  the  height  of  his  reputation,  he  obsciired,  or 
rather  obliterated,  the  fame  of  all  other  writers  in  the  same 
way.  t  He  observes  in  another  passage,  that  his  own  times 
were  not  so  just  to  his  merit  as  they  ought  to  have  been, 
which  has  been  the  fate  of  many  others  ;  but  that  he  was 
sufficiently  compensated  by  the  favorable  opinion  of  pos- 
terity, t  And  indeed  Philemon,  a  common  poet  who  flour- 
ished in  the  same  age,  though  older  than  Menander,  was 
preferred  before  him. 

THE    THEATRE    OF    THE    ANCIE2fTS    DESCRIBED. 

I  have  already  observed,  that  ^schylus  was  the  first 
founder  of  a  fixed  and  durable  theatre,  adorned  with  suit- 

*  Boileau,  Art.  Poet.  Chant,  iii. 

t  Atque  ille  quidem  omnibus  ejusdem  operisauctoribrsabstulit  nomen,  etful- 
gore  quodani  suae  claritatis  tenebras  obduxit. — Quintil.  lib.  x.  c.  1. 

X  Quldani,  sicut  Menander,  justiora  posterorum,  quam  suse  setatis.  judicia  sunt 
consecuti. — Quintil.  lib.  iii.  c.  t>. 


112  INTRODUCTION. 

iible  decoi'ations.  It  was  at  fii'st,  as  well  as  the  amphi- 
theatres, composed  bf  wooden  planks,  the  seats  of  which 
rose  one  above  another  ;  but  those  breaking  down,  by  having 
too  great  a  weight  upon  them,  the  Athenians,  excessively 
enamored  with  dramatic  representation,  were  induced  by 
that  accident  to  erect  those  superb  structures,  which  were 
imitated  afterwards  with  so  much  splendor  by  the  Roman 
magnificence.  What  I  shall  say  of  them  has  almost  as 
much  relation  to  the  Roman  as  the  Athenian  theatres ;  and 
is  extracted  entirely  from  M.  Boindin's  learned  dissertation 
upon  the  theatre  of  the  ancients,  Avho  has  treated  the  sub- 
ject in  its  fullest  extent.* 

The  theatre  of  the  ancients  was  divided  into  three  prin- 
cipal parts;  each  of  which  had  its  peculiar  appellation. 
The  division  for  the  actors  was  called  in  general  the  scene, 
or  stage ;  that  for  the  spectators  was  particularly  termed 
the  theatre,  which  must  have  been  of  vast  extent,t  as  at 
Athens  it  Avas  capable  of  containing  above  thirty  thousand 
persons  ;.and  the  orchestra,  which  among  the  Greeks  was  the 
])lace  assigned  for  the  pantomimes  and  dancers,  though  at 
Rome  it  was  appropriated  to  the  senators  and  vestal  virgins. 

The  theatre  a\^s  of  a  semicircular  form  on  one  side,  and 
square  on  the  other.  The  space  contained  Avithin  the  semi- 
circle Avas  allotted  to  the  spectators,  and  had  seats  placed 
one  above  another  to  the  top  of  the  building.  The  square 
j)art,  in  front  of  it,  Avas  appropriated  to  the  actors ;  and  iu 
the  interval,  betAveen  both,  Avas  the  orchestra. 

The  great  theatres  had  three  roAvs  of  porticoes,  raised 
one  upon  another,  Avhich  formed  the  body  of  the  edifice, 
and  at  the  same  time  three  different  stories  for  tlTe  seats. 
From  the  highest  of  these  porticoes  the  Avomen  saAv  the 
representation,  covered  from  the  Aveather.  The  rest  of  the 
theatre  was  uncoAered,  and  all  the  business  of  the  stage  was 
performed  in  the  open  air. 

Each  of  these  stories  consisted  of  nine  roAvs  of  seats,  in- 
cluding the  landing-place,  Avhich  divided  them  from  each 
other,  and  served  as  a  passage  from  side  to  side.  But  as 
this  landing-place  and  passage  took  up  the  space  of  tAvo 
benches,  there  Avere  only  seA'en  to  sit  upon,  and  consequently 
in  each  story  there  Avere  seven  roAvs  of  seats.  They  Avere 
from  fifteen  to  eighteen  inches  in  height,  and  tAvice  as  much 
in  breath  ;  so  that  the  spectators  had  room  to  sit  Avith  their 

♦  Memoirs  of  the  Academy  of  Inscript.  &c.  vol.  1.  p-  136,  &c. 
Strab.  lib.  ix.  p.  COO.    Herod,  lib.  viii.  c.  65. 


IXTRODUCTIOX.  113 

legs  extended,  and  without  being '  incommoded  by  tliose  of 
the  people  above  them,  no  foot  boards  being  provided  for 
them. 

Each  of  these  stories  of  benches  was  divided  in  two 
(lifferent  manners ;  in  their  height  by  the  landing-places, 
called  by  the  Romans  prmcinctiones,  and  in  their  circum- 
ferences by  several  staircases  peculiar  to  each  story,  which 
intersecting  them  in  right  lines,  tending  towards  the  centre 
of  the  theatre,  gave  tl>e  form  of  wedges  to  the  ranges  of 
seats  between  them,  from  whence  they  were  called  cunei. 

Behind  these  stories  of  seats  were  covered  galleries, 
through  which  the  people  thronged  into  the  theatre  by  great 
square  openings,  contrived  for  that  purpose  in  the  walls  next 
the  seats.  Those  openings  were  called  vomAtoria,  from  the 
multitude  of  the  peojjle  crowding  through  them  into  their 
places. 

As  the  actors  could  not  be  heard  to  the  extremity  of  the 
theatre,  the  Greeks  contrived  a  means  to  suj)i)ly  that  defect, 
and  to  augment  the  force  of  the  voice,  and  make  it  more 
distinct  and  articulate.  For  that  purpose  they  invented  a 
kind  of  large  vessels  of  copper,  Avhich  were  disposed  under 
the  seats  of  the  theatre  in  such  a  manner,  as  made  all  sounds 
strike  upon  the  ear  with  more  force  and  distinctness. 

The  orchestra  being  situated,  as  I  have  observed,  be- 
tween the  two  other  parts  of  the  theatre,  of  which  one  was 
circular  and  the  other  square,  it  participated  of  the  form  of 
each,  and  occupied  the  space  between  both.  It  was  divided 
into  three  parts. 

The  first  and  most  considerable  was  more  particularly 
called  the  orchestra,  from  a  Greek  word  that  signifies  to 
dance.*  It  was  appropriated  to  the  pantomines  and  dancers, 
and  to  all  such  subaltern  actors  as  played  between  the  acts, 
and  at  the  end  of  the  representations. 

The  second  was  named  puiU/.Tj,  from  its  being  square,  in 
the  form  of  an  altar.     Here  the  chorus  was  generally  placed. 

And  in  the  third,  the  Greeks  generally  disposed  their 
symphony  or  band  of  music.  They  called  it  I'j-ofrxrj'^'.o'^,  from 
its  being  situated  at  the  bottom  of  the  principal  part  of  the 
theatre,  which  they  styled  the  scene. 

I  shall  describe  here  this  third  part  of  the  theatre,  called 
the  scene ;  which  was  also  subdivided  into  three  different 
parts. 

The  first  and  most  considerable  was  properly  called  the 

*  OpxficOai.' 


114  INTRODUCTION. 

scene,  and  gave  name  to  this  division.  It  occupied  the 
whole  front  of  tlie  building  from  side  to  side,  and  was  the 
place  allotted  for  tlie  decorations.  This  front  had  two  small 
wings  at  its  extremity,  from  which  hung  a  large  curtain,  tliat 
was  let  down  to  open  the  scene,  and  drawn  u])  Letwcen  the 
acts,  when  any  thing  in  the  representation  made  it  neces- 
sary. 

The  second,  called  by  the  Greeks  indifferently  -o.;-7zr;sy.'«v, 
and  /.(iyzhi>,  and  by  the  Romans  jvoscenium,  and  jjulpi turn, 
was  a  large  open  space  in  front  of  the  scene,  in  v.hicli  the 
actors  performed  their  parts,  and  which,  Ity  tlie  help  of  the 
decorations,  represented  either  the  public  place  or  forum,  a 
common  street,  or  the  country  ;  but  the  place  so  represented 
was  always  in  the  open  air. 

The  third  division  was  a  part  reserved  behind  the  scenes, 
and  called  by  the  Greeks  -apaar.rivwj.  Here  the  actors 
dressed  themselves,  and  the  decorations  were  locked  up.  In 
the  same  place  Avere  also  kept  the  machines,  of  which  tiie 
ancients  had  abundance  in  their  theatres. 

As  only  the  porticoes  and  the  building  of  the  scene  were 
roofed,  it  Avas  necessary  to  draw  sails,  fastened  with  cords 
to  masts,  over  the  rest  of  the  theatre,  to  screen  the  audience 
from  the  heat  of  the  sun.  But,  as  this  contrivance  did  not 
prevent  the  heat  occasioned  by  the  pers})iraiiun  and  breath 
of  so  numerous  an  assembly,  the  ancit  uts  took  care  to  allay  it 
by  a  kind  of  rain,  conveying  the  water  for  that  use  above 
the  porticoes,  Avhich  falling  again  in  form  of  dew  through 
an  infinity  of  small  pores,  concealed  in  the  statues  witli 
which  the  theatre  abounded,  did  not  only  diffuse  a  grateful 
coolness  all  around,  but  the  most  fragrant  exhalations  along 
with  it ;  for  this  dew  was  always  perfumed.  Whenever 
the  representations  were  interrupted  by  storms,  the  specta- 
tors retired  into  the  porticoes  behind  the  seats  of  the 
theatre. 

The  passion  of  the  Athenians  for  representations  of  this 
kind,  is  inconceivable.  Their  eyes,  their  ears,  their  imagina- 
tion, their  understanding,  all  shared  in  the  satisfaction. 
Nothing  gave  them  so  sensible  a  pleasure  in  dramatic  per- 
formances, either  tragic  or  comic,  as  the  strokes  which  were 
aimed  at  the  affairs  of  the  public,  whether  pure  chance  oc- 
casioned the  application,  or  the  address  of  the  poets,  who 
knew  how  to  reconcile  the  most  remote  subjects  with  the 
transactions  of  the  republic.  They  entered  by  that  means 
into  the  interests  of  the  people,  took  occasion  to  soothe  their 


INTRODUCTION.  115 

passions,  authorize  their  pretensions,  justify  and  sometimes 
condemn  their  conduct,  entertain  them  with  agreeable  hopes, 
instruct  them  in  their  duty,  in  certain  nice  conjunctures; 
the  effect  of  whicli  was,  that  the}-  often  not  only  acquired 
the  ap;olauses  of  tlie  spectators,  hut  credit  and  influence  in 
the  public  affairs  and  councils  ;  hence  the  theatre  became 
so  grateful,  and  so  much  the  concern  of  the  people.  It  was 
in  this  manner,  according  to  some  authors,  that  Euripides 
artfully  adapted  his  tragedy  of  PaLimedes*  with  the  sentence 
passed  against  Socrates,  and  explained,  by  an  illustrious 
example  of  antiquity,  the  innocence  of  a  pb.ilosopher,  op- 
pressed by  a  vile  malignity  supported  against  liim  by  power 
and  faction. 

Accident  was  often  the  occasion  of  sudden  and  unfore- 
seen applications,  which,  from  their  appositeness  were  very 
agreeable  to  the  people.  Upon  this  verse  of  .<:Eschylus  in 
praise  of  Amphiaraus, 

'Tis  his  desire 


Not  to  appear,  but  be  the  great  and  good, 

the  whole  audience  rose  up,  and  unanimously  applied  it  to 
Aristides.  t  The  same  thing  happened  to  Philopoemen  at 
the  Nemasn  games.  At  the  instant  he  entered  the  theatre, 
these  verses  were  singing  upon  the  stage, 

He  comes,  to  whom  we  owe 


Our  Uberty,  the  noblest  good  below. 

All  the  Greeks  cast  their  eyes  upon  Philopoemen, t  and  with 
clapping  of  hands,  and  acclamations  of  joy,  expressed  their 
veneration  for  the  hero. 

In  the  same  manner  at  Rome,  during  the  banishment  of 
Cicero,  §  when  some  verses  of  Accius,  ||  which  reproached 
the  Greeks  with  their  ingratitude  in  suffering  the  banish- 
ment of  Telamon,  Avere  repeated  by  ^sop,  the  best  actor  of 
his  time,  they  drew  tears  from  the  eyes  of  the  whole  assem- 
bly. 

Upon  another,  though  very  different  occasion,  the  Roman 
people  applied  to  Pompey  the  Great  some  verses  to  this 
effect : 

'Tis  our  uuhappiiiess  has  made  thee  great  :  f 

♦  It  is  not  certain  whether  this  piece  was  prior  or  posterior  to  the  death  of 
Socrates. 

t  Plat,  in  Aristid.  p.  320.  t  Plut.  in.  Philopoem.  p  362. 

§  Cio.  in  Orat.  pro  Sext.  n.  120,  123. 

II  O  ingratitici  Argivi,  iiianes  Graii,  immemores  beneficii, 

Exulare  sivistis,  sivistis  pelli,  vulsum  patimini. 
IT  Cic.  ad  Attic.  1.  ii.  Epist.  19.     Val.  Max.  1.  vi.  c.  2. 


116  IXTRODUCTIOX. 

and  then  addressing  the  people, 

Tlie  time  sliall  come  wlien  yoxi  shall  late  deplore 
So  great  a  power  coulided  to  such  hands  ; 

the  spectators  obliged  the  actor  to  repeat  these  A^erses  sev- 
eral times. 

FONDNESS  FOE  THEATRICAL  EEPRESENTATIOXS,  OXE  OF  THE 
PRINCIPAL  CAUSES  OF  THE  DECLINE,  DEGENERACY,  AND 
CORRUPTION    OF    THE    ATHENIAN    STATE. 

When  we  compare  the  happy  times  of  Greece,  in  which 
Europe  and  Asia  resounded  with  nothing  but  the  fame  of 
the  Athenian  victories,  with  the  latter  ages,  when  the  power 
of  Philip  and  Alexander  the  Great  had  in  a  manner  subjected 
it,  we  shall  be  surj)rised  at  the  strange  alteration  in  the 
affairs  of  that  republic.  But  what  is  most  materisd  is  the 
Investigation  of  the  causes  and  progress  of  this  declension ; 
and  these  M.  de  Tourreil  has  discussed  in  an  admirable 
manner,  in  the  elegant  preface  to  his  translation  of  Demos- 
tbenes's  orations. 

There  were  no  longer  at  Athens  any  traces  of  that  man- 
ly and  vigorous  policy  equally  capable  of  })lanning  good, 
and  retrieving  bad  success.  Instead  of  that,  there  re- 
mained only  an  inconsistent  loftiness,  apt  to  evaporate  in 
pompous  decrees.  They  were  no  more  those  Athenians, 
who,  when  menaced  by  a  deluge  of  barbarians,  demolished 
their  houses  to  build  ships  with  the  timber,  and  whose 
women  stoned  the  abject  wretch  to  death,  that  proposed  to 
appease  the  grand  monarch  by  tribute  or  homage.  The 
love  of  ease  and  pleasure  had  almost  extinguished  that  of 
glory,  liberty,  and  independence. 

Pericles,  that  great  man,  so  absolute  that  those  who 
envied  him  treated  him  as  a  second  Pisistratus,  was  the  first 
author  of  this  degeneracy  and  coi-ruption.  With  the  de- 
sign of  conciliating  the  favor  of  the  people,  he  ordained, 
that,  upon  such  days  as  games  or  sacrifices  were  celebrated, 
a  certain  number  of  oboli  should  be  distributed  among 
them. ;  and  that,  in  the  assemblies  in  Avhich  affairs  of  state 
were  to  be  discussed,  every  individual  should  receive  a 
certain  pecuniary  gratification  in  right  of  being  present. 
Thus  the  members  of  the  republic  were  seen  for  the  first 
time  to  sell  their  care  in  the  administration  of  the  govern- 
ment, and  to  rank  among  servile  emplojinents  the  most 
noble  functions  of  the  sovereign  poAver. 


IXTRODUCTIOX.  117 

It  "was  not  difficult  to  foresee  where  so  excessive  an 
abuse  would  end ;  and  to  remedy  it,  it  was  proposed  to 
establish  a  fund  for  the  support  of  the  war,  and  to  make  it 
capital  to  advise,  upon  any  account  whatsoever,  tlie  applica^ 
tion  of  it  to  other  uses  ;  but,  notwithstanding,  tlie  abuse 
always  subsisted.  At  first  it  seemed  tolerable,  while  the 
citizen,  who  was  supported  at  the  public  expense,  endeav- 
ored to  deserve  its  liberality,  by  doing  his  duty  in  the 
field  for  nine  months  together.  Every  one  was  to  serve  in 
his  turn,  and  Avhoever  failed  was  treated  as  a  deserter,  with- 
out distinction  ;  but  at  length  the  number  of  the  transgressors 
carried  it  against  the  law,  and  impunity,  as  it  commonly 
happens,  multi])lied  their  number.  Pco])le  accustomed  to 
the  delightfid  abode  of  a  city  where  feasts  and  games  ran 
in  a  perpetual  circle,  conceived  an  invincible  repugnance  for 
labor  and  fatigue,  which  they  looked  upon  as  uuv\  orthy  of 
free-born  men. 

It  was  therefore  necessary  to  find  amusement  for  this 
indolent  people,  to  fill  up  the  great  void  of  an  inactive,  use- 
less life.  Hence  arose  princi]:)ally  their  passion,  or  rather 
frenzy,  for  ])ublic  shows.  The  death  of  Epaminondas, 
which  seemed  to  promise  them  the  gi-eatest  advantage,  gave 
the  final  stroke  to  their  ruin  and  destruction.  "  Their  cour- 
age," says  Justin,*  "did  not  survive  that  illustrious 
Theban.  Free  from  a  rival,  who  kept  their  emulation  alive, 
they  sunk  into  a  lethargic  sloth  and  effeminacy.  The  funds 
for  armaments  by  land  and  sea,  were  soon  lavished  upon 
games  and  feasts.  The  pay  of  the  seaman  and  soldier  was 
distributed  to  the  idle  citizen,  enervated  by  soft  and  luxuri- 
ous habits  of  life.  The  representations  of  the  theatre  were 
preferred  to  the  exercises  of  the  camp.  Valor  and  military 
knowledge  were  entirely  disregarded.  Great  captains  were 
in  no  estimation,  while  good  poets  and  excellent  comedians 
engrossed  universal  applause. 

Extravagance  of  this  kind  makes  it  easy  to  comprehend 
in  what  multitudes  the  people  thronged  to  dramatic  per- 
formances. As  no  expense  was  spared  in  embellishing 
them,  exorbitant  sums  were  sunk  in  the  service  of  the  thea- 
tre. "  If,"  says  Plutarch,!  "  ^^  accurate  calculation  were  to 
be  made,  what  each  representation  of  the  dramatic  pieces 
cost  the  Athenians,  it  would  appear,  that  their  expenses  in 
playing  the  Bacchanalians,  the  Phoenicians,  (Edipus,  Anti- 
gone,   Medea,   and   Electra    (tragedies   written   either    by 

•  Justin.  1.  vi.  c.  9.  t  Plut.  de.  Glor.  Athen.  p.  349. 


118  l?fTRODUCTIO?r. 

Sophocles  or  Euripides),  were  greater  than  those  which  had 
been  employed  against  the  Barbarians,  in  defence  of  the 
liberty,  and  for  tlie  preservation  of  Greece."  *  This  gave  a 
Spartan  just  reason  to  exclaim,  on  seeing  an  estimate  of  the 
enormous  sums  laid  out  in  these  efforts  of  the  tragic  poets, 
and  the  extraordinary  pains  taken  by  the  magistrates  who 
presided  in  theni,  "  That  a  people  must  be  void  of  sense,  to 
apply  themselves  in  so  warm  and  serious  a  manner  to  things 
so  frivolous.  For,"  added  he,  "games  should  be  only 
games ;  and  nothing  is  more  unreasonable  than  to  purchase 
a  Jiort  and  trivial  amusement  at  so  great  a  price.  Pleas- 
ures of  this  kind  agree  only  Avith  public  rejoicings  and  sea- 
sons of  festivity,  and  were  designed  to  divert  people  at 
their  leisure  hours,  but  should  by  no  means  interfere  with 
the  affairs  of  the  public,  nor  the  necessary  expenses  of  the 
government." 

"  After  all,"  says  Plutarch,  in  a  passage  which  I  have 
already  cited,  "of  what  utility  have  these  tragedies  been  to 
Athens,  though  so  much  boasted  by  the  people,  and  ad- 
mired by  the  rest  of  the  world  ?  We  find,  th;it  the  pru- 
dence of  Themistocles  inclosed  the  city  Avith  strong 
walls ;  that  the  fine  taste  and  magnificence  of  Pericles  im- 
proved and  adorned  it ;  that  the  noble  fortitude  of  Mil- 
tiades  preserved  its  liberty ;  and  that  the  moderate  conduct 
of  Cimon  acquired  it  the  empire  and  government  of  all 
Greece,"  If  the  wise  and  learned  poetry  of  Euripides,  the 
sublime  diction  of  Sophocles,  the  lofty  buskin  of  ^schylus, 
have  obtained  equal  advantages  for  the  city  of  Athens,  by 
delivering  it  from  impending  calamities,  or  by  adding  to  its 
glory,  I  am  willing  (he  adds)  that  "  dramatic  pieces  should 
be  placed  in  competition  with  trophies  of  victory,  the  poetic 
theatre  Avith  the  field  of  battle,  and  the  compositions  of  the 
poets  Avith  the  great  exploits  of  the  generals."  But  Avhat  a 
comparison  Avould  this  be  ?  On  the  one  side  would  be  seen 
a  fcAV  Avriters,  croAvned  with  Avreaths  of  ivy,  and  dragging  a 
goat  or  an  ox  after  them,  the  rcAvards  and  victims  assigned 
them  for  excelling  in  tragic  poetry ;  on  the  other,  a  train  of 
illustrious  captains,  surrounded  with  colonies  Avhich  they 
founded,  the  cities  Avhich  they  captured,  and  the  nations 
which  they  subjected.  It  is  not  to  perpetuate  the  victories 
of  ^schylus  and  Sophocles,  but  in  remembrance  of  the 
glorious   battles   of  Marathon,   Salamis,   Eurymedon,   and 

•  Plut,  Sympos.  lib,  vii.  quest,  vil.  p.  710.  "" 


INTRODUCTIOX.  119 

many  others,  that  so  many  feasts  are  celebrated  every 
month  with  such  pomp  by  the  Grecians. 

The  conclusion  which  is  hence  drav/n  by  Plutarch,  in 
which  Ave  ought  to  join  him,  is,  that  it  was  the  highest  im- 
prudence in  the  Athenians  thus  to  prefer  pleasure  to  diilv, 
the  passion  for  the  theatre  to  the  love  of  their  country,* 
trivial  representations  to  application  to  public  business,  and 
to  consume,  in  useless  exjjenses  and  dramatic  entertain- 
ments, the  funds  intended  for  the  support  of  fleets  and 
armies.  Macedon,  till  then  obscure  and  inconsiderable, 
well  knew  how  to  take  advantage  of  the  Atheniaii  indo- 
lence and  effeminacy;  f  and  Philip,  instructed  by  the  Greeks 
themselves,  among  whom  he  had  for  several  years  applied 
himself  successfully  to  the  art  of  war,  was  not  long  before 
he  gave  Greece  a  master,  and  subjected  it  to  the  yoke,  as 
we  shall  see  in  the  sequel. 

I  am  now  to  open  an  entirely  new  scene  to  the  reader's 
view,  not  unAvorthy  his  curiosity  and  attention.  We  shall 
see  two  states  of  no  great  consideration,  Media  and  Persia, 
extend  themselves  far  and  wide,  under  the  conduct  of 
Cyrus,  like  a  torrent  or  a  conflagration,  and  with  amazing 
rapidity,  conquer  and  subdue  many  provinces  and  king- 
doms. We  shall  see  that  vast  empire  setting  the  nations 
under  its  dominion  in  motion,  the  Persians,  Medes,  Phceni- 
cians,  Egyptians,  Babylonians,  Indians,  and  many  others, 
and  falling,  with  all  the  forces  of  Asia  and  the  East,  upon  a 
country  of  very  small  extent,  and  destitute  of  all  foreign 
assistance  ;  I  mean  Greece.  When,  on  the  one  hand,  we 
behold  so  many  nations  united  together,  such  preparations 
for  war,  made  for  several  years,  with  so  much  diligence, 
innumerable  armies  by  sea  and  land,  and  such  fleets  as  the 
sea  could  hardly  contain  ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  two  weak 
cities,  Athens  and  Lacedaemon,  abandoned  by  all  their  allies, 
and  left  almost  entirely  to  themselves,  have  we  not  reason 
to  believe,  that  these  two  little  cities  are  going  to  be  ut- 
terly desti'oyed  and  swallowed  up  by  so  formidable  an 
enemy ;  and  that  no  vestiges  of  them  will  be  left  remain- 
ing? And  yet  we  shall  lind  that  they  prove  victorious, 
and,  by  their  invincible  courage,  and  the  several  battles 
they  gained,  both  by  sea  and  land,  will  make  the  Persian 

*  XixapToLUOvatP  *Adrjya.LOt.  jxeyaAa,  rijp  trvovSiji'  ei.^  r'rfw  iraidaiav  KaTauaKitrKot'Tet; 
TOVTGaTL  iJ.eyd\oiV  dnoarokutu  Bandva,^  kol  arpaTev^aTijjy  €(/>6Sia  KaTa\op7]yovyT€i   ei?  to 

t  Quibng  rebus  effectum  est,  ut  inter  otia  Graecorum,  sordidum  et  obscurum 
antea5la«.':cdoiium  nomsn  emer;,'eret :  et  Phi]ippus,obse8trieiiiiioTliebi-i  habitus 
Epaiiiinondae  et  Pelopidfe  vinutibus  eruditus,  regnum  Macedonise  Grseciaa  ei 
Asise  cervicibus,  velut  juf^um  servitutis  imponeret. — Just.  1.  yi.  c.  9. 


t20 


IXTKODUCTIOX. 


empire  lay  aside  all  thoughts  of  ever  again  turning  their 
arms  against  Greece.  " 

The  history  of  the  war  between  the  Persians  and  the 
Greeks  will  illustrate  the  truth  of  this  maxim,  that  it  is  not 
the  number,  but  the  valor  of  the  troops,  and  the  conduct  of 
the  generals,  on  which  depends  the  success  of  military  ex- 
peditions. The  reader  will  admire  the  surprising  courage 
and  intrepidity  of  the  great  men  at  the  head  of  the  Grecian 
affairs,  whom  neither  all  the  world  in  motion  against  them 
could  deject,  nor  the  greatest  misfortunes  disconcert ;  who 
undertook,  with  a  handful  of  men,  to  make  head  against  in- 
numerable armies  ;  who,  notwithstanding  such  a  prodigious 
inequality  in  forces,  durst  hope  for  success  ;  who  even  com- 
pelled victory  to  declare  on  the  side  of  merit  and  virtue, 
and  taught  all  succeeding  generations  what  infinite  resources 
and  expedients  are  to  be  found  in  prudence,  valor,  and  ex- 
perience ;  in  a  zeal  for  liberty  and  our  country,  in  the  love 
of  our  duty,  and  in  all  the  sentiments  of  noble  and  generous 
souls. 

This  wrr  of  the  Persians  against  the  Grecians  will  be 
followed  by  aiother  among  the  latter  tnemselves,  but  of  a 
very  different  kind  from  the  former.  In  the  latter,  there 
will  scarce  be  any  actions,  but  what  in  appearance  are  of 
little  consequence,  and  seemingly  unworthy  of  a  reader's 
curiosity,  who  is  fond  of  great  events ;  in  this  he  will  meet 
with  little  besides  private  quarrels  between  certain  cities,  or 
some  small  commonwealths ;  some  inconsiderable  sieges 
(excepting  that  of  Syracuse,  one  of  the  most  imj)ortant  re- 
lated in  ancient  history),  though  several  of  these  sieges 
were  of  considerable  duration ;  some  battles  between  ar- 
mies, where  the  numbers  were  small,  and  but  little  blood 
shed.  What  is  it,  then,  that  has  rendered  these  wars  so 
famous  in  history  ?  Sallust  informs  us  in  these  words : 
"  The  actions  of  the  Athenians  doubtless  were  great,  and 
yet  I  believe  they  were  somewhat  less  than  fame  reports 
them.  But  because  Athens  abounded  in  noble  Avriters,  the 
acts  of  that  republic  are  celebrated  throughout  the  whole 
world  as  the  most  glorious  ;  and  the  gallantry  of  those 
heroes  who  performed  them,  has  had  the  good  fortune  to  be 
thought  as  transcendant  as  the  eloquence  of  those  who  have 
described  them,"  * 

*  Atheniensinm  res  gestfc,  sicuti  ejro  existimo.  sntis  ainplaj  mafniififiequo 
fueruiit  :  verum  aliqxiauto  minores,  tamen,  quam  faiiia  feruiitur.  Sed  quia  pro- 
venere  ibi  scriptonini  magiia  iiigenia,  per  terraruni  orbem  Atheniensiinn  facta 
pro  maximis  celebrantur.  Ita  eoruni,  qusB  tecere,  virtus  tanto  hebetur,  quaiUum 
earn  verbis  potuere  extoUere  praeclara  iiigenia. — Sallust.  in  Bell.  Catilln. 


,  IXTRODUCTION'.  121 

Sallust,  though  jealous  enough  of  the  glory  the  Ro- 
mans had  acquired  by  a  series  of  distinguished  actions, 
with  which  their  history  aboimds ;  yet  he  does  justice  in 
this  passage  to  the  Grecians,  by  acknowledging,  that  their 
exploits  were  truly  great  and  illustrious,  though  somewhat 
inferior,  in  his  o})inion,  to  their  fame.  What  is,  then,  this 
foreign  and  borrowed  lustre,  which  the  Athenian  actions 
have  derived  from  the  eloquence  of  their  historians  ?  It  is, 
that  the  whole  universe  agrees  in  looking  upon  them  as  the 
greatest  and  most  glorious  that  ever  were  performed.  Per 
terrarum  orhem  AtheniensiM/n  facta  pro  maxim  is  cele- 
hrantur.  All  nations,  seduced  and  enchanted  as  it  were 
with  the  beauties  of  the  Greek  authors,  think  the  exploits 
of  that  people  superior  to  any  other  thing  that  was  ever 
done  by  any  other  nation.  This,  according  to  Sallust,  is  the 
advantage  the  Athenians  have  derived  from  the  Greek  au- 
thors, Avho  have  thus  excellently  described  their  actions  ; 
and  very  unhappy  it  is  for  us,  that  our  history,  for  want  of 
the  like  assistance,  has  left  a  thousand  bright  actions  and 
fine  sayings  unrecorded,  which  would  have  been  put  in  the 
strongest  light  by  the  ancient  writers,  and  M^ould  have  done 
great  honor  to  our  country. 

But,  however  this  may  be,  it  must  be  confessed,  that  we 
are  not  always  to  judge  of  the  value  of  an  action,  or  the 
merit  of  the  persons  who  shared  in  it,  by  the  importance  of 
the  event.  It  is  rather  in  such  little  sieges  and  engagements 
as  we  find  recorded  in  the  history  of  the  Peloponnesian  war, 
that  the  conduct  and  abilities  of  a  general  are  truly  con- 
spicuous. Accordingly  it  is  observed,  that  it  was  chiefly 
at  the  head  of  small  armies,  and  in  countries  of  no  great 
extent,  that  our  best  generals  of  the  last  age  displayed  their 
great  capacity,  and  showed  themselves  not  inferior  to  the 
most  celebrated  captains  of  antiquity.  In  actions  of  this 
sort,  chance  has  no  share,  and  does  not  cover  any  oversights 
that  are  committed.  Every  thing  is  conducted  and  carried 
on  by  the  prudence  of  the  general.  He  is  truly  the  soul  of 
the  army,  which  neither  acts  nor  moves  but  by  his  direc- 
tion. He  sees  every  thing,  and  is  present  everywhere. 
Nothing  escapes  his  vigilance  and  attention.  Orders  are 
seasonably  given  and  seasonably  executed.  Finesse,  strata- 
gems, false  marches,  real  or  feigned  attacks,  encampments, 
decampments,  in  a  word,  every  thing,  depends  upon  him 
alone. 

On  this  account,  the  reading  of  the  Greek  historians. 


122  INTEODUCTIOX.  • 

such  as  Thucydides,  Xenophon,  and  Polybius,  is  of  infinite 
service  to  young  officers  ;  because  tliose  historians,  who 
were  also  excellent  commanders,  enter  into  all  the  particulars 
of  the  military  art,  and  lead  the  readers,  as  it  were,  by  the 
hand,  through  all  the  sieges  and  battles  they  describe ; 
showing  them,  by  the  example  of  the  greatest  generals  of 
antiquity,  and  by  a  kind  of  anticipated  experience,  in  what 
manner  war  is  to  be  carried  on. 

Nor  is  it  only  with  regard  to  military  exploits,  that  the 
Grecian  history  affords  us  such  excellent  models.  We  shall 
there  find  celebrated  legislators,  able  politicians,  magistrates 
born  for  government,  men  who  have  excelled  in  all  arts  and 
sciences,  philosophers  that  carried  their  inquiries  as  far  as 
possible  in  those  early  ages,  and  who  have  left  us  such 
maxims  of  morality  as  might  put  many  Christians  to  the 
blush. 

If  the  virtues  of  those  who  are  celebrated  in  history 
may  serve  us  for  models  in  the  conduct  of  our  lives,  their 
vices  and  failings,  on  the  other  hand,  are  no  less  ])roper  to 
caution  and  instruct  us  ;  and  the  strict  regard  which  a  his- 
torian is  obliged  to  pay  to  truth,  will  not  allow  him  to  dis- 
semble the  latter  through  fear  of  eclipsing  the  lustre  of  the 
former.  Nor  does  Avhat  I  here  advance  contradict  the  rule 
laid  down  by  Plutarch,  on  the  same  subject,  in  his  preface 
to  the  life  of  Cimon.*  He  requires  that  the  illustrious  ac- 
tions of  great  men  be  represented  in  their  full  light :  but  as 
to  the  faults,  which  may  sometimes  escape  them  through 
passion  or  surprise,  or  into  which  they  may  be  drawn  by 
the  necessity  of  affairs,!  considering  them  rather  as  a  cer- 
tain degree  of  perfection  wanting  to  their  virtue,  than  as 
vices  or  crimes  that  proceed  from  any  corruption  of  the 
heart ;  such  imperfections  as  these,  he  would  have  the  his- 
torian, out  of  compassion  to  the  Aveakness  of  human  nature, 
which  produces  nothing  entirely  perfect,  content  himself 
with  touching  very  lightly  ;  in  the  same  manner  as  an  able 
painter,  Avhen  he  has  a  fine  face  to  draw,  in  which  he  finds 
some  little  blemish  or  defect,  does  neither  entirely  suppress 
it,  nor  think  himself  obliged  to  represent  it  Avith  a  strict  ex- 
actness, because  the  one  would  spoil  the  beauty  of  the  pic- 
ture, and  the  other  would  destroy  the  likeness.  The  very 
comparison  Plutarch  uses,  shows  that  he  speaks  only  of  slight 
and  excusable  faults.     But  as  to  actions  of  injustice,  violence, 

♦  In  Cim,  p.  479,  480  t  EAXeifiaro  naKKov  apvjr^s  Tivoi  ri  Kaxiat  TrocTjpeiifiaTa. 


INTR0DUCT10>'^.  123 

and  brutality,  they  ought  not  to  be  concealed  or  disguised  on 
any  account ;  nor  can  we  suppose  that  the  same  privilege 
should  be  allowed  in  history  as  in  painting,  which  invented 
the  profile  to  represent  the  side-face  of  a  prince  who  had  lost 
an  ej'e,  and  by  that  means  ingeniously  concealed  so  disagree- 
able a  deformity.*  History,  the  most  essential  rule  of  which 
is  sincerity,  will  by  no  means  admit  of  such  indulgences,  as 
indeed  would  deprive  it  of  its  greatest  advantage. 

Sh:une,  rejiroach,  infamy,  hatred,  and  the  execrations  of 
the  public,  which-  are  the  inseparable  attendants  on  criminal 
and  brutal  actions,  are  no  less  })roper  to  excite  a  horror  for 
vice,  than  the  glory,  which  perpetually  attends  good  actions, 
is  to  inspire  us  with  the  love  of  virtue.  And  these,  accord- 
ing to  Tacitias,  are  the  two  ends  which  every  historian  ought 
to  propose  to  himself,  by  making  a  judicious  choice  of  what 
is  most  extraordinary  both  in  good  and  evil,  in  order  to  oc- 
casion that  public  homage  to  be  paid  to  virtue,  which  is 
justly  due  to  it ;  and  to  create  the  greater  abhorrence  for  vice, 
on  account  of  the  eternal  infamy  that  attends  it.f 

The  history  which  I  am  writing  furnishes  but  too  many 
examples  of  the  latter  sort.  With  respect  to  the  Persians, 
it  will  appear  by  Avhat  is  said  of  their  kings,  that  those  princes 
whose  power  has  no  other  bounds  than  those  of  their  will, 
often  abandon  themselves  to  all  their  passions;  that  nothing 
is  more  difficult  than  to  resist  the  delusions  of  a  man's  own 
greatness,  and  the  flatteries  of  those  that  surround  him  ;  that 
the  liberty  of  gi-atifying  all  one''s  desires,  and  of  doing  evil 
M'ith  impunity,  is  a  dangerous  situation ;  that  the  best  dis- 
positions can  hardly  withstand  such  a  temptation ;  that  even 
after  having  begun  their  career  favorably,  they  are  insensibly 
corrupted  by  softness  and  effeminacy,  by  pride,  and  their 
aversion  to  sincere  counsels;  and  that  it  rarely  happens  they 
are  wise  enough  to  consider  that,  when  they  find  themselves 
exalted  above  all  laws  and  restraints,  they  stand  then  most 
in  need  of  moderation  and  wisdom,  both  in  regard  to  them- 
selves and  others  ;  and  that  in  such  a  situation  they  ought  to 
be  doubly  wise,  and  doubly  strong,  in  order  to  set  bounds 
within,  by  their  reason,  to  a  power  that  has  none  without. 

With  respect  to  the  Grecians,  the  Peloponnesian  war  will 
show  the  miserable  effects  of  their  intestine  divisions,  and 

*  Habet  in  pictura  speelem  tola  facies.  Apelles  tjuneii  imagiiiem  Antigoni 
latere  taut  urn  aUero  ostendit,  ut  amis.i  oculi  defoinutas  lateret.— CtUiiitil  1  ii. 
c.  13. 

t  Exequi  senteutias  hand  institui,  uiai  iiiKigiies  per  honestnm  ant  iiotabiU 
dedet'ore  ;  quod  praecipuuni  munns  aiinaliuin  reor,  lie  ylrtutes  sUeantur,  utquo 
pravis  dic-tis  factis^ue  ex  posieritateetiiifamia  metussit. — Tacit.  Anual.  1.  iii.  65. 


124  IXTRODUCTION. 

the  fatal  excesses  into  which  they  Avere  led  by  their  thirst  of 
dominion,  scenes  of  injustice,  ingratitude,  and  perfidy,  to- 
gether with  the  open  violation  of  treaties,  or  mean  artifices 
and  iinworthy  tricks  to  elude  their  execution.  It  will  show, 
how  scandalously  the  Lacedtemonians  and  Athenians  debased 
themselves  to  the  barbarians,  in  order  to  beg  aids  of  money 
from  them  ;  how  shamefully  the  great  deliAcrers  of  Greece 
renounced  the  glory  of  all  their  past  labors  and  exploits,  by 
stooping  and  making  their  court  to  certain  haugJity  and  in- 
solent s-!traps,  and  by  going  successively.,  Avith  a  kind  of 
emulation,  to  implore  the  protection  of  the  common  enemy, 
whom  they  had  so  often  conquered ;  and  in  what  manner 
they  em})loyed  the  succors  they  obtained  from  them,  in  op- 
pressing their  ancient  allies,  and  extending  their  own  terri- 
tories by  unjust  and  violent  methods. 

On  both  sides,  and  sometimes  in  the  same  person,  we 
shall  find  a  surprising,  mixture  of  good  and  bad,  of  virtues 
and  vices,  of  glorious  actions  and  mean  sentiments  ;  and 
sometimes,  perhaps,  we  shall  be  ready  to  ask  ourselves, 
whether  these  can  be  the  same  persons  and  the  same  people, 
of  whom  such  different  things  are  related  ;  and  whether  it 
be  possible  that  such  a  bright  and  shining  light,  and  such 
thick  clouds  of  smoke  and  darkness,  can  proceed  from  the 
same  source  ? 

The  Persian  history  includes  the  space  of  one  hundred 
and  seventeen  years,  during  the  reigns  of  six  kings  of 
Persia  :  Darius,  the  first  of  the  name,  the  son  of  Hystaspes  ; 
Xerxes  the  first  Artaxerxes,  surnamed  Longimanus  ;  Xerxes, 
the  second  ;  Sogdianus  (the  two  last  reigned  but  a  short 
time)  ;  and  Darius  the  second,  commonly  called  Darius 
Nothus.  This  history  begins  at  the  year  of  the  world  3483, 
and  extends  to  the  year  3600.  As  this  whole  period  natur- 
ally divides  itself  into  two  parts,  I  shall  also  divide  it  into 
two  distinct  books. 

The  first  part,  which  consists  of  ninety  years,  extends 
from  the  beginning  of  the  reign  of  Darius  the  first  to  the 
forty-second  year  of  Artaxerxes,  the  same  year  in  which  the 
Peloponnesian  war  began  ;  that  is  from  the  year  of  the  world 
3483  to  the  year  3573.  This  part  chiefly  contains  the  differ- 
ent enterprises  aud  expeditions  of  the  Persians  against 
Greece,  which  never  produced  more  gi-eat  men  or  greater 
events,  nor  ever  displayed  more  conspicuous  or  more  solid 
virtues.  Here  will  be  seen  the  famous  battles  of  Marathon, 
Thermopylae,  Artemisium,  Salamis,  Plataea,  Mycale,  Eury- 


lifTRODUCTIO:!^^.  125 

medon,  etc.  Here  the  most  eminent  commanders  of  Greece 
signalized  their  courage  :  Miltiades,  Leonidas,  Themistocles, 
Aristides,  Cimon,  Pausanias,  Pericles,  Thucydides,  etc. 

To  enable  the  reader  the  more  easily  to  recollect  what 
passed  Avithin  this  space  of  time  among  the  Jews,  and  also 
among  the  Romans,  the  history  of  both  which  nations  is  en- 
tirely foreign  to  that  of  the  Persians  and  Greeks,  I  shall  here 
set  down  in  few  words  the  principal  epochs  relating  to 
them. 

EPOCHS    or    THE    JEWISH    HISTORY. 

The  people  of  God  were  at  this  time  returned  from  their 
Babylonish  captivity  to  Jerusalem,  under  the  conduct  of 
Zorobahel.  Usher  is  of  opinion,  that  the  history  of  Esther 
ought  to  be  placed  in  the  reign  of  Darius.  The  Israelites, 
under  the  shadoAv  of  this  prince's  protection,  and  animated 
by  the  warm  exhortations  of  the  prophets  Haggai  and 
Zechariah,  did  at  last  finish  the  building  of  the  temple, 
which  had  been  interrupted  for  many  years  by  the  cabals  of 
their  enemies.  Artaxerxes  was  no  less  favorable  to  the  Jews 
than  Darius;  he  first  of  all  sent  Ezra  to  Jerusalem,  who  re- 
stored the  public  Avorship,  and  the  observation  of  the  law ; 
then  Nehemiah,  Avho  caused  walls  to  be  built  round  the  city, 
and  fortified  it  against  the  attacks  of  their  neighbors,  Avho 
were  jealous  of  its  reviving  greatness.  It  is  thought  that 
Malachi,  the  last  of  the  prophets,  was  contemporary  with 
Nehemiah,  or  that  he  prophesied  not  long  after  him. 

This  interval  of  the  sacred  history  extends  from  the  reign 
of  Darius  I.  to  the  beginning  of  the  reign  of  Darius  Nothus ; 
that  is  to  say,  from  the  year  of  the  world  3485  to  the  year 
3581.  Alter  which  the  Scripture  is  entirely  silent,  till  the 
time  of  the  Maccabees. 

EPOCHS    OF    THE    ROMAN    HISTORY. 

The  first  year  of  Darius  I.  was  the  233d  of  the  building 
of  Rome.  Tarquin  the  Proud  was  then  on  the  throne,  and 
about  ten  years  afterwards  was  expelled,  when  the  consular 
government  was  substituted  for  that  of  the  kings.  In  the 
succeeding  part  of  this  period,  happened  the  war  against 
Porsenna ;  the  creation  of  the  tribunes  of  the  people ;  Corio- 
lanus's  retreat  among  the  Volsci,  and  the  war  that  ensued 
thereupon ;  the  w^ars  of  the  Romans  against  the  Latins,  the 
Vejentes,  the  Volsci,  and  other  neighboring  nations;  the 


126  INTRODUCTION". 

death  of  Virginia  under  tlie  Decenivirate  ;  tlie  disputes  be- 
tween the  people  and  senate  about  raarringes  and  tlie  con- 
sulship, which  occasioned  the  creating  of  military  tribunes 
instead  of  coiisd  .  This  ptriod  of  time  tenuinates  in  the 
323d  year  from  the  foundation  of  Home. 

The  second  part,  which  consists  of  twenty-seven  years, 
extends  from  the  forty-third  year  of  Artaxerxes  Longinianus 
to  the  death  of  Darius  Kothus ;  that  is  from  the  year  of  the 
world  3573  to  the  year  3600.  It  contains  the  first  nineteen 
years  of  the  Pcloponnesian  war,  which  continued  twenty- 
seven,  of  which  Greece  and  Sicily  were  the  seat,  and  wherein 
the  Greeks,  who  had  before  trium])hed  over  the  barbarians, 
turned  their  arms  against  each  other.  Among  the  Atheni- 
ans, Pericles,  Nicias,  and  Alcibiades ;  among  the  Lacedse- 
monians,  Brasidas,  Gylippus,  and  Lysander,  eminently  dis- 
tinguished themselves. 

Rome  continued  to  be  agitated  by  different  disputes 
between  the  senate  and  people.  Towards  the  end  of  this 
period,  and  about  the  350th  year  of  Rome,  the  Romans 
formed  the  siege  of  Veji,  which  lasted  ten  yeai's. 

I  have  already  observed,  that  eighty  years  after  the  tak- 
ing of  Troy,*  the  Heraclidae,  that  is,  the  descendants  of 
Hercules,  returned  into  the  Peloponnesus,  and  made  them- 
selves masters  of  Lacediemon,  where  two  of  them,  who 
were  brothers,  Euristhenes  and  Procles,  sons  of  Aristodenius, 
reigned  jointly  together.!  Herodotus  observes,  that  these 
two  brothers  were,  during  their  whole  lives,  at  variance,  and 
that  almost  all  their  descendants  inherited  the  like  disposi- 
tion of  mutual  hatred  and  antipathy ;  so  true  it  is,  that  the 
sovereign  power  will  admit  of  no  partnership,  and  that  two 
kings  will  always  be  too  many  for  one  kingdom  !  HoAvever, 
after  the  death  of  these  two,  the  descendants  of  both  still 
continued  to  sway  the  sceptre  jointly;  and  Avhat  is  very 
remarkable,  these  two  branches  subsisted  for  near  nine 
hundred  years,  from  the  return  of  the  Heraclidaj  into  the 
Peloponnesus  to  the  death  of  Cleomenes,  and  su])])lied 
Sparta  with  kings  without  interru])tion,  and  that  generally 
in  a  regular  succession  from  father  to  son,  especially  in  the 
elder  branch  of  the  family. 

THE    OKIGIX    AND    CONDITION    OF    THE    ELOT^,  OK    HELOTS. 

When  the  Lacedaemonians  first  began  to  settle  in  Pelo- 
ponnesus, they  met  with  great  opposition  from  the  inhabi- 

*  A.  M.  2900.    Ant.  J.  C-  1104.  t  Lib.  vi.  c.  52. 


ixtrOductiox.  127 

tants  of  the  country,  whom  they  were  obliged  to  subdue  one 
after  another  by  force  of  arms,  or  receive  into  their  alliance 
on  easy  and  equitable  terms,  with  the  imposition  of  a  small 
tribute.  Strabo  *>peaks  of  a  city,  called  Elos,  not  far  from 
Sparta,  which,  after  having  submitted  to  the  yoke,  as  others 
had  done,  revolted  openly,  and  refused  to  pay  tlie  tribute.* 
Agis,  the  son  of  Euristlienes,  newly  settled  on  the  throne, 
was  sensible  of  the  d;!ngerous  tendency  of  this  fxrst  revolt, 
and  therefore  immediately  marched  with  an  army  against 
them,  together  with  Sous,  his  colleague.  They  laid  siege  to 
the  city,  which,  after  a  pretty  long  resistance,  was  forced  to 
surrender  at  discretion.  This  prince  thought  it  proper 
to  make  such  an  example  of  them,  as  should  intimidate  all 
their  neighbors,  and  deter  them  from  tiie  like  attempts, 
and  yet  not  alienate  their  minds  by  too  cruel  a  treatment ; 
for  which  reason  he  put  none  to  death.  He  spared  the  lives 
pf  all  the  inhabitants,  but  at  the  same  time  deprived  them 
of  their  liberty,  and  reduced  them  ail  to  a  state  of  slavery. 
From  thenceforward  they  were  employed  in  all  mean  and 
servile  offices,  and  treated  with  extreme  rigor.  These  v.'ere 
the  people  who  Avere  called  Elotaj  or  Helots.  The  number 
of  them  exceedingly  increased  in  process  of  time,  the  Lace- 
daemonians giving  undoubtedly  the  same  name  to  all  the 
people  Avhom  they  reduced  to  the  same  condition  of  servi- 
tude. As  they  themselves  Avere  averse  to  labor,  and  entirely 
addicted  to  war,  they  left  the  cultivation  of  their  lands  to 
these  slaves,  assigning  CA^ery  one  of  them  a  certain  portion 
of  ground,  the  produce  of  which  they  Avere  obliged  to  cai-ry 
every  year  to  their  respective  masters,  Avho  endeavored,  by 
all  sorts  of  ill  usage,  to  make  their  yoke  more  gi'ievous  and 
insupportable.  This  was  certainly  Aery  bad  policy,  and 
could  only  ten  a  to  breed  a  vast  number  of  dangerous  ene- 
mies in  the  very  heart  of  the  state,  who  were  ahvays  ready 
to  take  arms  and  revolt  on  every  occasion.  The  Romans 
acted  more  prudently  in  this  respect ;  for  they  incorporated 
the  conc{uered  nations  into  their  state,  by  admitting  them  to 
the  freedom  of  their  city,  and  thereby  converted  them  from 
enemies  into  brethren  and  felloAV-citizens. 

LYCUEGUS,  THE    LACKD^M0NIA3f   LAAVGITER. 

Eurytion,  or  Eurypon,  as  he  is  named  by  others,  suc- 
ceeded Soils.     In  order  to  gain  the  affections  of  the  people, 

*  lib.  viii.  p.  36d.  Plut.  in  Lycurg.  p.  40. 


128  IKTRODUCTIOX. 

and  render  his  government  agreeable,  he  thought  fit  to  re- 
cede, in  some  points,  from  the  absohite  power  exercised  by 
the  kings,  his  j^redecessors ;  this  rendered  his  name  so  dear 
to  his  subjects,  tliat  all  his  descendants  were  from  him 
called  Eurytionidae.*  But  this  relaxation  gave  birtli  to 
horrible  confusion  and  an  unbounded  licentionsness  in 
Sparta,  which,  for  a  long  time  occasioned  infinite  mischiefs. 
The  people  became  so  insolent,  that  nothing  could  restrain 
them.  If  Eurytion's  successors  attempted  to  recover  their 
authority  by  force,  they  became  odious  ;  and  if,  through 
complaisance  or  weakness,  they  chose  to  dissemble,  their 
mildness  served  only  to  render  them  contemptible ;  so  that 
order  was  in  a  manner  abolished,  and  the  laws  no  longer 
regarded.  These  confusions  hastened  the  death  of  Lycur- 
gus's  father,  whose  name  was  Eunomus,  and  who  was  killed 
in  an  insurrection.  Polydectes,  his  eldest  son  and  successor, 
dying  soon  after  without  children,  everybody  expected  Ly- 
curgus  would  have  been  king.  And  indeed  he  Avas  so  in 
effect,  as  long  as  the  pregnancy  of  his  brother's  wife  was 
uncertain ;  but  as  soon  as  that  was  manifest,  he  declared 
that  the  kingdom  belonged  to  her  child,  in  case  it  proved  a 
son  ;  and  from  that  moment  he  took  upon  himself  the  ad- 
ministration of  the  government,  as  guardian  to  his  unborn 
nephew,  under  the  title  of  Prodicos,  which  was  the  name 
given  by  the  Lacedaemonians  to  the  guardians  of  their  kings. 
When  the  child  was  born,  Lycurgus  took  him  up  in  his 
arms,  and  cried  out  to  the  company  that  were  present, 
behold,  my  lords  of  iSparta,  this  new-born  child  is  your 
king  !  and  at  the  same  time  he  put  the  infant  in  the  king's 
seat,  and  named  him  Charilaus,  because  of  the  joy  the 
people  expressed  upon  occasion  of  his  birth.  The  i-eader 
will  find,  in  the  first  volume  of  this  history,  all  that  relates 
to  the  history  of  Lycurgus,  the  reformation  he  made,  and 
the  excellent  laws  he  established  in  Sparta.  Agesilaus  was 
at  this  time  king  in  the  elder  branch  of  the  family. 

WAE    BETWEEN"    THE    ARGIVES    AXD    THE     LACED^MONIANS.t 

Some  time  after  this,  in  the  reign  of  Theopompus,  a  war 
broke  out  between  the  Argives  and  Lacedajmonians,  on  ac- 
count of  a  little  country,  called  Thyrea,  that  lay  upon  the  con- 
fines of  the  two  states,  and  to  which  each  of  them  pretended 
a  right.     When  the  two  armies  were  ready  to  engage,  it 

*  Plut.  in  Lycurg.  p.  40.  t  Herod.  1.  i.  c.  82.   • 


INTRODUCTION".  129 

was  agreed  on  both  sides,  in  order  to  spare  the  effusion  of 
blood,  that  the  quarrel  should  be  decided  by  three  hundred 
of  the  bravest  men  on  both  sides  ;  and  that  the  land  in 
question  should  become  the  property  of  the  victorious  party. 
To  leave  the  combatants  more  room  to  engage,  the  two 
armies  retired  to  some  distance.  Those  generous  cham- 
pions, then,  who  had  all  the  courage  of  two  mighty  armies, 
boldly  advanced  towards  each  other,  and  fought  with  so 
much  resolution  and  fury,  that  the  whole  number,  exce])t 
three  men,  two  on  the  Argives,  and  one  on  tliat  of  the 
Lacedaemonians,  l;iy  dead  upon  the  s])ot,  and  only  the  night 
parted  them.  The  two  Argives  looking  upon  themselves  as 
the  conquerors,  made  what  haste  they  could  to  Argos  to  carry 
the  news :  the  single  Lacedaemonian,  Othryades  by  name, 
instead  of  retiring,  stripped  the  dead  bodies  of  the  Argives", 
and  carrying  their  arms  into  the  Lacedaemonian  camp,  con- 
tinued in  liis  post.  The  next  day  the  two  ai*mies  returned 
to  the  field  of  battle.  Both  sides  laid  equal  claim  to  the 
victory;  the  Argives,  because  they  had  more  of  their  cham- 
pions left  alive  than  the  enemy  had  ;  the  Lacedaemonians, 
because  the  two  Argives  that  remained  alive  had  fled ; 
whereas  their  single  soldier  had  remained  master  of  the 
field  of  battle,  and  had  carried  off  the  spoils  of  the  enemy  ; 
in  short,  they  could  not  determine  the  dispute  without  com- 
ing to  another  engagement.  Here  fortune  declared  in 
favor  of  the  Lacedaemonians,  and  the  little  territory  of 
Thyrea  was  the  prize  of  their  victory.  But  Othryades,  not 
able  to  bear  the  thought  of  surviving  his  brave  companions, 
or  of  enduring  the  sight  of  Sparta  aftor  their  death,  killed 
himself  on  the  same  Held  of  battle  where  they  had  fought, 
resolving  to  have  one  fate  and  tomb  with  them. 

WARS    BETWEEN    THE    MESSENIANS    AND    LACEDEMONIANS. 

There  were  no  less  than  three  several  wars  between  the 
Messenians  and  the  Lacedaemonians,  all  of  them  very  fierce 
and  bloody.  Messenia  was  a  country  in  Peloponnesus,  not 
far  westward  from  Spart-^  ;  it  was  of  considerable  strength, 
and  was  governed  by  its  k.  xn  kings. 

THE    FIRST    MESSENIAN    WAR. 

The  first  Messenian  war  lasted  tAventy  years,  and  broke 
out  in  the  second  year  of  the  ninth  Olympiad.*     The  Laco- 

*A.  M.  3261.     Ant.  J.  C.  743.    Pausan.  1.  iv.  p.  216-242.    Justin.  1.  iii.  4. 

9 


130  IXTKODUCTIOX. 

daemonians  pretended  to  have  received  several  considerable 
injuries  from  the  Messenians,  and  among  otliers,  that  of 
having  had  their  daughters  ravished  by  the  inhabitants  of 
Messenia,  when  they  went  according  to  custom,  to  a  temple 
that  stood  on  the  borders  of  the  two  nations ;  as  also  that 
of  the  murder  of  Telecles,  their  king,  which  was  a  conse- 
quence of  the  former  outrage.  Probably  a  desire  of  extend- 
ing their  dominion,  and  of  seizing  a  territory  which  lay  so 
convenient  for  them,  might  be  the  true  cause  of  the  war. 
But,  be  that  as  it  will,  the  war  broke  out  in  the  reign  of 
Polydorus  and  Theopompus,  kings  of  Sparta,  at  the  time 
when  the  office  of  archon  at  Athens  was  still  decennial. 

Euphaes,  the  thirteenth  descendant  from  Hercules,  was 
then  king  of  Messenia.*  He  gave  the  command  of  his  army 
to  Cleonnis.  The  Lacedaemonians  opened  the  campaign 
with  the  siege  of  Amphea,  an  inconsiderable  city,  which, 
however,  they  thought  would  be  a  very  convenient  depot 
for  arms.  The  town  was  taken  by  storm,  and  all  the  inhabi- 
tants put  to  the  sword.  This  first  blow  served  only  to  ani- 
mate the  Messenians,  by  showing  them  what  they  were  to 
expect  from  the  enemy,  if  they  did  not  defend  themselves 
with  vigor.  The  Lacedaemonians,  on  their  part,  bound 
themselves  by  an  oath,  not  to  lay  down  their  arms,  or  return 
to  Sparta,  till  they  had  made  themselves  masters  of  all  the 
cities  and  lands  belonging  to  the  Messenians  ;  so  much  did 
they  rely  upon  their  strength  and  valor. 

Two  battles  were  fought,  wherein  the  loss  was  nearly 
equal  on  both  sides.  But  after  the  second,  the  Messenians 
suffered  extremely  through  the  want  of  provisions,  which 
occasioned  a  great  desertion  in  their  troops,  and  at  last 
brought  pestilence  among  them.f 

Hereupon  they  consulted  the  oracle  at  Delj)hos,  which 
directed  them,  in  order  to  appease  the  wrath  of  the  gods, 
to  offer  up  a  virgin  of  the  royal  blood  in  sacrifice.  Aristo- 
menes,  who  was  of  the  race  of  the  Epytides,  offered  his  own 
daughter.  The  Messenians  then  considering,  that  if  they 
left  garrisons  in  all  their  towns,  they  should  extremely  weak- 
en their  army,  resolved  to  abandon  them  all  except  Ithoma, 
a  little  place  situated  on  the  top  of  a  hill  of  the  same  name, 
about  which  they  encamped  and  fortified  themselves.  In 
this  situation  were  seven  years  spent,  during  which  nothing 
passed  but  slight  skirmishes  on  both  sides,  the  LacedaBino- 
nians  not  daring,  in  all  that  time,  to  force  the  enemy  to  a 
battle. 

•  Pausau.  1.  iv.  p.  225,  226.  t  Ibid.  227-234. 


IXTRODUCTIOX.  131 

Indeed,  they  almost  despaired  of  being  able  to  reduce 
them  ;  nor  was  there  any  thing  but  the  obligation  of  the 
oath,  by  which  they  had  bound  themselves,  that  made  them 
continue  so  burdensome  a  war.  What  gave  them  the  great- 
est uneasiness,  was  their  apprehension  lest  their  absence  and 
distance  from  their  wives  for  so  many  years,  and  which 
might  still  continue  many  more,  should  destroy  their  families 
at  home,  and  leave  Sparta  destitute  of  citizens.*  To  pre- 
vent this  misfortune,  they  sent  home  such  of  their  soldiers 
as  were  come  to  the  army  since  the  fore-mentioned  oath  had 
been  taken,  and  made  no  scruple  of  prostituting  their  Avives 
to  their  embraces.  The  children  that  sprung  from  these  un- 
lawful connections,  were  called  Parthenim^  a  name  given 
to  them  to  denote  the  infamy  of  their  birth.  As  soon  as 
they  were  grown  up,  not  being  able  to  endure  such  an  oj> 
probrious  distinction,  they  banished  themselves  from  Sparta 
with  one  consent,  and  under  the  conduct  of  Phalanthus,t 
went  and  settled  at  Tarentum  in  Italy,  after  driving  out  the 
ancient  inhabitants.  "" 

At  last,  in  the  eighth  year  of  the  war,  which  was  the 
thirteenth  of  Euphaes's  reign,  a  fierce  and  bloody  battle  was 
fought  near  Ithoma.J  Euphaes  pierced  through  the  battal- 
ions of  Theopompus  with  too  much  heat  and  precipitation 
for  a  king.  He  there  received  a  multitude  of  wounds,  sev- 
eral of  which  were  mortal.  He  fell,  and  seemed  to  have 
expired.  Whereupon  wonderful  efforts  of  courage  were 
exerted  on  botli  sides ;  by  the  one,  to  carry  off  the  king ;  by 
the  other,  to  save  him.  Cleonnis  killed  eight  Spartans,  who 
were  dragging  him  along,  and  spoiled  them  of  their  arms, 
which  he  committed  to  the  custody  of  some  of  his  soldiers. 
He  himself  received  several  wounds,  all  in  the  fore-part  of 
liis  body,  which  was  a  certain  proof  that  he  had  never  turned 
his  back  upon  his  enemies.  Aristomenes,  fighting  on  the 
same  occasion,  and  for  the  same  end,  killed  five  Lacedae- 
monians, whose  spoils  he  likewise  carried  off,  without  receiv- 
ing any  wound.  In  short,  the  king  was  saved  and  carried 
off  by  the  Messenians  ;  and  all  mangled  and  bloody  as  ne 
was,  he  expressed  great  joy  that  they  had  not  been  worsted. 
Aristomenes,  after  the  battle  was  over,  met  Cleonnis,  who, 
by  reason  of  his  wounds,  could  neither  walk  by  himself,  nor 
with  the  assistance  of  those  that  lent  him  their  hands.     He 

•  Diod.  1.  XV.  p.  378. 

t  Kt  regnata  petam  I-aconi  nira  Phalanto.— Hor.  Od.  vi.  1.  2. 

i  Pausan.  1.  iv.  p.  234,  23o.    Diog.  in  Frag. 


132  INTRODUCTION-. 

therefore  took  him  upon  his  shoulders  without  quitting  hia 
arms,  and  carried  him  to  the  camp. 

As  soon  as  they  had  applied  the  first  dressing  to  the 
wounds  of  the  king  of  Messenia  and  of  his  officers,  there  arose 
a  new  contention  among  the  Messenians,  that  Avas  pursued 
with  as  much  warmth  as  the  former,  but  was  of  a  very  dif- 
ferent kind,  and  yet  the  consequence  of  the  other.  The 
affair  in  question  was  the  adjudging  the  prize  of  glory  to 
him  that  had  signalized  his  valor  most  in  the  late  engage- 
ment. For  it  was  a  custom  among  them,  publicly  to  pro- 
claim after  a  battle  the  name  of  the  man  that  had  shown  the 
greatest  courage.  Xothing  could  be  more  proper  to  animate 
the  officers  and  soldiers,  to  inspire  them  with  resolution  and 
intrepidity,  and  to  stifle  the  natural  apprehension  of  death 
and  danger.  Two  illftstrious  cham]>ions  entered  the  lists  on 
this  occasion,  namely,  CLonnis  and  Aristomenes. 

The  king,  notwithstanding  his  weak  condition,  being 
attended  with  the  ])rincip  d  officers  of  his  army,  presided  in 
the  council,  where  this  im];o  tant  dispute  was  to  be  decided. 
E  ich  competitor  pleaded  his  own  cause.  Cleonnis  began 
and  founded  his  pretensions  upon  the  great  number  of  the 
enemies  he  had  slain,  and  upon  the  multitude  of  wounds  he 
had  received  in  the  action,  which  were  so  many  undoubted 
testimonies  of  the  courage  with  which  he  had  faced  both 
death  and  danger ;  whereas  the  condition  in  which  Aristo- 
menes came  out  of  the  engagement,  without  hurt  and  with- 
out wound,  seemed  to  show  that  lie  had  been  very  careful 
of  his  own  person,  or  at  most,  could  only  prove  that  he  had 
been  more  fortunate,  but  not  more  brave  or  courageous  than 
himself.  And  as  to  his  having  carried  the  king  on  his  shoul- 
ders into  the  camp,  that  action  indeed  might  serve  to  prove 
the  strength  of  his  body,  but  nothing  farther  ;  and  the  thing 
in  dispute  at  this  time,  says  he,  is  not  strength  but  valor. 

The  oidy  thing  Ai-istomenes  was  reproached  for,  was  his 
not  being  Avounded  ;  therefore  he  confined  himself  to  that 
point,  and  answered  in  the  following  manner :  "  I  am,"  says 
he,  "  called  foi'tunate,  because  I  have  escaped  from  the  bat- 
tle without  wounds.  If  that  were  owing  to  my  cowardice, 
I  should  deserve  another  epithet  than  that  of  fortunate  ; 
and  instead  of  being  admitted  to  dispute  the  prize,  ought  to 
undergo  the  rigor  of  the  laws  that  punish  cowards.  But 
what  is  objected  to  me  as  a  crime,  is  in  truth  my  greatest 
glory.  For,  if  my  enemies,  astonished  at  my  valor,  durst 
not  venture  to  attack  or  oppose  me,  it  is  no  small  degree  of 


IXTRODUCTION,  133 

merit,  that  I  made  them  fear  me  ;  or  if  while  they  engaged 
me,  I  had  at  the  same  time  strength  to  cut  them  in  pieces, 
and  skill  to  guard  against  their  attacks,  I  must  then  have 
been  at  once  both  valiant  and  prudent.  For  whoever,  in 
the  midst  of  an  engagement,  can  expose  himself  to  danger 
with  caution  and  security,  shows  that  he  excels  at  the  same 
time  both  in  the  virtues  of  the  mind  and  the  body.  As  for 
courage,  no  man  living  can  reproach  Cleonnis  Avith  any  want 
of  it ;  but,  for  his  honor's  sake,  I  am  sorry  that  he  should 
appear  to  want  gratitude." 

After  the  conclusion  of  these  harangues,  the  question 
was  put  to  the  vote.  The  whole  army  was  in  suspense,  and 
impatiently  waited  for  the  decision.  Xo  dispute  could  be 
80  warm  and  interesting  as  this.  It  is  not  a  competition 
for  gold  or  silver,  but  solely  for  honor.  The  proper  reward 
of  virtue  is  pure  disinterested  glory.  Here  the  judges  are 
unsuspected.  The  actions  of  the  competitors  still  speak 
for  them.  It  is  the  king  himself,  surrounded  Avith  his  offi- 
cers, who  presides  and  adjiidgt  s.  A  whole  army  are  the 
witnesses.  The  field  of  battle  is  a  tribunal  without  partial- 
ity and  cabal.  In  short,  all  the  voles  concurred  in  favor  of 
Aristomenes,  and  adjudged  him  the  prize. 

Euphaes,  the  king,  died  not  many  days  after  the  decision 
of  this  affair.*  He  had  reigned  thirteen  years,  and  during 
all  that  time  had  been  engaged  in  war  with  the  Lacedaemo- 
nians. As  he  died  without  children,  he  left  the  Messenians 
at  liberty  to  choose  his  successor.  Cleonnis  and  Damis 
were  candidates  in  opposition  to  Aristomenes  ;  but  he  was 
elected  king  in  preference  to  them.  When  he  was  on  the 
throne,  he  did  not  scruple  to  confer  on  his  two  rivals  the 
principal  offices  of  the  state.  All  strongly  attached  to  the 
public  good,  even  more  than  to  their  own  glory ;  competi- 
tors, but  not  enemies,  these  great  men  were  actuated  by  a 
zeal  for  their  country,  and  were  neither  friends  nor  adversa- 
ries to  one  another,  but  for  its  preservation. 

In  this  relation,  I  have  followed  the  opinion  of  the  late 
Monsieur  BoiAdn,  the  elder,  and  have  made  use  of  his  learned 
dissertation  upon  a  fragment  of  Diodorus  Siculus,  which 
the  world  was  little  acquainted  with.  lie  supposes,  and 
proves  in  it,  that  the  king  spoken  of  in  that  fr;^gment  is 
Euphaes,  and  that  Aristomenes  is  the  same  that  Pausanias 
called  Aristodemus,  according  to  the  custom  of  the  ancients, 
who  are  called  by  two  different  names.f 

*  Pansan.  1.  ir.  pp.  23B.  241. 

t  Memoirs  of  the  Academy  of  Inscriptions,  vol.ii.  pp.  84-113i 


134  IKTBODFCTIOX. 

Aristomenes,  otherwise  called  Aristodemus,  rcio^ned  near 
seven  years,  and  Avas  equally  esteemed  and  lieJoved  l)y  his 
subjects.  The  Avar  still  continued  all  this  time.*  ToAvards 
the  end  of  his  reign  he  beat  the  Laceda?monians,  took  their 
king  Theopompus,  and,  in  honor  of  Jujjiter  and  Ithoma, 
sacrificed  three  hundred  of  them,  among  Avhom  the  king 
was  the  principal  A'ictim.  Shortly  after,  Aristodemus  sac- 
rificed himself  upon  the  tomb  of  his  daughter,  in  conformity 
to  the  ansAver  of  an  oracle.  Damis  Avas  his  successor,  but 
without  taking  upon  him  the  title  of  king. 

After  his  death,  the  Messenians  had  never  any  success 
in  their  affairs,  but  found  themseh'es  in  a  A'cry  Avretched  and 
hopeless  condition.!  Being  reduced  to  the  l:^.st  extremity, 
and  utterly  destitute  of  jiroA'isions,  they  abandoned  Ithoma, 
and  fled  to  such  of  their  allies  as  Avere  nearest  to  them. 
The  city  was  immediately  razed,  and  all  the  peo])le  that  re- 
mained submitted.  They  were  made  to  engage  by  oath 
never  to  forsake  the  ])arty  of  the  Lacedaemonians,  and  ncA'er 
to  rcA'olt  from  them  ;  a  Acry  useless  ])recaution,  only  proper 
to  make  them  add  the  guilt  of  perjury  to  their  rebellion. 
Their  ncAv  masters  imposed  no  tribute  upon  them,  but  con- 
tented themseh'es  Avith  obliging  them  to  bring  to  the  Spar- 
tan market,  one  lialf  of  the  corn  they  should  reap  every 
harA'est.  It  was  likewise  stipulated,  that  the  ^Messenians, 
both  men  and  women,  should  attend  in  mourning  the  fune- 
rals of  the  kings,  the  chief  citizens  of  Sparta  ;  which  the 
Lacedaemonians  probably  looked  upon  as  a  mark  of  depend- 
ence, and  as  a  kind  of  homage  paid  to  their  nation.  Thus 
ended  the  first  Messenian  war,  after  having  lasted  tAventy 
years,  t 

THE    SECOND    MESSENIAN    WAR. 

The  lenity  with  Avhich  the  Lacedasmonians  treated  the 
Messenians  at  first,  Avas  of  no  long  dui-ation.  §  When  once 
they  found  the  Avhole  country  had  submitted,  and  thought 
the  people  incapable  of  giving  them  any  further  trouble, 
they  returned  to  their  natural  character  of  insolence  asid 
haughtiness,  that  often  degenerated  into  cruelty,  and  some- 
times even  into  ferocity.  Instead  of  treating  the  vanquished 
with  kindness,  as  friends  and  allies,  and  endeavoring  by 
gentle  methods  to  Avin  those  Avhom  they  had  subdued  by 
force,  they  seemed    intent  upon  nothing  but  aggrav^ating 

*  Clem.  Alex,  in  Protrep.  p.  20.    Euseb.  in  Priep.  1.  iv.  c.  16. 

t  Pausan.  1.  iv.  pp.  241,  242. 

t  A.  M.  3281.  Ant  J.  C.  723.  §  Pausan.  1.  iv.  pp.  242-261.  Justin.  1.  iii.  c  9. 


l^TTRODUCTION'.  135 

their  yoke,  and  making  them  feel  the  whole  weight  of  sub- 
jection. They  laid  heavy  taxes  upon  them,  delivered  them 
up  to  the  avarice  of  the  collectors  of  those  taxes,  gaA^e  no 
ear  to  their  complaints,  rendered  them  no  justice,  treated 
them  like  vile  slaves,  and  committed  the  most  heinous  out- 
rages against  them. 

Man,  who  is  born  for  liberty,  can  never  reconcile  him- 
self to  servitude  ;  the  most  gentle  slavery  exasperates,  and 
provokes  him  to  rebel.  What  could  be  expected,  then,  from 
so  cruel  a  one  as  that  under  Avhich  the  Messenians  groaned  ? 
After  having  endured  it  with  great  uneasiness  near  forty 
years,  they  resolved  to  throw  off  the  yoke,  and  to  recover 
their  ancient  liberty.*  This  was  in  the  fourth  year  of  the 
twenty-third  01ym])iad  ;  f  the  office  of  archon  at  Athens 
was  then  made  annual ;  and  Anaxander  and  Anaxidamus 
reigned  at  Sparta. 

The  Messenians'  first  care  Avas,  to  strengthen  themselves 
with  the  alliance  of  the  neighboring  nations.  These  they 
found  well  inclined  to  enter  into  their  views,  as  Aery  agree- 
able to  their  oAvn  interests.  For  it  was  not  without  jealousy 
and  apprehension,  that  they  saw  so  powerfxd  a  city  rising 
up  in  the  midst  of  them,  which  manifestly  seemed  to  aim 
at  extending  her  dominion  OA^er  all  the  rest.  The  people, 
therefore,  of  Elis,  the  Argives  and  Sicyonians,  declared  for 
the  Messenians.  But  before  their  forces  Avere  joined,  a  bat- 
tle Avas  fought  between  the  Laceda3monians  and  Messenians. 
Aristomenes,t  the  second  of  that  name,  Avas  at  the  head  of 
the  latter.  He  was  a  commander  of  intrepid  courage,  and 
of  great  abilities  in  Avar.  The  Lacedsemonians  Avere  beaten 
in  this  engagement.  Aristomencs,  to  give  the  enemy  at  first 
an  adA'antageous  opinion  of  his  bravery,  knoAving  AAdiat  in- 
fluence it  has  on  the  success  of  future  enterprises,  boldly 
.ventured  to  enter  into  Sparta  by  night,  and  upon  the  gate 
of  the  temple  of  Minerva,  Avho  Avas  surnamed  Chalcioecos  to 
hang  up  a  shield,  on  Avhich  was  an  inscription,  signifying 
tnat  it  Avas  a  present  offered  by  Aristomenes  to  the  goddess, 
out  of  the  spoils  of  the  Lacedaemonians. 

This  braA'ado  did  in  reality  astonish  the  Lacedaemonians. 
But  they  were  still  more  alarmed  at  the  formidable  league 

*  Cum  per  complures  aiinos  gravia  servitutis  verbera,  plerumque  ac  vincula, 
caeteraque  faptivitatis  m.ila  perpessi  esseiit,  post  longam  i»oeiiai-um  patieutiam 
bellum  iiistaurant.— Justin.  1.  iii.  c.  5. 

t  A.  M.  .".320.    Ant.  ■).  C.  fiK4. 

t  According  to  several  historians,  there  was  another  Aristomenes  in  the  first 
Messenian  war.— Diod.  1.  xv.  p-  378. 


136  INTRODUCTION. 

that  was  formed  against  them.  The  Delphic  oracle,  which 
they  consulted,  in  order  to  know  by  what  means  they 
should  be  successful  in  this  war,  directed  them  to  send  to 
Athens  for  a  commander,  and  to  submit  to  his  counsel  and 
conduct.  This  was  a  very  mortif^-ing  step  to  so  haughty  a 
city  as  Sparta.  But  the  fear  of  incurring  the  god's  dis- 
pleasure by  a  direct  disobedience,  prevailed  over  all  other 
considerations.  They  sent  an  embassy,  therefore,  to  the 
Athenians.  The  people  of  Athens  were  somewhat  per- 
plexed at  this  request.  On  the  one  hand,  they  were  not 
sorry  to  see  the  Lacedaemonians  at  war  with  their  neigh- 
bors, and  were  far  from  desiring  to  furnish  them  with  a 
good  general;  on  the  other,  they  Avere  afraid  also  of  dis- 
obeying the  god.  To  extricate  themselves  out  of  this  diffi- 
culty, they  offered  the  Lacedfenionians  a  person  called 
Tyrtaeus.  He  was  a  poet  by  profession,  and  had  something 
original  in  the  turn  of  his  mind,  and  disiigreeable  in  his 
person,  for  he  was  lame.  Notwithstanding  these  defects, 
the  Lacedaemonians  received  him  as  a  general  sent  them 
by  heaven  itself.  Their  successes  did  not  at  first  answer 
their  expectation,  for  they  lost  three  battles  successively. 

The  kings  of  Sparta,  discouraged  by  so  many  disap- 
pointments, and  out  of  all  hopes  of  better  success  for  the 
future,  were  absolutely  bent  upon  returning  to  Sparta,  and 
marching  home  again  with  their  forces.  Tyrtaeus  opposed 
this  design  very  warmly,  and  at  length  brought  them  over 
to  his  opinion.  He  addressed  the  troops,  and  repeated  to 
them  some  verses  he  had  made  on  the  occasion,  and  on 
which  he  had  bestowed  great  pains  and  application.  He 
first  endeavored  to  comfort  them  for  their  past  losses,  which 
he  imputed  to  no  fault  of  theirs,  but  only  to  ill  fortune,  or 
to  fate,  which  no  human  wisdom  can  surmount.  He  then 
represented  to  them,  what  a  shame  it  would  be  for  Spartans 
to  fly  from  an  enemy,  and  how  glorious  it  Avould  be  for  them 
rather  to  perish  sword  in  hand  in  fighting  for  their  country, 
if  it  was  so  decreed  by  fate.  Then,  as  if  all  danger  was 
vanished,  and  the  gods,  fully  satisfied  and  appeased  with 
their  lote  calamities,  were  entirely  turned  to  their  side,  he 
set  victory  before  their  eyes  as  present  and  certain,  and  as 
if  she  herself  was  inviting  them  to  battle.  All  the  ancient 
authors  who  have  made  any  mention  of  the  style  and  char- 
acter of  TyrtaBus's  poetry,*  observe,  that  it  was  full  of  a 
certain  fire,  ardor,  and  enthusiasm,  that  animated  the  minds 

*  Plat.  1.  i.  de.  Legib.  p.  629.     Plut.  in  Agid.  et  Cleom.  p.  805. 


INTRODUCTION,  137 

of  men,  that  exalted  them  above  themselves,  that  inspired 
them  with  something  generous  and  martial,  that  extin- 
guished all  fear  and  apprehension  of  danger  or  death,  and 
made  them  wholly  intent  upon  the  preservation  of  their 
country  and  their  OAvn  glory.*  _ 

Tj-rtaeus's  verses  had  really  this  eifect  on  the  soldiers 
upon  this  occasion.  They  desired  with  one  voice  to  march 
against  the  enemy.  Being  Avholly  indifferent  as  to  their  lives, 
they  had  no  thoughts  but  to  secure  to  themselves  the  honor 
of  a  burial.  To  this  end  they  all  tied  bands  round  their 
right  arms,  on  which  were  inscribed  their  own  and  their 
fathers'  names,  that  if  they  chanced  to  be  killed  in  the  bat- 
tle, and  to  have  their  faces  so  altered  through  time  or  acci- 
dents, as  not  to  be  distinguishable,  it  might  certainly  be 
knoAvn  who  each  of  them  was  by  these  marks.  Soldiers 
determined  to  die  are  very  valiant.  This  appeared  in  the 
battle  that  ensued.  It  was  very  bloody,  the  victory  being 
a  long  time  disputed  on  both  sides  ;  but  at  last  the  Mes- 
senians  gave  way.  When  Tyrtasus  went  afterwards  to 
Sparta,  he  was  received  with  the  greatest  marks  of  distinc- 
tion, and  incorporated  into  the  body  of  citizens. 

The  gaining  of  this  battle  did  not  put  an  end  to  the 
war,  which  had  already  lasted  three  years.  Aristomenes, 
having  assembled  the  remains  of  his  army,  retired  to  the 
top  of  a  mountain  of  difficult  access,  which  Avas  called  Ira. 
The  conquerors  attempted  to  carry  the  place  by  assault ; 
but  that  brave  prince  defended  himself  there  for  the  space 
of  eleven  years,  and  performed  the  most  extraordinary  ac- 
tions of  bravery.  He  was  at  last  obliged  to  quit  it  only  by 
surprise  and  treachery,  after  having  defended  it  like  a  lion. 
Such  of  the  Messenians  as  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Lace- 
dasmonians  on  this  occasion,  were  reduced  to  the  condition 
of  the  Helots,  or  slaves.  The  rest,  seeing  their  country 
ruined,  went  and  settled  at  Zancle,  a  city  in  Sicily,  which 
afterwards  took  its  name  from  this  people,  and  was  called 
Messana ;  the  same  place  called  at  this  day  Messina.  Aris- 
tomenes, after  having  conducted  one  of  his  daughters  to 
Rhodes,  whom  he  had  given  in  marriage  to  the  tyrant  of 
that  place,  thought  of  passing  on  to  Sardis,  and  to  remain 
with  Ardys,  king  of  the  Lydians,  or  to  Ecbatana,  with 
Phraortes,  king  of  the  Medes  ;  but  death  pi-evented  the  exe- 
cution of  all  his  designs. 

•  TyrtsBusque  mares  auimoB  in  niartia  bella 

Versibus  exacuit.  — Hor.  lu  Art.  Poet, 


138  IXTRODtrCTION. 

The  second  Messenian  war  was  of  fourteen  years'  dura' 
tion,  and  ended  the  first  year  of  the  twenty-seventh  Olym- 
piad.* 

There  was  a  third  war  between  these  people  and  the 
Lacedaemonians,  which  began  both  at  the  time,  and  on  the 
occasion,  of  a  great  earthquake  that  happened  at  Sparta. 
We  shall  speak  of  this  war  in  its  place. 

The  history,  of  which  it  remains  for  me  to  treat  in  this 
work,  is  that  of  the  successors  of  Alexander,  and  compre- 
hends the  space  of  two  hundred  and  ninety-three  years  ; 
from  the  death  of  that  monarch,  and  the  commencement  of 
the  reign  of  Ptolemy,  the  son  of  Lagus,  in  Egypt,  to  the 
death  of  Cleopatra,  when  that  kingdom  became  a  Roman 
province,  under  the  emperor  Augustus. 

This  history  will  pi*esent  to  our  view  a  series  of  all  the 
crimes  which  usually  arise  from  inordinate  ambition  ;  scenes 
of  jealousy  and  perfidious  conduct,  treason,  ingratitude,  and 
crying  abuses  of  sovereign  power,  cruelty,  impiety,  an  utter 
oblivion  of  the  natural  sentiments  of  probity  and  honor, 
with  the  violation  of  all  laws  human  and  divine,  will  rise 
before  us.  We  shall  behold  nothing  but  fatal  dissensions, 
destructive  wars,  and  dreadful  revolutions.  Men  originally 
friends,  brought  up  together,  and  natives  of  the  same  coun- 
try, companions  in  the  same  dangers,  and  instruments  in 
the  accomplishment  of  the  same  ex])loits  and  victories,  will 
conspire  to  tear  in  pieces  the  empire  they  had  all  concurred 
to  form  at  the  expense  of  their  blood.  We  shall  see  the 
captains  of  Alexander  sacrifice  the  mother,  the  wives,  the 
brother,  the  sisters  of  that  prince,  to  their  ambition  ;  and 
without  sparing  even  those  to  whom  they  either  owed  or 
gave  life.  We  shall  no  longer  behold  those  glorious  times 
of  Greece,  that  were  once  so  productive  of  great  men,  and 
great  examples  ;  or  if  we  should  happen  to  discover  some 
traces  and  remains  of  them,  they  will  only  resemble  the 
gleams  of  lightning  that  shoot  along  in  a  rapid  track,  and 
are  only  remarkable  from  the  profound  darkness  that  pre- 
cedes and  follows  them. 

I  acknowledge  myself  to  be  suflSciently  sensible  how 
much  a  writer  is  to  be  pitied,  who  is  obliged  to  rejjresent 
human  nature  in  such  colors  and  lineaments  as  dishonor  her, 
and  which  cannot  fail  of  inspiring  disgust  and  a  secret 
affliction  in  the  minds  of  those  who  are  made  spectators  of 
such  a  picture.     History  loses  whatever  is  most  interesting 

*  A.  M.  3354.    Ant.  J.  C.  670. 


IJ^TRODUCTION.  139 

and  most  capable  of  conveying  pleasure  and  instruction, 
when  she  can  only  produce  those  effects,  by  inspiring  the 
mind  with  horror  for  criminal  actions,  and  by  a  representa- 
tion of  the  calamities  which  usually  succeed  them,  and  are 
to  be  considered  as  their  just  ])unishment.  It  is  difficult  to 
engage  the  attention  of  a  reader  for  any  considerable  time, 
on  objects  which  only  raise  his  indignation  ;  and  it  would 
be  affronting  him,  to  seem  desirous  of  dissuading  him  from 
the  excess  of  inordinate  passions  of  which  he  conceives 
himself  incapable. 

How  is  it  possible  to  diffuse  any  interest  througli  a  nar- 
ration, which  has  nothing  to  offer  but  a  uniform  series  of 
vices  and  great  crimes,  and  which  makes  it  necessary  to 
enter  into  a  })articular  detail  of  the  actions  artd  characters 
of  men,  born  for  the  calamity  of  the  human  race,  and  whose 
very  names  should  not  be  transmitted  to  posterity '?  It  may 
even  be  thought  dangerous  to  familiarize  the  minds  of  the 
generality  of  mankind  to  uninterrupted  scenes  of  too  suc- 
cessful iniquity ;  and  to  be  particular  in  describing  the  un- 
just success  Avhich  waited  on  those  illustrious  criminals,  the 
long  duration  of  wli-ose  prosperity  being  frequently  attended 
with  the  privileges  and  rewards  of  virtue,  may  be  thought 
an  imputation  on  Providence  by  persons  of  weak  under- 
standings. 

This  history,  which  seems  likely  to  prove  very  disagree- 
able from  the  reasons  I  have  just  mentioned,  will  become 
more  so  from  the  obscurity  and  confusion  in  which  the 
several  transactions  will  be  involved,  and  which  it  will  be 
difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  remedy.  Ten  or  twelve  of 
Alexander's  captains  were  engaged  in  a  course  of  hostilities 
against  each  other,  for  the  partition  of  his  empire  after  his 
death,  and  to  secure  themselves  some  portion,  greater  or 
less,  of  that  vast  body.  Sometimes  feigned  friends,  some- 
times declared  enemies,  they  are  continually  forming  differ- 
ent parties  and  leagues,  which  are  to  subsist  no  longei-  than 
is  consistent  with  the  interest  of  each  individual.  Mace- 
donia changed  its  masters  live  or  six  times  in  a  very  short 
space ;  by  what  meaiis  then  can  order  and  ]^,erspicuity  be 
preserved,  in  a  prodigious  variety  of  events  that  are  per- 
petually crossing  and  breaking  in  upon  each  other  ? 

Besides  which,  I  am  no  longer  su})ported  by  any  ancient 
authors  capable  of  conductiug  me  through  this  darkness 
and  confusion.  Diodorus  will  entirely  abandon  me,  after 
having  been  my  guide  for  some  time  ;  and  no  other  historian 


140  INTRODUCTION. 

will  appear  to  take  his  place.  No  proper  series  of  affairs 
will  remain ;  the  several  events  are  not  to  be  disposed  into 
any  regular  connection  with  each  other  ;  nor  will  it  he  pos- 
sible to  point  out,  either  the  motives  to  the  resolutions 
formed,  or  the  proper  character  of  the  principal  actors  in 
this  scene  of  obscurity.  I  think  myself  hnp]>y  when  Po- 
lybius,  or  Plutarch,  lend  me  their  assistance.  In  my  ac- 
count of  Alexander's  successors,  whose  transactions  are 
perhaps  the  most  complicated  and  perplexed  part  of  ancient 
history,  Usher,  Prideaux,  and  Vaillant,  will  be  my  usual 
guides  ;  and,  on  many  occasions,  I  shall  only  transcribe  from 
Prideaux ;  but  with  all  these  aids,  I  shall  not  promise  to 
throw  so  much  light  on  this  history  as  I  t-onld  desire. 

After  a  war  of  more  than  twenty  years,  the  number  of 
the  principal  competitors  was  reduced  to  four :  Ptolemy, 
Cassander,  Seleucus,  and  Lysimachus:  the  empire  of  Alex-' 
ander  was  divided  into  four  fixed  kingdoms,  agreeably  to 
the  prediction  of  Daniel,  by  a  solemn  treaty  concluded  be- 
tween the  parties.  Three  of  these  kingdoms,  Egypt,  3Iace- 
donia,  Syria  or  Asia,  will  have  a  regular  succession  of 
monarchs,  sutficiently  clear  and  distinct ;  but  the  fourth, 
which  comprehended  Thrace,  with  part  of  the  Lesser  Asia, 
and  some  neighboring  provinces,  Avill  suffer  a  number  of 
variations. 

As  the  kingdom  of  Egypt  was  subject  to  the  fewest 
changes,  because  Ptolemy,  who  was  established  there  as  a 
governor  at  the  death  of  Alexander,  retained  the  possession 
of  it  ever  after,  and  left  it  to  his  posterity ;  we  shall  there- 
fore consider  this  prince  as  the  basis  of  our  chronology,  and 
our  several  epochs  shall  be  fixed  from  him. 

The  third  volume  contains  the  events  for  the  space  of 
one  hundred  and  twenty  years,  under  the  first  four  kings  of 
Egypt,  viz. :  Ptolemy,  the  son  of  Lagus,  who  reigned  thirty- 
eight  years  ;  Ptolemy  Philadelphus,  who  reigned  forty  ; 
Ptolemy  Euergetes,  who  reigned  twenty-five  ;  and  Ptolemy 
Philopator,  whose  reign  continued  seventeen. 

In  order  to  throw  some  light  upon  the  history  contained 
therein,  I  shall,  in  the  first  place,  give  the  principal  events 
of  it  in  a  chronological  abridgement. 

Introductory  to  which,  I  must  desire  the  reader  to  ac- 
company me  in  some  reflections,  which  have  not  escaped 
Monsieur  Bossuet,  with  relation  to  Alexnndei-.  This  prince, 
who  was  the  most  renowned  and  illustrious  conqueror  in 
all  history,  was  the  last  monarch  of  his  race.      Macedonia, 


INTRODUCTION.  141 

his  ancient  kingdom,  which  his  ancestors  had  governed  for 
so  many  ages,  Avas  invaded  from  all  quarters  as  a  vacant 
succession  ;  and  after  it  had  long  been  a  prey  to  the  strong- 
est, it  was  at  last  transferred  to  another  family.  If  Alex- 
ander had  continued  peaceably  in  Macedonia,  the  grandeur 
of  his  empii'e  would  not  have  excited  the  ambition  of  his 
captains,  and  he  might  have  transmitted  the  sceptre  of  his 
progenitors  to  his  own  descendants  ;  but,  as  he  had  not 
prescribed  any  bounds  to  his  power,  he  was  instrumental  in 
"the  destruction  of  his  house  ;  and  we  shall  behold  the  exter- 
mination of  his  family,  without  the  least  remaining  traces 
of  them  in  history.  His  conquests  occasioned  a  vast  effusion 
of  blood,  and  furnished  his  captains  with  a  pretext  for  mur- 
dering one  another.  These  were  the  effects  that  flowed 
from  the  boasted  bravei-y  of  Alexander,  or  rather  from  that 
brutality,  which,  under  the  glittering  names  of  ambition  and 
glory,  spread  and  carried  desolation,  fire  and  sword  through 
whole  provinces  without  the  least  provocation,  and  shed  the 
blood  of  multitudes  who  had  never  injured  him. 

"VVe  are  not  to  imagine,  however,  that  Providence  aban- 
doned these  events  to  chance,  but,  as  it  was  then  preparing 
all  things  for  the  approaching  appearance  of  the  Messiah, 
it  was  vigilant  to  unite  all  the  nations  that  were  to  be  first 
enlightened  with  the  gospel,  by  the  use  of  one  and  the  same 
language,  which  was  that  of  Greece :  and  the  same  Provi- 
dence rendered  it  necessary  for  them  to  learn  this  foreign 
tongue,  by  subjecting  them  to  such  masters  as  spoke  no 
other.  The  Deity,  therefore,  by  the  agency  of  this  language, 
which  became  more  common  and  universal  than  any  other, 
facilitated  the  preaching  of  the  apostles,  and  rendered  it 
more  uniform. 

The  partition  of  the  empire  of  Alexander  the  Great 
among  the  generals  of  that  prince,  immediately  after  his 
death,  did  not  subsist  for  any  length  of  time,  and  hardly 
took  place,  if  we  except  Egypt,  Avhere  Ptolemy  had  first 
established  himself,  and  on  the  throne  of  which  he  always 
maintained  himself,  without  acknowledging  any  superior. 

This  partition  was  not  fully  regulated  and  fixed,  till  after 
the  battle  of  Ipsus  in  Phrygia,*  wherein  Antigones  and  his 
son  Demetrius,  surnamed  Polioi-cetes,  were  defeated,  and 
the  former  lost  his  life.  The  empire  of  Alexander  was  then 
divided  into  four  kingdoms  by  a  solemn  treaty,  as  had  been 
foretold  by  Daniel.      Ptolemy  had  Egypt,  Libya,  Arabia, 

*  A.  M.  3704.  Ant.  J.  €.300. 


142  rSTTEODUCTION. 

Ccelosyria,  and  Palestine.  Cassander,  the  son  of  Antipater, 
obtained  Macedonia  and  Greece.  Lysimachus  acquired 
Thrace,  Bithynia,  and  some  other  provinces  on  the  other 
side  of  the  Hellespont  and  the  Bosphorus  ;  and  Seleucus 
had  Syria,  and  all  that  part  of  Asia  Major  Avhich  extended 
to  the  other  side  of  the  Euphrates,  and  as  far  as  the  river 
Indus. 

Of  these  four  kingdoms,  those  of  Egypt  and  Syria  sub- 
sisted almost  Mathout  any  interruption,  in  the  same  families, 
and  through  a  long  succession  of  princes.  The  kingdom  of 
Macedonia  had  several  masters  of  different  families  suc- 
cessively. That  of  Thrace  was  at  last  divided  into  several 
branches,  and  no  longer  constituted  one  entire  body,  by  which 
means  all  traces  of  regular  succession  ceased  to  subsist. 

I.  THE    kiNGDOM    OF    EGYPT, 

The  kingdom  of  Egypt  had  fourteen  raonarchs,  includ- 
ing Cleopatra,  after  whose  death  those  dominions  became  a 
province  of  the  Roman  empire.  All  these  princes  had  the 
common  name  of  Ptolemy,  but  each  of  them  was  likewise 
distinguished  by  a  surname.  They  had  also  the  appellation 
of  Lagides,  from  Lagus,  the  father  of  that  Ptolemy  who 
reigned  the  first  in  Egypt.  The  histories  of  six  of  these 
kings  will  be  found  in  the  third  and  fourth  volume  of  this 
work,  and  I  shall  give  their  names  and  jjlace  here,  with  the 
duration  of  their  reigns,  the  first  of  which  commenced  im- 
mediately upon  the  death  of  Alexander  the  Great. 

Ptolemy  Soter.  He  reigned  thirty-eight  years  and  some 
months.* 

Ptolemy  Philadelphus,  He  reigned  forty  years,  includ- 
ing the  two  years  of  his  reign  in  the  lifetime  of  his  father.t 

Ptolemy  Euergetes,  twenty-five  years,  t 

Ptolemy  Philopator,  seventeen.  § 

Ptolemy  Epiphanes,  twenty-four.  || 

Ptolemy  Philometer,  thirty-four.  ^ 

II.  THE    KINGDOM    OF    SYRIA. 

Tlie  kingdom  of  Syria  had  tyventy-seven  kings ;  which 
makes  it  evident,  their  reigns  were  often  very  short ;  and, 
indeed,  several  of  these  princes  waded  to  the  throne  through 
the  blood  of  their  predecessors. 

•  A.  M.  3680.  Ant.  J.  C.  324.  t  A  M.  3718.  t  3753.   §  3783.   |1  3800.  H  3824. 


INTRODUCTION",  143 

They  are  iisually  called  Seleucides,  from  Seleucus,  who 
reigned  the  first  in  Syria.  History  reckons  up  six  kings  of  this 
name,  and  thirteen  who  are  called  by  that  of  Antiochus  ;  but 
they  are  all  distinguished  by  different  surnames.  Others  of 
them  assumed  different  names,  and  the  last  was  called  Anti- 
ochus XIII.,  with  the  surnames  of  Epiphanes,  Asiaticus,  and 
Commagenus.  In  his  reign,  Pompey  reduced  Syria  into  a 
Roman  province,  after  it  had  been  governed  by  kings  for  the 
space  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  years,  according  to  Euse- 
bius. 

The  kings  of  Syria,  the  transactions  of  whose  reigns 
are  contained  in  the  third  and  fourth  volumes,  are  eight  in 
number. 

Seleucus  Nicator.     He  reigned  twenty  years.* 

Antiochus  Soter,  nineteen. f 

Antiochus  Theos,  fifteen,  t 

Seleucus  Callinicus,  twenty.  § 

Seleucus  Ceraunus,  three.  || 

Antiochus  the  Great,  thirty-six.  IT 

Seleucus  Philopator,  twelve.** 

Antiochus  Epiphanes,  brother  of  Seleucus  Philopator, 
eleven.ft 

III.       THE    KINGDOM    OF    MACEDONIA. 

Macedonia  frequently  changed  its  masters,  after  the 
solemn  partition  had  been  made  between  the  four  princes. $  J 
Cassander  died  three  or  four  years  after  that  partition,  and 
left  three  sons.  Philip,  the  eldest,  died  shortly  after  his 
father.  The  other  two  contended  for  the  crown  without 
enjoying  it,  both  dying  soon  after  without  issue. 

Demetrius,  Poliorcetes,  Pyrrhus,  and  Lysimachus,  made 
themselves  masters  of  all,  or  the  greatest  part  of  Macedonia; 
sometimes  in  conjunction,  and  at  other  times  separately.  §§ 

After  ttie  death  of  Lysimachvis,  Seleucus  possessed  him- 
self of  Macedonia,  but  did  not  long  enjoy  it.  ||  || 

Ptolemy  Ceraunus,  having  slain  the  preceding  prince, 
seized  the  kingdom,  and  possessed  it  alone  but  a  very  short 
time,  having  lost  his  life  in  a  battle  with  the  Gauls,  who  had 
made  an  irruption  into  that  country.lFIT 

Sosthenes,  who  defeated  the  Gauls,  reigned  but  a  short 
time  in  Macedonia.*** 

Antigonus   Gonatus,  the  son   of  Demetrius  Poliorcetes, 

♦  3704.  1 3724.  J  3748.  §  37.58.  II  .3778.  H  3781.  **  3817. 

tt3829.        tt3707.        §§3710.        II II  3723.        1113724.      ***  3726. 


144  INTRODUCTION. 

obtained  the  peaceable  possession  of  the  kingdom  of  Mace* 
donia,  and  transmitted  those  dominions  to  his  descendants, 
after  he  had  reigued  thirty-four  years.* 

He  Avas  succeeded  by  his  son  Demetrius, f  who  reigned 
ten  years,  and  then  died,  leaving  a  son  named  Philip,  who 
was  but  two  years  old. 

Antigonus  Doson  reigned  twelve  years  in  the  quality  of 
guardian  to  the  young  prince,  t 

Philip,  after  the  death  of  Antigonus,  ascended  the 
throne  at  the  age  of  fourteen  years,  and  reigned  something 
more  than  forty.  § 

His  son  Perseus  succeeded  him,  and  reigned  about  eleven 
years.  ||  He  was  defeated  and  taken  prisoner  by  Paulus 
Emilius  ;  and  Macedonia,  in  consequence  of  that  victory, 
was  added  to  the  provinces  of  the  Roman  empire. 

IV.       THE    KINGDOM    OF    THRACE    AND    BITHYNIA,    ETC. 

This  fourth  kingdom,  composed  of  several  separate  prov- 
inces, very  remote  from  one  another,  had  not  any  succes- 
sion of  princes,  and  did  not  long  subsist  in  its  first  condition ; 
Lysimachus,  who  first  obtained  it,  having  been  killed  in  a 
battle,  after  a  reign  of  twenty  years,  and  all  his  family  being 
exterminated  by  assassination,  his  dominions  were  dismem- 
bered, and  no  longer  constituted  one  kingdom. 

Besides  the  provinces  which  were  divided  among  the 
captains  of  Alexander,  there  were  others  which  had  been 
either  formed  before,  or  were  then  erected  into  different  and 
independent  Grecian  states,  whose  power  greatly  increased 
in  process  of  time. 

KINGS    OF   BITHYNIA. 

While  Alexander  was  extending  his  conquest  in  the 
East,  Zypethes  had  laid  the  foundation  of  the  kingdom  of 
Bithynia.lT  It  is  not  certain  who  this  Zypethes  was,  unless 
we  may  conjecture  vvithPausanias,  that  he  was  a  Thracian.** 
His  successors,  however,  are  better  known. 

Nicomedes  I. ft  This  prince  invited  the  Gauls  to  assist 
him  against  his  brother,  with  whom  he  was  engaged  in 
a  war. 

Prusias  I. 

Prusias  H.  surnamed  the  Hunter,  in  whose  court  Hanni- 
bal took  refuge,  and  assisted  him  with  his  counsels  in  his 
war  against  Eumenes  II.,  king  of  Pergaraus.  tt 

*3T28.  t3762.  1 3772.         §3785.  ||  A.  M.  3824.        t  A.M. 3698, 

♦•  Fausan.  1.  v.  p.  310.        tt  A.M.  3726.  Jt  A.  M.  3620. 


INTKODUCTION.  145 

Nicomedes  II.  was  killed  by  his  son  Socrates. 

Nicomedes  III.  was  assisted  by  the  Romans  in  his  wars 
with  Mithridatcs,  and  bequeathed  to  them  at  his  death  the 
kingdom  of  Bithynia,  as  a  testimonial  of  his  gratitude  to 
them  ;  by  which  means  these  territories  became  a  Roman 
province. 

KINGS    OP    PERGAMUS. 

This  kingdom  comprehended  only  one  of  the  smallest 
provinces  of  Mysia,  on  the  coast  of  the  JEgian  sea,  over 
against  the  island  of  Lesbos. 

It  was  founded  by  Philatera,*  a  eunuch,  who  had  been  a 
servant  to  Docimus,  a  commander  of  the  troops  of  Anti- 
gonus.  Lysimachus  confided  to  him  the  treasures  he  had 
deposited  in  the  castle  of  the  city  of  Pergamus,  and  he  be- 
came master  both  of  these  and  the  city  after  the  death  of 
that  prince.  He  governed  this  little  sovereignty  for  the 
space  of  twenty  years,  and  then  left  it  to  Eumenes,  his 
nephew. 

Eumenes  I.  enlarged  his  principality,  by  the  addition  of 
several  cities,  which  he  took  from  the  kings  of  Syria,  having 
defeated  Antiochus,  the  son  of  Seleucus,  in  a  battle. f  He 
reigned  twelve  years. 

He  was  succeeded  by  Attains  I.,  his  cousin-germ  an,  who 
assumed  the  title  of  king,  after  he  had  conquered  the  Gala- 
tians  ;  t  and  transmitted  it  to  his  posterity,  who  enjoyed  it 
to  the  third  generation.  He  assisted  the  Romans  in  their 
war  with  Philip,  and  died  after  a  reign  of  forty-three  years. 
He  left  four  sons. 

His  successor  was  Eumenes  II., §  his  eldest  son,  who 
founded  the  famous  library  of  Pergamus.  He  reigned 
thirty-nine  years,  and  left  the  crown  to  his  brother  Attalus, 
in  the  quality  of  guardian  to  one  of  his  sons,  whom  he  had 
by  Stratonice,  the  sister  of  Ariarathes,  king  of  Cappadocia. 
The  Romans  enlarged  his  dominions  considerably,  after  the 
victory  he  obtained  over  Antiochus  the  Great. 

Attalus  II.  II  espoused  Stratonice,  his  brother's  widow,  and 
took  extraordinary  care  of  his  nephew,  to  whom  he  left  the 
crown  after  he  had  worn  it  twenty-one  years. 

Attalus  III.,ir  surnamed  Philometer,distinguished  himself 
by  his  barbarous  and  extravagant  conduct.     He  died  after 

*  A.  M.  3724.  Ant.  J.  C.  283.         t  A.  M.  3741.  Ant.  J.  C.  26«. 
t  A.  M.  ;i763.  Am.  .T.  C.  241.  §  A.  M.  .3S07.  Ant.  J.  C.  19T. 

(I  A.  M.  3845.  Ant.  J.  C.  159.         11  A.  M.  3866.  Ant.  J.  C.  138. 

10 


146  IXTRODUCTIOX. 

he  had  reigned  five  years,  and  bequeathed  his  riches  and  do- 
minions to  the  Romans. 

Aristonicus,*  who  claimed  the  succession,  endeavored  uO 
defend  his  pretensions  against  the  Romans ;  but  the  kingdom 
of  Pergamus  was  reduced,  after  a  war  of  four  years,  into  a 
Roman  province. 

KINGS    OF     POXTUS. 

The  kingdom  of  Pontus,  in  Asia  Minor,  was  anciently 
dismembered  from  the  monarchy  of  Persia,  by  Darius,  the 
son  of  Hystaspes,  in  favor  of  Artabazus,  who  is  said,  by  some 
historians,  to  have  been  the  son  of  one  of  those  Persian  lords 
who  conspired  against  the  magi.f 

Pontus  is  a  region  of  Asia  Minor,  and  is  situated  partly 
along  the  coast  of  the  Euxine  Sea  {Pontus  Euxinus),  from 
which  it  derives  its  name.  It  extends  from  the  river  Halys, 
as  far  as  Colchis.  Several  princes  reigned  in  that  country 
since  Artabazus. 

The  sixth  monarch  was  Mithridates  I.,$  who  is  properly 
considered  as  the  founder  of  the  kingdom  of  Pontus,  and  his 
name  was  assumed  by  the  generality  of  his  successors. 

He  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Ariobarzanes,§  who  had 
governed  Phrygia  under  Artaxerxes  Mnemon,  who  reigned 
twenty-six  years. 

His  successor  was  Mithridates  II.  ||  Antigones  suspect- 
ing, in  consequence  of  a  dream,  that  he  favored  Cassander, 
had  determined  to  destroy  him,  but  he  eluded  the  danger  by 
flight.  This  prince  was  called  Kriarij^,  or  The  Founder^ 
and  reigned  thirty-five  years. 

Mithridates  III.  succeeded  him,  added  Cappadocia  and 
Paphlagonia  to  his  dominions,  and  reigned  thirty-six  years. IT 

After  the  reigns  of  two  other  kings,  Mithridates,  the 
great  grandfather  of  Mithridates  the  Great,  ascended  the 
throne,  and  espoused  the  daughter  of  Seleucus  Callinicus. 
the  king  of  Syria,  by  whom  he  had  Laodice,  who  was  mar- 
ried to  Antiochus  the  Great. 

He  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Phnrnaces,**  who  had 
some  disagreement  with  the  kings  of  Pergamus.  He  made 
himself  master  of  Sinope,  which  afterwards  became  the 
capital  of  the  kingdom  of  Pontus. 

After  him  reigned  Mithridates  V.,  surnamed  Euergetes, 

•  A.  M.  3871.  Ant.  J.  C.  133.  t  A.  M.  3490.  Ant.  J.  C.  514. 

X  A.  M.  3600.  Ant.  J.  C.  404.  5  A.  M.  3641.  Ant.  J.  C.  363. 

II  A.  M.  .'5667.  Ant.  J  C.  337.  \  A.  M.  37u2.  Ant.  J.  C.  302. 

•*  A.  M.  3bl9.  Ant.  J.  C.  105. 


INTRODUCTION".  147 

the  first  who  was  called  the  friend  of  the  Romans,  because 
he  had  assisted  them  against  the  Carthaginians  in  the  third 
Punic  war. 

He  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Mithridaies  VI.,  surnamed 
Eupator.*  This  is  the  great  Mithridates,  who  sustained  so 
long  a  war  with  the  Romans,  and  reigned  sixty-six  years. 

KINGS     OF     CAPPADOCIA. 

Strabo  informs  us,  that  Cappadocia  was  divided  into 
two  satrapies,  or  governments,  under  tlie  Persians,  as  it  also 
was  under  the  Macedonians.  The  maritime  part  of  Cappa- 
docia formed  the  kingdom  of  Pontus ;  the  other  tracts  con- 
stituted Cappadocia,  properly  so  called,  or  the  Cappadocia 
Major,  which  extends  along  Mount  Taurus,  and  to  a  great 
distance  beyond  it.t 

When  Alexander's  captains  divided  the  provinces  of  his 
empire  among  themselves,  Cappadocia  was  governed  by  a 
prince  named  Ariarathes.^  Perdiccas  attacked  and  de- 
feated him,  after  which  he  caused  him  to  be  slain. 

His  son  Ariarathes  re-entered  the  kingdom  of  his  father, 
some  time  after  that  event,  and  established  himself  so  effec- 
tually, that  he  left  it  to  his  posterity. 

The  generality  of  his  successors  assumed  the  same  name, 
and  will  have  their  place  in  the  series  of  this  history. 

Cappadocia,  after  the  death  of  Archelaus,  the  last  of  its 
kings,  became  a  province  of  the  Roman  empire,  as  the  rest 
of  Asia  also  did,  much  about  the  same  time. 

KINGS    OF    ARMENIA. 

Armenia,  a  vast  country  of  Asia,  extending  on  each  side 
of  the  Euphrates,  was  conquered  by  the  Persians  ;  after 
which  it  was  transferred,  with  the  rest  of  the  empire,  to  the 
Macedonians,  and  at  last  fell  to  the  share  of  the  Romans.  It 
was  governed  for  a  great  length  of  time  by  its  own  kings, 
the  most  considerable  of  whom  was  Tigranes,  who  espoused 
the  daughter  of  the  great  Mithridates,  king  of  Pontus,  and 
was  also  engaged  in  a  long  war  with  the  Romans.  The 
kingdom  supported  itself  many  years,  between  the  Roman 
and  Parthian  empires,  som.etimes  depending  on  the  one,  and 
sometimes  on  the  other,  till  at  last  the  Romans  became  its 
masters. 

•A.  M.  S8?0.    Ant.  J.  C.  124.  fStrab.  1.  xii.  p.  5J4. 

A.  M.  3682.    Ant.  J.  C.  322. 


148  INTRODUCTION. 


KINGS    OF    EPIRUS. 


Epirus  is  a  province  of  Greece,  separated  from  Thessaly 
and  Macedonia  by  mount  Pindus.  Tlie  most  powerful 
people  of  this  country  were  the  Molossians. 

The  kings  of  Epirus  pretended  to  derive  their  descent 
from  Pyrrhus,  the  son  of  Achilles,  who  established  himself  in 
that  country,  and  called  themselves  j£acides,  from  ^acus 
the  grandfather  of  Achilles. . 

The  genealogy  of  the  latter  kmgs,  who  were  the  only 
sovereigns  of  this  country  of  Avhom  any  accounts  remain,  is 
variously  related  by  authors,  and  consequently  must  be 
doubtful  and  obscure.* 

Aryrabas  ascended  the  throne,  after  a  long  succession  of 
kings ;  and  as  he  was  then  very  young,  the  states  of  Epirus, 
who  were  sensible  that  the  welfare  of  the  people  depended 
on  the  proper  education  of  their  princes,  sent  him  to  Athens, 
which  was  the  residence  and  centre  of  all  the  arts  and  sci- 
ences, in  order  to-  cultivate,  in  that  excellent  school,  such 
knowledge  as  was  necessary  to  form  the  mind  of  a  king.  He 
there  learned  the  art  of  reigning,  and  as  he  surpassed  all  his 
ancestors  in  ability  and  knowledge,  he  was  in  consequence 
infinitely  more  esteemed  and  beloA'ed  by  his  people  than  they 
had  been.f  When  he  returned  from  Athens,  he  made  law^s, 
established  a  senate  and  a  magistracy,  and  regulated,  the 
form  of  the  government. 

Neoptoleraus,  whose  daughter  Olympias  had  espoused 
Philip  king  of  Macedon,  attained  an  equal  share  in  the  regal 
government  with  Arymbas,  his  elder  brother,  by  the  credit 
of  his  son-in-law.  After  the  death  of  Arjmibas,  ^acides, 
his  son,  ought  to  have  been  his  successor  ;  but  Philip  had 
still  sufficient  influence  to  procure  his  expulsion  from  the 
kingdom  by  the  Molossians,  who  established  Alexander,  the 
son  of  Neoptoleraus,  sole  monarch  of  Epirus. 

Alexander  espoused  Cleopatra,  the  daughter  of  Philip, 
and  marched  wath  an  army  into  Italy,  Avhere  he  lost  his  life 
in  the  country  of  the  Brutians. 

^  icides  then  ascended  the  throne,  and  reigned  without 
my  associate  in  Epirus.  He  espoused  Phthia,  the  daughter 
of  Mduou  the  Thessalian,  by  whom  he  had  two  daughters, 
i)eidamia,  and  Troins,  and  one  son,  the  celebrated  Pyrrhus. 

As  he  was  marching  to  the  assistance  of  01\Tiipias,  his 
troops  mutinied  against  him,  condemned  him  to  exile,  and 

•  Diod.  1.  xvi.  p.  465.    Jnstiii.  1.  viii.  c.  6.    Pint,  in  Pyrrho. 

t  Qaauto  doctior  majoribus,  tautoet  gratior  populofuit.— Justin.  1.  xvii.  c.  3. 


DfTEODUCTlON.  149 

slaughtered  most  of  his  friends.  Pyrrhus,  who  was  then  an 
infant,  happily  escaped  this  massacre. 

Neoptolemus,  a  prince  of  the  blood,  but  whose  particular 
extraction  is  little  known,  was  placed  on  the  throne  by  the 
people  of  Epirus. 

Pyrrhus,  being  recalled  by  his  subjects  at  the  age  of 
twelve  years,  first  shared  the  sovereignty  with  Neoptolemus, 
but  having  aftei'wards  divested  him  of  his  dignity,  he  reign- 
ed alone. 

This  history  will  treat  of  the  various  adventures  of  this 
prince.  He  died  in  the  city  of  Argos,  in  an  attempt  to  make 
himself  master  of  it.* 

Helenus,  his  son,  reigned  after  him  for  some  time  in 
Epirus,  which  was  afterwards  united  to  the  Roman  empire. 

TYRANTS    OF    HERACLEA. 

Heraclea  is  a  city  of  Pontus,  anciently  founded  by  the 
Boeotians,  who  sent  a  colony  into  that  country  by  the  order 
of  an  oracle. 

When  the  Athenians,  having  conquered  the  Persians,  had 
imposed  a  tribute  on  the  cities  of  Greece  and  Asia  Minor, 
for  the  fitting  out  and  support  of  a  fleet,  intended  for  the 
defence  of  the  common  liberty,  the  inhabitants  of  Heraclea, 
in  consequence  of  their  attachment  to  the  Persians,  were  the 
only  people  who  refused  to  acquiesce  in  so  just  a  contribu- 
tion.f  Lamachus  was  therefore  sent  against  them,  and  he 
ravaged  their  territories ;  but  a  violent  tempest  having  de- 
stroyed his  whole  fleet,  he  beheld  himself  abandoned  to  the 
mercy  of  that  people,  whose  natui-al  ferocity  might  well  have 
been  increased  by  the  severe  treatment  they  had  lately  re- 
ceived. But  they  had  recourse  to  no  other  vengeance  but 
benefactions;  they  furnished  him  Avith  troops  and  pi'ovisions 
for  his  return,  and  were  willing  to  consider  the  depredations 
which  had  been  committed  in  their  country  as  advantageous 
to  them,  if  they  acquired  the  friendship  of  the  Athenians  at 
that  price. I 

Some  time  after  this  event,  §  the  populace  of  Heraclea 
excited  a  violent  commotion  against  the  rich  citizens  and 
senators,  who  having  implored  assistance  to  no  effect,  first 
from  Timotheus,  the  Athenian,  and  afterwards  from  Epam- 

*  A.  ]Vr.  3733.     Ant.  J.  C.  271.  t  Justin.  1.  xvi.  c.  3-5.    Diod.  1.  xv.  p.  390. 

t  Heraclienses  honestiorem  beneflcii,  quam  ultionis  occasionem  rati,  in- 
Btrnctos  oonimeatibus  auxiliisque  dimittunt  :  bene  agrorum  suonim  popula- 
tioneni  impeiisam  existimantes,  si,  quos  hoates  habuerant,  amicos  reddidisaent.— • 
Justine.  §  A.  M.  3640.    Ant.  J.  C.  364. 


150  INTRODUCTION. 

inondas,  the  Theban,  were  necessitated  to  recall  Clearchus,  a 
senator,  to  their  defence,  whom  themselves  had  banished  ; 
but  his  exile  had  neither  imjjroved  his  morals,  nor  rendered 
him  a  better  citizen  than  he  was  before.  lie  therefore  made 
the  troubles  in  Avhich  he  found  the  city  involved,  subservient 
to  his  design  of  subjecting  it  to  his  own  power.  With  this 
view  he  openly  declared  for  the  people,  caused  himself  to 
be  invested  with  the  highest  office  in  the  magistracy,  and 
assumed  a  sovereign  authority  in  a  short  time.  Being  thus 
become  a  professed  tyrant,  there  were  no  kinds  of  violence 
to  which  he  had  not  recourse  against  the  rich  and  the  sen- 
ators, to  satiate  his  avarice  and  cruelty.  He  proposed  for 
his  model  Dionysius  the  Tyrant,  who  had  established  his 
power  over  the  Syracusans  at  the  same  time. 

After  a  hard  and  inhuman  servitude  of  twelve  years,  two 
young  citizens,  who  were  Plato's  disciples,  and  had  been  in- 
structed in  his  maxims,  formed  a  conspiracy  against  Clear- 
chus,  and  slew  him  ;  but  though  they  delivered  their  country 
from  the  tyrant,  the  tyranny  still  subsisted. 

Timotheus,  the  son  of  Clearchus,  assumed  his  place,  and 
pursued  the  same  conduct  for  the  space  of  fifteen  years.* 

He  was  succeeded  by  his  brother  Dionysius,t  who  was 
in  danger  of  being  dispossessed  of  his  authority  by  Perdic- 
cas ;  but  as  this  last  was  soon  destroyed,  Dionysius  contracted 
a  friendship  with  Antigonus,  Avhom  he  assisted  against 
Ptolemy  in  the  Cyprian  war. 

He  espoused  Amastris,  the  Avidow  of  Craterus,  and 
daiighter  of  Oxiathres,  the  brother  of  Darius.  This  alliance 
inspired  him  with  so  much  courage,  that  he  assumed  the 
title  of  king,  and  enlarged  his  dominions  by  the  addition  of 
several  places  which  he  seized  on  the  confines  of  Heraclea. 

He  died  two  or  three  years  before  the  battle  of  Ipsus, 
after  a  reign  of  thirty-three  years,  leaving  two  sons  and  a 
daughter  under  the  tutelage  and  regency  of  Amastris.  t 

This  princess  was  rendered  happy  in  her  administration 
by  the  affection  Antigonus  entertained  for  her.  She  founded 
a  city,  and  called  it  by  her  name  ;  after  which  she  trans- 
planted thither  the  inhabitants  of  three  other  cities,  and 
espoused  Lysimachus,  after  the  death  of  Antigonus.  § 

*  A.  M.  3652.    Ant.  J.  C.  352.    Piod.  1.  xv.  p  435. 

t  A.  M.  3667.     Ant.  J.  C.  337.     Diod.  1.  xvi.  p.  478. 

i  A.  M.  3700.    Ant.  J.  C.  304.  S  Diod.  i.  xx.  p.  833- 


INTRODUCTION".  151 

KINGS    OF    SYRACUSE. 

Hiei'O,  *  and  his  son  Hieronyirm^^'.  reigned  at  Syracuse ; 
tlie  first  fifty-four  years,  the  second  but  one  year. 

Syracuse  r^icovered  its  liberty  by  the  death  of  the  last, 
but  continued  in  the  interest  of  the  Carthaginians,  which 
Hieronymus  had  caused  it  to  espouse,  f  His"  conduct  obliged 
Marcellus  to  form  the  siege  of  that  city,  which  he  took  the 
following  year,  t  I  shall  enlarge  upon  the  history  of  these 
two  kings  in  another  place. 

OTHER    KINCxS. 

Several  kings  likewise  reigned  in  the  Cimmerian  Bos- 
phorus,  as  also  in  Thrace,  Cyrene  in  Africa,  Paphlagonia, 
Colchis,  Iberia,  Albania,  and  a  variety  of  other  places  ;  but 
their  history  is  very  uncertain,  and  their  successions  have 
but  little  regularity. 

These  circumstances  are  very  different  Avith  respect  to 
the  kingdom  of  the  Parthians,  who  formed  themselves,  as 
we  shall  see  in  the  sequel,  into  such  a  powerful  monarchy, 
as  became  formidable  even  to  the  Roman  empire.  That  of 
Bactrians  also  took  its  rise  about  the  same  period ;  I  shall 
treat  of  each  in  their  proper  places. 


CATALOGUE   OF   THE   EDITIONS   OF   THE   PRINCIPAL 
GREEK  AUTHORS  CITED  IX  THIS  WORK. 

Herodotus. — Francof.  An.  1608. 

Thucydides. — Apud  Henricum  Stephanum,  An.  1588. 

Xenophon. — Lutetiffi  Parisiorum,  apud  Societatem  Grasca^ 

rum  Editionum,  An.  1625. 
PoLYBius. — Parisiis,  An.  1609. 

DioDORUS  SiouLUS. — Hanoviffi,  Typis  Wechelianis,  An.  1604. 
Plutarchus. — Lutetias  Parisiorum,  apud  Societatem  Grae- 

canxm  Editionum,  An.  1624. 
Straho. — Lutetiae  Parisiorum,  Typis  Regiis,  An.  1620. 
Atiien^us. — Lugduni,  An.  1612. 
Pausanias. — HanovifE,  Typis  Wechelianis,  An.  1613. 
Appianus  Alexander. — ^Apud  Henric.  Stephan.  An.  1592. 

•  A.  M.  3735.    Ant.  J.  C.  269. 

t  A.  M.  3739.    Ant.  J.  C.  215.  t  A.  M.  3791.    Ant.  J.  C.  213. 


152  INTKODUCTIOK. 

Plato. — Ex  nova  Joannis  Serrani  interpretatione.     Apua 

Henricum  Stephaniim,  An.  1578. 
Aristotelks. — Lutetiffi  Parisiorum,  apud  Societatem  GraB- 

carum  Editionum,  An.  1619. 
IsocRATES. — Apiid  Paulnm  Stephanum,  An.  1604. 
DiOGEXES   Laertius. — Apud   Henricum    Stephanum,    An. 

1594. 
Demosthenes. — Francof.  An.  1604. 
Arkias^us. — Ludgd.  Batav.  An.  1704. 


BOOK     FIRST 


THK 

ANCIENT    HISTORY 

OF     THE 

EGYPTIANS 


PLAN. 
I  shall  divide  what  I  have  to  say  upon  the  Egyptians  into  three  parts.      The 
first  contains  a  concise  description  of  the  different  parts  of  Egypt,  and  of  what  is 
most  remarkable  in  it  ;  in  the  second,   I  treat  of  the   customs,  laws,  and  religion 
of  the  Egyptians  ;  and  in  the  third,  1  give  the  history  of  their  lyings. 


PART   FIRST. 

DESCRIPTION  OF  EGYPT;  WITH  A:N^  ACCOUNT  OF 
WHATEVER  IS  MOST  CURIOUS  AND  REMARKABLE 
IN  THAT  COUNTRY. 

Egypt  comprehended  anciently,  within  limits  of  no  very 
great  extent,  a  prodigious  number  of  cities,  and  an  incredi- 
ble number  of  inhabitants.* 

It  is  bounded  on  the  east  by  the  Red  Sea  and  the  Isth- 
mus of  Suez,  on  the  south  by  Ethiopia,  on  the  west  by 
Libya,  and  on  the  north  by  the  Mediterranean.  The  Nile 
runs  from  south  to  north,  through  the  whole  country,  about 
two  hundred  leagues  in  length.  This  country  is  enclosed 
on  each  side  with  a  ridge  of  mountains,  Avhich  very  often 
leave,  betAveen  the  foot  of  the  hills  and  the  river  Nile,  a 
tract  of  ground  of  not  above  half  a  day's  journey  in  length,! 
and  sometimes  less. 

On  the  west  side,  the  plain  grows  wider  in  some  places, 
and  extends  to  twenty-five  or  thirty  leagues.  The  greatest 
breadth  of  Egypt  is  from  Alexandria  to  Damietta,  being 
about  fifty  leagues. 

*  It  is  related,  that  nnder  Amasis,  there  were  twenty  thousand  inhabited 
cities  in  Egypt — I'erod.  1.  ii,  p.  177. 

t  A  day's  journey  is  24  eastern,  or  S3  English  miles  and  a  quarter. 

(153) 


154  AXCIENT    HISTORY. 

Ancient  Egypt  may  be  divided  into  three  principal 
parts ;  Upper  Lgypt,  otherwise  called  Thebais,  which  was 
the  most  southern  part;  Middle  Egypt,  or  Heptanomis,  so 
called  from  the  seven  Nonii  or  districts  it  contained ;  Lower 
Egypt,  which  included  what  the  Greeks  call  Delta,  and  all 
the  country  as  far  as  the  Red  Sea,  and  alonir  the  Mediterra- 
nean to  Rhhiocolura,  or  Mount  Casius.  Under  Sesostris, 
all  Egypt  became  one  kingdom,  and  was  divided  into  thirty- 
six  governments  or  Nomi ;  ten  in  Thebais,  ten  in  Delta,  and 
sixteen  in  the  country  between  both.* 

The  cities  of  Syene  and  Elephantina  divided  Egypt 
from  Ethiopia,  and  in  the  days  of  Augustus,  were  the  boun- 
daries of  the  Roman  empire ;  Claustra  olira  Homani  im- 
perii^ Tacit.  Annal.  lib.  ii.  cap.  61. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THEBAIS. 

Thebes,  from  whence  Thebais  had  its  name,  might  vie 
with  the  noblest  cities  in  the  universe.  Its  hundred  gates, 
celebrated  by  Homer,  are  universally  known,!  and  acquired 
it  the  surname  of  Hecatonij)ylos,  to  distinguish  it  from  the 
other  Thebes  in  Boeotia.  Its  population  was  proportionate 
to  its  extent ;  X  and,  according  to  history,  it  could  send  out 
at  once  two  hundred  chariots,  and  ten  thousand  fighting 
men,  at  each  of  its  gates.  The  Greeks  and  Romans  have 
celebrated  its  magnificence  and  grandeur,  though  they 
saw  it  only  in  its  ruins  ;  so  august  were  the  remains  of  tliis 
city.  § 

In  the  Thebaid,  now  called  Said,  have  been  discovered 
temples  and  palaces,  which  are  still  almost  entire,  adorned 
with  innumerable  columns  and  statues.  ||  One  palace  espe- 
cially is  admired,  the  remains  of  which  seem  to  have  existed 
purely  to  eclipse  the  glory  of  the  most  pompous  edifices. 
Four  walks,  extending  farther  than  the  eye  can  see,  and 
bounded  on  each  side  with  s]»hinxes,  composed  of  materials  as 
rare  and  extraordinary  as  their  size  is  remarkable,  serve  as 
avenues  to  four  porticoes,  whose  height  is  amazing  to  behold. 
And  even  they  who  have  given  us  the  description  of  this 

*  Strab.  1.  xvii.  p.  787.         t  Horn.  11.  1.  ver.  381.        t  Strab.  1.  xvH.  p.  816. 
5  Tacit.  Auu.  1.  ii.  c.  60.  .     U  Thevenot's  Travels. 


DESCRIPTION    OF    EGYPT.  155 

•wonderful  edifice,  had  not  time  to  go  round  it,  and  are  not 
sure  that  they  saw  above  half ;  however,  what  they  had  a 
sight  of  was  astonisliing.  A  hall,  which  to  all  ap})earance 
stood  in  the  middle  of  this  stately  palace,  was  supported  by 
a  hundred  and  twenty  pillars,  six  fathoms  round,  of  a  pro- 
portionable height,  and  intermixed  with  obelisks,  wdiich  so 
many  ages  have  not  been  able  to  demolish.  Painting  had 
displayed  all  her  art  and  magnificence  in  this  edifice.  The 
colors  themselves,  which  soonest  feel  the  injury  of  time, 
still  remain  amid  the  ruins  of  this  wonderful  structure,  and 
preserve  their  beauty  and  lustre ;  so  happily  could  the 
Egyptians  imprint  a  character  of  immortality  on  all  their 
works.  Strabo,  who  was  on  the  spot,  describes  a  temple  he 
saw  in  Egypt,  very  much  resembling  that  of  which  I  have 
been  speaking.  * 

The  same  author,  t  describing  the  curiosities  of  Thebais, 
speaks  of  a  very  famous  statue  of  Memnon,  the  remains  of 
which  he  had  seen.  It  is  said  that  this  statue,  when  the 
beams  of  the  rising  sun  first  shone  upon  it  in  the  morning, 
uttered  an  articulate  sound.  X  And  indeed  Strabo  himself 
was  an  ear  witness  of  this  ;  but  then  he  doubts  whether  the 
sound  came  from  the  statue. 


CHAPTER  II. 

MIDDLE  EGYPT,  OR  HEPTANOMIS. 

MEsrPHis  was  the  capital  of  this  part  of  Egypt.  In 
this  city  were  to  be  seen  many  stately  temples,  especially 
that  of  the  god  Apis,  who  was  honored  here  in  a  particular 
manner.  I  shall  speak  of  it  hereafter,  as  well  as  of  the 
pyramids,  which  stood  in  the  neighborhood  of  this  place, 
and  rendered  it  so  famous.  Memphis  was  situated  on  the 
west  side  of  the  Nile. 

Grand  Cairo,  which  seems  to  have  succeeded  Memphis, 
was  built  on  the  other  side  of  that  river.  §  The  castle  of 
Cairo  is  one  of  the  greatest  curiosities  in  Egypt.  It  stands 
on  a  hill  without  the  city,  has  a  rock  for  its  foundation,  and 
is  surrounded  with  walls  of  a  vast  height  and  solidity.    You 

»  Lib.  xvii.  p.  805.  t  P.  316. 

t  Germanicus  nliis  quoque  miraoulis  intendit  animum.  quomm  prsecipua 
fnere  Memnonis  saxea  effigies,  ubi  radiis  solia  icta  est  vocalem  sonum  reddens- 
&c.— Tacit.  Amial.  1.  li.  c.  Gl.  §  Thevenot. 


156  ANCIENT   HISTORY. 

go  up  to  the  castle  by  a  way  hewn  out  of  the  rock,  and 
which  is  so  easy  of  ascent,  that  loaded  horses  and  camels 
get  up  without  difficulty.  The  greatest  rarity  in  this  castle 
is  Joseph's  well,  so  called,  either  because  the  Egyptians  are 
pleased  with  ascribing  what  is  most  remarkable  among  them 
to  that  great  man,  or  because  there  is  really  such  a  tradition 
in  the  country.  This  is  a  proof  at  least,  'that  the  work  in 
question  is  very  ancient ;  and  it  is  certainly  worthy  the 
magnificence  of  the  most  powerful  kings  of  Egypt.  '  This 
well  has,  as  it  were,  two  stories,  cut  out  of  solid  rock  to  a 
prodigious  depth.  The  descent  to  the  reservoir  of  water, 
between  the  two  wells,  is  by  a  staircase  seven  or  eight  feet 
broad,  consisting  of  two  hundred  and  twenty  stej^s,  and  so 
contrived,  that  the  oxen  emplo5'ed  to  tlirow  up  the  water, 
go  down  with  all  imaginable  ease,  the  descent  being  scarcely 
perceptible.  The  well  is  supplied  from  a  spring,  which  is 
almost  the  only  one  in  the  whole  country.  The  oxen  are 
continually  turning  a  wheel  with  a  rope,  to  which  a  number 
of  buckets  are  fastened.  The  water  thus  drawn  from  the 
first  and  lowest  well  is  conveyed,  by  a  little  canal,  into  a 
reservoir,  which  forms  the  second  well,  from  whence  it  is 
drawn  to  the  top,  in  the  same  manner,  and  then  conveyed 
by  pipes  to  all  parts  of  the  castle.  As  this  well  is  supposed 
by  the  inhabitants  of  the  country  to  be  of  great  antiquity, 
and  has  indeed  much  of  the  antique  manner  of  the  Egyp- 
tians, I  thought  it  might  deserve  a  place  among  the  curi- 
osities of  ancient  Egypt. 

Strabo  speaks  of  a  similar  engine,  which,  by  wheels  and 
pulleys,  threw  up  the  water  of  the  Nile  to  the  top  of  a  very 
high  hill ;  with  this  difference,  that  instead  of  oxen,  a  hun- 
dred and  fifty  slaves  were  employed  to  turn  these  wheels.* 

The  part  of  Egypt  of  which  we  now  speak  is  famous  for 
several  rarities,  each  of  which  deserves  a  particular  exami- 
nation. I  shall  mention  only  the  principal,  such  as  the 
obelisks,  the  pyramids,  the  labyrinth,  the  lake  of  Moeris,  and 
the  Nile. 

SECT.  I.      THE    OBELISKS, 

Egypt  seemed  to  place  its  chief  glory  in  raising  monu- 
ments for  posterity.  Its  obelisks  form  at  this  day,  on 
account  of  their  beauty  as  well  as  height,  the  principal  or- 
nament  of   Rome ;    and  the  Roman  power,  despairing  to 

*  Lib.  xvii.  p.  807. 


DESCRIPTIOX    OF    EGYPT.  157 

equal  the  Egyptians,  thought  it  honor  enough  to  borrow  the 
monuments  of  their  kings. 

An  obelisk  is  a  quadrangular,  taper,  tiigh  spire  or  pyra- 
mid, raised  perpendicularly,  and  terminating  in  a  point,  to 
serve  as  an  ornament  to  some  open  square  ;  and  is  very  often 
covered  with  inscriptions  or  hieroglyphics,  that  is,  with 
mystical  characters  or  symbols  used  by  the  Egyptians  to 
conceal  and  disguise  their  sacred  things,  and  the  mysteries 
of  their  theology, 

Sesostris  erected  in  the  city  of  Heliopolis  two  obelisks 
of  extreme  hard  stone,  brought  from  the  qtiarries  of  Syene, 
at  the  extremity  of  Egypt.  *  They  were  each  one  hundred 
and  twenty  cubits  high,  that  is,  thirty  fathoms,  or  one  hun- 
dred and  eighty  feet,  f  The  emperor  Augustus,  having 
made  Egypt  a  province  of  the  empire,  caused  these  two 
obelisks  to  be  transported  to  Rome,  one  of  which  was  after- 
wards broken  to  pieces.  He  dared  not  venture  upon  a  third, 
which  was  of  a  monstrous  size,  t  It  was  made  in  the  reign 
of  Ramises  ;  it  is  said  that  twenty  thousand  men  were  em- 
ployed in  the  cutting  of  it.  Constantius,  more  daring  than 
Augustus,  caused  it  to  be  removed  to  Rome.  Two  of  these 
obelisks  are  still  to  be  seen  there,  as  well  as  another  a 
hundred  cubits,  or  twenty-five  fathoms  high,  and  eight  cubits, 
or  two  fathoms  in  diameter.  Caius  Caesar  had  it  brought 
from  Egypt,  in  a  ship  of  so  odd  a  form,  that,  according  to 
Pliny,  the  like  had  never  been  seen.  § 

Every  part  of  Egyjjt  abounded  with  this  kind  of  obe- 
lisks ;  they  were  for  the  most  part  cut  in  the  quarries  of 
Upper  Egypt,  where  some  are  now  to  be  seen  half  finished. 
But  the  most  wonderful  circumstance  is,  that  the  ancient 
Egyptians  should  have  had  the  art  of  contrivance  to  dig, 
even  in  the  very  quarry,  a  canal,  through  which  the  water 
of  the  Nile  ran  in  the  time  of  its  inundation  ;  from  whence 
they  afterwards  raised  up  the  columns,  obelisks  and  statues, 
on  rafts  ||  proportioned  to  their  weight,  in  order  to  convey 
them  into  Lower  Egypt.  And  as  the  country  was  inter- 
sected everywhere  with  canals,  there  were  few  places  to 
which  those  huge  bodies  might  not  be  carried  with  ease, 
although  their  weight  would  have  broken  every  other  kind 
of  engine. 

♦TMod.  lib.  i.  p.  37. 

t  It  is  proper  to  observe,  once  for  all,  that  an  Egyptian  cubit,  according  to 
Mr.  Greaves,  was  one  foot  live  inches  and  about  three-l'ounhs  of  our  measure, 
t  Plin.  1.  xxxvii.  c.  8,  9.  §  Plin.  1.  XTX.i.  c.  9. 

U  Rafts  are  pieces  of  flat  timber  put  together,  to  carry  goocU  oti  rivers. 


158  ANCIENT    HISTORY. 

SECT.  II. THE    PYRAMIDS. 

A  pyramid  is  a.solid  or  hollow  Lody,  having  a  large,  and 
generally  a  square  base,  and  terminating  in  a  ])oint.* 

There  were  three  pyramids  in  Egypt  more  famous  than 
the  rest,  one  whereof  Avas  justly  ranked  among  the  scAen 
wonders  of  the  world  ;  they  did  not  stand  very  far  from  the 
city  of  Memphis.f  I  shall  take  notice  here  only  of  the 
largest  of  the  three.  This  ])yramid,  like  the  rest,  Avas  built 
on  a  rock,  having  a  square  base,  cut  on  the  outside  as  so 
many  steps,  and  decreasing  gradually,  quite  to  the  summit. 
It  was  built  of  stones  of  a  prodigious  size,  the  least  of 
which  was  thirty  feet,  wrought  with  Avonderful  art,  and 
covered  with  hieroglyphics.  According  to  several  ancient 
authors,  each  side  was  eight  hundred  feet  broad,  and  as 
many  high.  The  summit  of  the  pyramid,  which  to  those 
who  viewed  it  from  below  seemed  a  point,  was  a  fine  plat- 
form, composed  of  ten  or  twelve  massy  stones,  with  each 
side  of  that  platform  sixteen  or  eighteen  feet  long. 

M.  de  Chazelles,  of  the  Academy  of  Sciences,  who  went 
purposely  to  the  spot  in  1693,  gives  us  the  following  dimen- 
sions : 

The  side  of  the  square  base         -         -  110  fathoms. 

The  fronts  are  equilateral  triangles,  and  |  12,100  square 
therefore,the  superfices  of  the  base  is  j  fathoms. 

The  perpendicidar  height   -         -         -  77|  fathoms. 

The  solid  contents       -         -  313,590  cubical  fathoms. 

A  hundred  thousand  men  were  constantly  employed 
about  this  work,  and  were  relieved  every  three  months  by 
the  same  number.  Ten  complete  years  were  spent  in  hew- 
ing out  the  stones,  either  in  Arabia  or  Ethiopia,  and  in  con- 
veying them  to  Egypt ;  and  twenty  years  more  in  building 
this  immense  edifice,  the  inside  of  Avhich  contained  number- 
less rooms  and  apartments.  There  Avere  expressed  on  the 
pyramid,  in  Egyptian  characters,  the  sums  it  cost  only  for 
garlic,  leeks,  onions,  and  other  vegetables,  for  the  Avorkmen ; 
and  the  whole  amounted  to  sixteen  hundred  talents  of 
silver,  that  is,  four  million  five  hundred  thousand  French 
Uvres  ;t  from  Avhence  it  Avas  easy  to  conjecture  what  a  vast 
sum  the  whole  expense  must  have  amounted  to. 

Such  were  the  famous  Egyptian  pjTamids,  which  by 
their  figure,  as  Avell  as  size,  haA'e  triumphed  OA'er  the  injuries 

•  Herod  1.  ii.  c.  124,  &c.    Diod.  1.  i.  p.  39-41.    Plin  lib.  xxxvi.  c.  12. 
t  Vide  Diod.  Sic  i  About  $883,000. 


DESCKIPTIOX    OF    EGYPT.  159 

of  time  and  the  barbarians.  But  what  efforts  soever  men  may 
make,  their  nothingness  will  always  ap2:)ear.  These  pyra- 
mids were  tombs ;  and  there  is  still  to  be  seen,  in  the 
middle  of  the  largest,  an  empty  sarcophagvis,  cut  out  of  one 
entire  stone,  about  three  feet  deep  and  broad,  and  a  little 
above  six  feet  long.*  Thus,  all  this  bvistle,  all  this  expense, 
and  all  the  labors  of  so  manv  thousand  men,  ended  in  pro- 
curing for  a  prince,  in  this  vast  and  almost  boundless  ])ile 
..f  building,  a  little  vault  six  feet  in  length.  Besides,  the 
kings  who  built  these  ])yramids,  had  it  not  in  their  power  to 
be  buried  in  them,  and  so  did  not  enjoy  the  sepulchre  they 
had  built.  The  public  hatred  which  they  incurred,  by  rcii- 
8on  of  their  unheard-of  cruelties  to  their  subjects,  in  laying 
guch  heavy  tasks  upon  them,  occasioned  their  being  interred 
in  some  obscure  place,  to  prevent  tlieir  bodies  from  being 
exposed  to  the  fury  and  vengeance  of  the  popul;;ce. 

This  last  circumstance,  f  which  historians  huxe  taken 
particular  notice  of,  teaches  us  what  judgment  we  ought  to 
pass  on  these  edifices,  so  much  boasted  of  by  the  ancients. 
It  is  but  just  to  remark  and  esteem  the  noble  genius  which 
the  Egyptians  had  for  architecture  ;  a  genius  that  ])rompted 
them  from  the  earliest  times,  and  before  they  could  have 
any  models  to  imitate,  to  aim  in  all  things  at  the  grand  and 
magnificent ;  and  to  be  intent  on  real  beauties,  without 
deviating  in  the  least  from  a  noble  simplicity,  in  Avhich  the 
highest  perfection  of  the  art  consists.  But  what  idea  ought 
we  to  form  of  those  princes,  who  considered  as  something 
grand,  the  raising  by  a  multitude  of  liands  and  by  the  help 
of  money,  immense  structures,  Avith  the  sole  view  of  ren- 
dering their  names  immortal ;  and  who  did  not  scruple  to 
destroy  thousands  of  their  subjects  to  satisfy  their  vain 
glory  ?  They  differed  very  much  from  the  Romans,  who 
sought  to  immortalize  themselves  by  word's  of  a  magnificent 
kind,  but,  at  the  same  time,  of  ])ublic  Utility. 

Pliny  gives  us,  in  a  few  words,  a  just  idea  of  these  pyra- 
mids, when  he  calls  them  a  foolish  and  useless  ostentation 
of  the  wealth  of  the  Egyptian  kings  ;  liegum  pecunim  otiosa 
ac  stulta  ostentatio.  And  adds,  that  by  a  just  jnniishment 
their  memory  is  buried  in  oblivion ;  the  liistorians  not 
agi'eeing  among  themselves  about  the  names  of  those  who 
first  raised  those  vain  monuments.  Inter  eos  non  cotistat  a 
quibus  factcB  sint,  justissima  casu  obliteratis  tantm  vani- 
tatia  auctoribus.  %     In  a  word,  according  to  the  judicious 

•  Strabo  mentions  this  sarcophagus,  lib.  xrii.  p.  803. 

t  Diod.  lib.  1.  p.  40.  %  Lib.  xxxvi.  cap.  12. 


160  XNCIENT    HISTORY. 

remark  of  Diodorus,  the  industry  of  the  architects  of  those 
pyramids  is  no  less  valuable  and  praiseworthy  tlian  the  de- 
sign of  the  Egyptian  kings  conteinj)tible  and  ridiculous. 

But  what  we  should  most  admire  in  these  ancient  monu- 
ments, is,  the  true  and  standing  evidence  they  give  of  the 
skill  of  the  Egyptians  in  astronomy ;  that  is,  in  a  science 
which  seems  incapable  of  being  brought  to  {perfection,  but 
by  a  long  series  of  years,  and*a  great  number  of  observa^ 
tions.  M.  de  Chazelles,  when  he  measured  the  great  pyra- 
mid in  question,  found  that  the  four  sides  of  it  were  turned 
exactly  to  the  four  quarters  of  the  world  ;  and  consequently 
showed  the  true  meridian  of  that  place.  Xow,  as  so  exact 
a  situation  was  in  all  probability  purposely  ))itched  upon  by 
those  who  piled  up  this  huge  mass  of  stones,  above  three 
thousand  years  ago ;  it  follows  that  during  so  long  a  space 
of  time,  there  has  been  no  alteration  in  the  heavens  in  that 
respect,  or,  which  amounts  to  the  same  thing,  in  the  poles 
of  the  earth  or  the  meridians.  This  is  M.  de  Fonteuelle's 
remark,  in  his  eulogy  of  M.  de  Chazelles. 

SECT.    III. THE    LABYRIXTH. 

What  has  been  said  concerning  the  judgment  we  ought 
to  form  of  the  pyramids,  may  also  be  applied  to  the 
labyrinth,  which  Herodotus,  who  saw  it,  assures  us  was  still 
more  surpi-ising  than  the  pyramids.  *  It  was  built  at  the 
southern  extremity  of  the  lake  of  Moeris,  whereof  mention 
will  be  made  presently,  near  the  town  of  Crocodiles,  the 
same  with  Arsinoe.  It  was  not  so  much  one  single  ptalace, 
as  a  magnificent  pile  composed  of  twelve  palaces,  regularly 
disposed,  which  had  a  communication  with  each  other. 
Fifteen  hundred  rooms,  interspersed  with  terraces,  were 
ranged  round  twelve  halls,  and  discovered  no  outlet  to  such 
as  went  to  see  them.  There  was  the  like  number  of  build- 
iu<i:s  under  oTound.  These  subterraneous  structures  were 
designed  for  the  burying-place  of  the  kings,  and  also  (who 
can  speak  this  without  confusion,  and  wittiout  deploring  the 
blindness  of  man  !)  for  keeping  the  sacred  crocodile  which 
a  nation  so  Avise  in  other  respects,  w()rshi})ped  as  gods. 

lu  order  to  visit  the  rooms  and  halls  of  the  labyrinth,  it 
was  necessary,  as  the  reader  will  naturally  su})pose,  for 
people  to  take  the  same  precaution  as  Ariadne  made  Theseus 
use,  when  lie  was  obliged  to  go  and  fight  the  Minotaus  in 
the  labyrinth  of  Crete.     Virgil  describes  it  in  tins  msinner: 

♦  Herod.  1.  ii.  c.  148.    Diod.  1.  i.  p.  42.    Pliii.  1.  xxxvi.  j.  13-     Strab.  1.  x\u.  p.  811. 


DESCUIPTIOX    OF    EGYPT.  161 

TJt  quondam  Creta  fertur  labyrinthus  in  alta 
Parietibus  textum  csecis  iter  ancipitemque 
Mille  viis  habuisse  dolum,  quasigiia  sequendi 
Falleret  iiideprensus  et  irremeabilis  error* 
Hie  labor  ille  domus,  et  inextricabilis  error. 
Daidalus,  ipse  doles  tecti  ambagesque  resolvit, 
Caeca  regens  file  vesiigia.  t 

And  as  the  Cretan  labyrinth  of  old, 

"With  wand'riiig  ways,  and  many  a  winding  fold, 

Involv'd  the  weary  "feet  without  redress, 

In  a  round  error,  which  deny'd  reeess  : 

Not  far  from  thence  he  grav'd  the  wondrous  maze  ; 

A  thousand  doors,  a  thousand  winding  ways. 

SECT.  IV. THE    LAKE    OF    MCERIS. 

The  noblest  and.  most  wonderful  of  all  the  structures  or 
•works  of  the  kings  of  Egypt,  was  the  lake  of  Mceris ;  ac- 
cordingly, Herodotus  considers  it  as  vastly  superior  to  the 
pyramids  and  labyrinth,  t  As  Egypt  was  more  or  less 
fruitful  in  proportion  to  the  inundations  of  the  Nile  ;  and 
as  in  these  floods,  the  too  great  or  too  little  rise  of  the  waters 
was  equally  fatal  to  the  lands  ;  king  Mceris.  to  prevent  these 
two  inconveniences,  and  correct,  as  far  as  Isr^  in  his  power, 
the  irregularities  of  the  Nile,  thought  proper  to  call  art  to 
the  assistance  of  nature  ;  and  so  caused  tue  lake  to  be  dug, 
which  afterwards  went  by  his  name.  This  lake  was  in  cir- 
cumference, about  three  thousand  six  hundred  stadia,  that 
is,  about  one  hundred  and  eighty  French  leagues,  and  three 
hundred  feet  deep.  §  Two  pyramids,  on  each  of  which  was 
placed  a  colossal  statue,  seated  on  a  throne,  raised  their 
heads  to  the  height  of  three  hundred  feet,  in  the  midst  of 
the  lake,  while  their  foundations  took  up  the  same  space  un- 
der the  water ;  a  proof  that  they  were  erected  before  the 
cavity  was  filled,  and  a  demonstration  that  a  lake  of  such 
vast  extent  was  the  work  of  man's  hands,  in  one  prince's 
reign.  This  is  what  several  historians  have  related  concern- 
ing the  lake  Mceris,  on  the  testimony  of  the  inhabitants  of 
the  country.  And  M.  Bossuet,  the  bishop  of  Meaux,  in  his 
discourse  on  Universal  History,  relates  the  whole  as  fact. 
For  my  part,  I  will  confess  that  I  do  not  see  the  least  prob- 
ability in  it.  Is  it  possible  to  conceive,  that  a  lake  of  a 
hundred  and  eighty  leagues  in  circumference,  could  have 
been  dug  in  the  reign  of  one  prince  ?  In  what  manner,  and 
where  could  the  earth  taken  from  it  be  conveyed  ?  What 
should  prompt  the  Egyptians  to  lose  the  surface  of  so  much 

*  ^neid.  1.  v.  538,  &c.  t  ^Eneid- 1.  v.  v.  27,  &c. 

t  Herod.  1.  vii.  c.  140.  Strab.  1.  xvii.  p.  787.  Died.  1.  i.  p.  47.  Plin.  1.  v.  c.  9. 
Pomp.  Mela,  1.  7. 

§  Vide  Herod,  and  Dio<i.    Pliny  agrees  almost  with  them. 

11 


162  »   ANCIEXT    HISTORY. 

land?  By  what  arts  could  they  fill  this  vast  tract  with  tlie 
superfluous  waters  of  the  Nile  ?  Many  other  objections 
might  be  made.  In  my  opinion,  therefore,  we  ought  to  fol- 
low Pomponius  Mela,  an  ancient  geographer  ;  especially  as 
his  account  is  confirmed  by  several  modern  travellers.  Ac- 
cording to  that  author,  this  lake  is  about  twenty  thousand 
paces,  that  is,  seven  or  eight  French  leagues  in  circumfer- 
ence. Mceris  aliquando  campus,  nunc  laciis,  viginti  niillia 
passuum  in  circuitn patens.* 

This  lake  had  a  communication  with  the  Nile,  by  a  great 
canal  more  than  four  leagues  long,  t  and  fifty  feet  broad. 
Great  sluices  either  opened  or  shut  the  canal  and  lake,  as 
occasion  required. 

The  charge  of  opening  or  shutting  them  amounted  to 
fifty  talents,  that  is,  fifty  thousand  French  crowns.  %  The 
fishing  of  this  lake  brought  to  the  monarch  immense  sums  ; 
but  its  chief  use  related  to  the  overflowing  of  the  Nile.  When 
it  arose  too  high  and  was  like  to  be  attended  with  fatal  con- 
sequences, the  sluices  were  opened  ;  and  the  waters,  having 
a  free  passage  into  the  lake,  covered  the  lands  no  longer 
than  was  necessary  to  enrich  them.  On  the  contrary,  when 
the  inundation  was  too  low,  and  threatened  a  famine,  a 
sufficient  quantity  of  water,  by  the  help  of  drains,  was  let 
out  of  the  lake,  to  water  the  lands.  In  this  manner,  tlie 
irregularities  of  the  Nile  were  corrected ;  and  Strabo  re- 
marks, that,  in  his  time,  under  Petronius,  a  governor  of 
Egypt,  when  the  inundation  of  the  Nile  was  twelve  cubits, 
a  very  great  plenty  ensued  ;  and  even  when  it  rose  but  to 
eight  cubits,  the  dearth  was  scarce  felt  in  the  country ; 
doubtless  because  the  waters  of  the  lake  made  up  for  those 
of  the  inundation,  by  the  help  of  canals  and  drains. 

SECT.  V. THE    INUNDATIONS    OF    THE    NILE. 

The  Nile  is  the  greatest  wonder  of  Egypt.  As  it  sel- 
dom rains  there,  this  river,  which  waters  the  whole  country 
by  its  regular  inundations,  supplies  that  defect,  by  bringing, 
as  a  yearly  tribute^,  the  rains  of  other  countries ;  which 
made  a  poet  say  ingeniously.  The  Egyptian  pastures,  how 
great  soever  the  drought  may  be,  never  implore  Jupiter  for 
rain. 

"  Te  propter  nullos  tellus  tna  postulat  imbres, 
Arida  nee  pluvio  supplicat  herba  Jovi."  § 

*  Mela,  1.  i.  t  Eighty-five  stadia.  t  $55,000. 

§  Seneca  (Nat.  Qusest.  1.  iv.  c.  2.)  ascribes  these  verses  to  Ovid,  but  they  are 
libullus's. 


DESCKIPTIOX    OF    EGYPT.  163 

To  multiply  so  benificent  a  river,  Egypt  was  cut  into 
numberless  canals,  of  a  length  and  breadth  propoi-tioned  to 
the  diffei'ent  situations  and  wants  of  the  lands.  The  Xile 
brought  fertility  everywhere  with  its  salutary  streams; 
united  cities  one  with  another,  and  the  Mediterranean  with 
the  Red  Sea ;  maintained  trade  at  home  and  abroad,  and 
fortified  the  kingdom  against  the  enemy  so  that  it  was  at 
once  the  nourisher  and  protector  of  Egypt.  The  fields  were 
delivered  up  to  it :  but  the  cities,  that  Avere  raised  with 
immense  labor,  and  stood  like  islands  in  the  midst  of  the 
waters,  looked  down  with  joy  on  the  plains  which  were 
overflowed,  and  at  the  same  time  enriched  by  the  Xile. 

This  is  a  general  idea  of  the  nature  and  effects  of  this 
river,  so  famous  among  the  ancients.  But  a  Avonder  so  as- 
tonishing in  itself,  and  which  has  been  the  object  of  the 
curiosity  and  admiration  of  the  learned  in  all  ages,  seems  to 
require  a  more  particular  description,  in  which  I  shall  be  as 
concise  as  possible. 

I.       THE    SOURCES    OF    THE    NILE. 

The  ancients  placed  the  sources  of  the  Nile  in  the  moun- 
tains of  the  moon  (as  they  are  commonly  called),  and  in  the 
10th  degree  of  south  latitude.  But  our  modern  travellers 
have  discovered  that  they  lie  in  the  12th  degree  of  north 
latitude  ;  and  by  that  means  they  cut  off  about  four  or  five 
hundred  leagues  of  the  course  which  the  ancients  gave  that 
river.  It  rises  at  the  foot  of  a  great  mountain  in  the  king- 
dom of  Gojam  in  Abyssinia,  from  two  spi-ings,  or  eyes,  to 
speak  in  the  language  of  the  country,  the  same  word  ir 
Arabic  signifying  eye  and  fountain.  These  springs  are 
thirty  paces  from  one  another,  each  as  large  as  one  of  our 
wells  or  a  coach  wheel.  The  Xile  is  increased  with  many 
rivulets  which  run  into  it ;  and  after  passing  through  Ethi- 
02>ia  in  a  very  winding  course,  flows  at  last  into  Egypt 

II.       THE    CATARACTS    OF    THE    NILE. 

This  name  is  given  to  some  parts  of  the  Nile,  where  the 
water  falls  down  from  the  steep  rocks.*     This  river,  which 

*  Excipiunt  eum  (Nilum)  cataractaj,  nobilis  iiisigni  siKsctiiculo  locus. Ilic 

excitatis  primum  aquis,  quaa  sine  tumultu.  )eiii  alveo  duxerat,  violeutus  et  tor- 

reiLS  per    nialigiios  iiaiisitua  prosjlit,    di8^imilis  sibi laiidemque  eluctatus 

obst.autia,  in  vastam  altitudiiiem  subito  des'.itutus  cadit,  cum  iiigeiiti  oireum- 
jaceiitium  regioimm  strepitu  ;  quem  perfeire  gena  ibi  a  Persis  collocata  iion 
potuit.  obtusis  assiduo  fragore  anribus,  etob  hoc  8«dibu8  ad  quietiora  translatis. 
Inter  miracula  fltuuinis  incredibilem  iucolarum  audaciam  accepi.     Biiii  parvula 


164  AXCIENT    HISTOKY. 

at  first  glided  smoothly  along  the  vast  deserts  of  Ethiopia, 
before  it  enters  Egypt,  passes  by  the  cataracts.  Then  grow- 
ing on  a  sudden,  contrary  to  its  nature,  raging  and  violent 
in  those  places  Avhere  it  is  pent  u\)  and  restrained ;  after 
having  at  last  broken  through  all  obstacles  in  its  Avay,  it 
precipitates  itself  from  the  top  of  some  rocks  to  the  bottom, 
with  so  loud  a  noise  that  it  is  heard  three  leagues  off. 

The  inhabitants  of  the  country,  accustomed  by  long 
practice  to  this  sport,  exhibit  here  a  spectacle  to  travellers 
that  is  more  terrifying  than  diverting.  Two  of  them  go 
into  a  little  boat ;  the  one  to  guide  it,  the  other  to  throw 
out  the  water.  After  having  long  sustained  the  violence  of 
the  raging  waves,  by  managing  their  little  boat  very  dexter- 
ously, they  suffer  themselves  to  be  carried  away  with  the 
impetuous  torrent  as  swift  as  an  arroAv.  The  affrighted 
spectator  imagines  they  are  going  to  be  swallowed  up  in  the 
precipice  down  which  they  fall ;  when  the  Xile,  restored  to 
its  natural  course,  discovers  them  again,  at  a  considerable 
distance  on  its  smot  t\  and  calm  waters.  This  is  Seneca's 
account,  which  is  confirmed  by  our  modem  travellers. 

111.      CAUSES    OF    THE    IXUXDATIONS    OF    THE    NILE. 

The  ancients  have  invented  many  subtle  reasons  for  the 
Nile's  great  increase,  as  may  be  seen  in  Herodotus,  Diod- 
orus  Siculus,  and  Seneca.  *  But  it  is  now  no  longer  a 
matter  of  dispute,  it  being  almost  universally  allowed,  that 
the  inundations^  of  the  Nile  are  owing  to  the  great  rains 
which  fall  in  Ethiopia,  from  whence  this  river  flows.  These 
rains  swell  it  to  such  a  degree,  that  Ethiopia  first,  and  then 
Egypt,  are  overflowed ;  and  that  Avhich  at  first  Avas  but  a 
large  river,  rises  like  a  sea,  and  overspreads  the  Avhole 
country. 

Strabo  observes  that  the  ancients  only  guessed  that  the 
inundations  of  the  Nile  Avere  owing  to  the  rains  which  fall 
in  great  abundance  in  Ethiopia ;  but  adds,  that  several 
travellers  have  since  been  eye-witnesses  of  it ;  f  Ptolemy 
Philadelphus,  who  was  very  curious  in  all  things  relating  to 

navigia  coiiscendiint,  quorum  alter  navera  regit,  alter  exhaurit.  Deinde  multum 
inter  rap'ulain  insauiam  Nili  et  reciiirocos  llactiis  volutati,  tandem  tenuissimos 
canales  teneiit,  per  quos  angiista  ruyiuni  eitugiuut  ;  et  cum  toto  liamiue  effusi 
navigium  rueus  manu  temperant,  magnoque  spectantiura  metu  in  caput  nixi.cum 
jam  adploraveris  mersosqu  atque  obrutos  tanta  mole  credideris,  lonjre  ab  «o  in 
quern  ceoiderant  loco  navigaut,  torment  i  motlo  missi.  Nee  mergit  cadens  unda 
8ed  planis  aquis  tradit. — Senec.  Nat.  Qusest.  1.  iv.  c.  2. 

*  Herod.  1.  ii.  c.  19-27.    Diod.  1.  i.  p.  35-39.    Senec.  Nat.  QuKst.  1.  iv.  c.  1.  eX  i. 

t  Lib.  xvii.  p.  789. 


DESCRIPTIOJ^r    OF    EGYPT.  165 

the  arts  and  sciences,  liaving  sent  thither  able  persons,  pur- 
posely to  examine  this  matter,  and  to  ascertain  the  cause  of 
so  uncommon  and  remarkable  an  eifect. 

IV.       THE    TIME    AND    CONTINUANCE  OF  THE    INUNDATIONS. 

Herodotus,  *  and  after  him  Diodorus  Siculus.  and  several 
other  authors,  declare  that  the  Xile  begins  to  flow  in  Egypt 
at  tlie  summer  solstice,  that  is,  about  the  end  of  June,  and 
continues  to  rise  till  the  end  of  September,  and  then  de- 
creases gradually  during  the  months  of  October  and  No- 
vember ;  after  which  it  returns  to  its  channel,  and  resumes 
its  wonted  course.  This  account  agrees  very  nearly  with 
the  relations  of  all  the  moderns,  and  is  founded  in  reality  on 
the  natural  cause  of  the  inundation,  viz. :  the  rains  which  fall 
in  Ethiopia.  Now,  according  to  the  constant  testimony  of 
those  who  have  been  on  the  spot,  these  rains  begin  to  fall 
in  the  month  of  April,  and  continue,  during  five  months,  till 
the  end  of  August  and  beginning  of  September.  The  Nile's 
increase  in  Egypt  must  consequently  begin  three  weeks  or  a 
month  after  the  rains  have  begun  to  fall  in  Abyssinia ;  and, 
accordingly,  travellers  observe,  that  the  Nile  begins  to  rise 
in  the  month  of  May,  but  so  slowly  at  the  first,  that  it 
probably  does  not  yet  overflow  its  banks.  The  inundation 
happens  not  till  about  the  end  of  June,  and  lasts  the  three 
following  months,  according  to  Herodotus. 

I  must  point  out  to  such  as  consult  the  originals,  a  con- 
tradiction in  this  place  between  Herodotus  and  Diodorus  on 
one  side  ;  and  between  Strabo,  Pliny,  and  Solinus  on  the 
other.  These  last  shorten  very  much  the  continuance  of 
the  inundation  ;  and  suppose  the  Nile  to  retire  from  the  lands 
in  three  months,  or  a  hundred  days.  And  what  adds  to 
the  difficulty  is,  that  Pliny  seems  to  ground  his  opinion  on 
the  testimony  of  Herodotus :  In  totuni  autem  revocatur 
Nilus  intra  ripas  in  libra,  ut  tradit  Herodotus,  centesiino 
die.  I  leave  the  learned  the  reconciling  of  this  contradic- 
tion. 

V.       THE    HEIGHT    OF    THE    LN^UNDATION, 

The  just  height  of  the  inimdation,  according  to  Pliny, 
is  sixteen  cubits,  f     When  it  rises  but  twelve  or  thirteen,  a 

*  Herod.  1.  ii.  c.  19.    Diod.  1.  i.  p.  32. 

t  Justum  incrementum  est  cubitorum  xvl.  Minores  aquae  iion  omnia  rigant : 
arapliores  detinent,  tardiiis  recedeiido.  Hae  sereudi  tempora  absumunl  soloma- 
dente  :  illae  iion  dant  sitiente.  Utrumque  reputat  proviiicia.  In  duodeo.ini  cubi' 
tie  famem  sentit.  in  tredecim  etiamnum  esurit,  quatuordecim  cubita  liilaritatem 
efferuet,  quiudocim  securitatem,  sexdecim  delicias.— Plin.  1.  v.  c.  9. 


166  ANCIKXT    niSTOUV. 

famine  is  tlireatanecl  ;  and  "svhen  it  exceeds  sixteen  tliere  is 
danger.  It  must  be  remembered  that  a  cubit  is  a  foot  and 
a  half.  The  emperor  Julian  takes  notice,  in  a  letter  to 
Ecdicius,  prefect  of  Egypt,  that  the  height  of  the  Nile's 
oA-erflowing  Avas  fifteen  cubits,  the  20th  of  September,  in  362.  * 
The  ancients  do  not  agree  entirely  Avith  one  another,  nor 
with  the  moderns,  AA'ith  regard  to  the  lieight  of  the  inunda- 
tion ;  but  the  difference  is  not  A-ery  considerable,  and  may 
proceed,  1,  from  the  disparity  betAA'een  the  ancient  and 
modern  measures,  Avhich  it  is  hard  to  estimate  on  a  fixed 
and  certain  foot ;  2,  from  the  carelessness  of  the  obserA'ei's 
and  historians  ;  3,  from  the  real  difference  of  the  Nile's  in- 
crease, Avhich  Avas  not  so  great  the  nearer  it  approached  the 
sea. 

As  the  riches  of  Egypt  dej^ended  on  the  inundation  of 
the  Nile,  all  the  circumstances  and  different  degrees  of  its 
increase  AA^ere  carefully  considered ;  and  by  a  long  series  of 
regular  observations,  made  during  many  years,  the  inunda- 
tion itself  discoA^ered  what  kind  of  harA-est  the  ensuing  year 
was  likely  to  produce. f  The  kings  liad  placed  at  Memphis 
a  measure  on  a\  hich  these  different  increases  Avere  marked ; 
and  from  thence  notice  Avas  giAcn  to  all  the  rest  of  Egypt, 
the  inhabitants  of  Avhich  knew,  by  that  means,  beforehand, 
Avhat  they  might  fear  or  promise  themsehes  from  the  har- 
vest. Strabo  speaks  of  a  well  on  the  banks  of  the  Nile,  near 
the  tOAA^n  of  Syene,  made  for  that  purpose. J 

The  same  custom  is  observed  to  this  day  at  Grand  Cairo. 
In  the  court  of  a  mosque  there  stands  a  pillar,  on  Avhich  are 
marked  the  degrees  of  the  Nile's  increase  ;  and  common 
criers  every  day  proclaim  in  all  parts  of  the  city,  hoAv-  high 
it  is  risen.  The  tribute  paid  to  the  grand  signior  for  the 
lands,  is  regulated  by  the  inundation.  The  day  on  which  it 
rises  to  a  certain  height,  is  kept  as  a  grand  festi\-al,  and 
solemnized  with  fire^AA^orks,  feasting,  and  all  the  demonstra- 
tions of  public  rejoicing ;  and  in  the  remotest  ages,  the  over- 
flowing of  the  Nile  was  always  attended  with  an  uniA'ersal 
joy  throughout  all  Egypt,  that  being  the  fountain  of  its  haj)- 
piness. 

The  heathens  ascribed  the  inundation  of  the  Nile  to  their 
god  Serapis ;  and  the  pillar  on  which  was  marked  the  in- 
crease, was  preserved  religiously  in  the  temple  of  that  idol.§ 
The  emperor  Constantine  having  tr  lered  it  to  be  removed 

*  Jul.  epist.  50.  t  Diod.  1.  i.  p.  33.  t  Lib,  xvii.  p.  317. 

$  Socrat.  1.  i.  c.  18.    Sozom.  1.  v.  c.  3. 


BESCRIPTIOX    or    EGYPT.  1G7 

Into  the  church  of  Alexandria,  the  Egyptians  spread  a  re- 
port, tliat  the  Nile  would  rise  no  more  by  reason  of  the 
"wvath  of  Serapis  ;  but  the  river  overfloAved  and  increased 
as  usual  the  following  years.  Julian,  the  apostate,  a  zealous 
protector  of  idolatry,  caused  this  pillar  to  be  replaced  in  the 
same  temple,  out  of  which  it  Avas  again  removed  by  the  com- 
mand of  Theodosius. 

XI.    THE    CAXALS    OF    THE    NILE,    AXD    SPIRAL    PUMPS. 

Divine  Providence,  in  giving  so  beneficent  a  river  to 
Egypt,  did  not  thereby  intend  that  the  inhabitants  of  it 
should  be  idle,  and  enjoy  so  great  a  blessing,  without  taking 
any  pains.  One  may  naturally  suppose,  that  as  the  Nile 
could  not  of  itself  cover  the  whole  country,  great  labor  was 
to  be  used  to  facilitate  the  overflowing  of  the  lands  ;  and 
numberless  canals  cut,  in  order  to  convey  the  waters  to  all 
parts.  The  villages,  which  stood  A^ery  thick  on  the  banks 
of  the  Nile,  on  eminences,  had  each  their  canals,  Avhich  Avere 
opened  at  proper  times,  to  let  the  Avater  into  the  country. 
The  more  distant  Adllages  had  theirs  also,  CA'en  to  the  ex- 
tremities of  the  kingdom.  Thus  the  waters  were  successively 
conveyed  to  the  most  remote  places.  Persons  are  not  per 
mitted  to  cut  the  trenches  to  receive  the  waters,  till  the  river 
is  at  a  certain  height,  nor  to  open  them  altogether  ;  because 
otherAvise  some  lands  Avould  be  too  much  oAertiowed,  and 
others  not  coA'ered  enough.  They  begin  with  opening  them 
in  Upper,  and  afterAvards  in  LoAver  Egypt,  according  to  the 
rules  prescribed  in  a  roll  or  book,  in  Avhich  all  the  measures 
are  exactly  set  down.  By  this  means  the  Avater  is  husbanded 
with  such  care,  that  it  sjjreads  itself  over  all  the  lands.  The 
countries  OA'crflowed  by  the  Nile  are  so  extensiA'e,  and  lie  so 
low,  and  the  number  of  canals  is  so  great,  that  of  all  the 
waters  which  floAV  into  Egypt  during  the  raonihs  of  June, 
July,  and  August,  it  is  believed  that  not  a  tenth  part  of  them 
reaches  the  sea. 

But  as,  notwithstanding  all  these  canals,  there  ai*e  abun- 
dance of  high  lands  Avhich  cannot  receive  the  benefit  of  the 
Nile's  overfloAving ;  this  want  is  supplied  by  spiral  pumps, 
which  are  turned  with  oxen,  in  order  to  bring  the  water  into 
pipes,  Avhich  convey  it  to  these  lands.  Diodorus  speaks  of 
a  similar  engine,  called  Cochlea  uEgyptia,  invented  by 
Archimedes,  in  his  traA^els  into  Egypt.* 

•  Lib.  i.  p.  30  et  lib.  v.  p.  313. 


Ifife  ■  A?fCIENT    HISTORY. 

rn.    THE    FERTILITY    CAUSED    BY    THE    NILE. 

There  is  no  country  in  the  world  where  the  soil  is  more 
fruitful  than  in  Egypt ;  which  is  owing  entirely  to  the  Nile. 
For  whereas  other  rivers,  when  they  overflow  lands,  wash 
away  and  exhaust  their  vivific  moisture ;  the  Nile,  on  the 
contrary,  Ly  the  excellent  slime  it  bi-ings  along  with  it,  fat- 
tens and  enriches  them  in  such  a  manner,  as  sufficiently  com- 
pensates for  what  tlie  foregoing  harvest  had  impaired.*  The 
husbandman,  in  this  country,  never  tires  himself  with  hold- 
ing the  plough,  or  breaking  the  clods  of  earth.  As  soon  as 
the  Nile  retires,  he  has  nothing  to  do  but  to  turn  up  the 
earth,  and  temper  it  with  a  little  sand,  in  order  to  lessen  its 
rankness  ;  after  which  he  sows  it  with  great  ease,  and  at  lit- 
tle or  no  expense.  Two  months  after,  it  is  covered  with  all 
sorts  of  corn  and  pulse.  The  Egyptians  soav  in  October  and 
November,  according  as  the  waters  recede,  and  their  harvest 
is  in  March  and  April. 

The  same  land  bears,  in  one  year,  three  or  four  different 
kinds  of  crops.  Lettuces  and  cucumbers  are  sown  first : 
then  corn  ;  and,  after  harvest,  several  sorts  of  pulse,  which 
are  peculiar  to  Egypt.  As  the  sun  is  extremely  hot  in  this 
country,  and  rains  fall  very  seldom  in  it,  it  is  natural  to  sup- 
pose that  the  earth  would  soon  be  parched,  and  the  corn 
and  pulse  burnt  up  by  so  scorching  a  heat,  Avere  it  not  for  the 
canals  and  reservoirs  with  which  Egypt  abounds  ;  and  which, 
by  the  drains  from  thence,  amply  supply  wherewith  to  water 
and  refresh  the  fields  and  gardens. 

The  Nile  contributes  no  less  to  the  nourishment  of  cattle, 
which  is  another  source  of  wealth  to  Egypt.  The  Egyptians 
begin  to  turn  them  out  to  grass  in  November,  and  they  graze 
till  the  end  of  March.  Words  could  never  express  how  rich 
their  pastures  are,  and  how  fat  the  flocks  and  herds  (which, 
by  reason  of  the  mildness  of  the  air,  are  out  night  and  day) 
grow  in  a  very  little  time.  During  the  inundation  of  the 
Nile,  they  are  fed  with  hay  and  cut  straw,  barley  and  beans, 
which  are  their  common  food. 

A  man  cannot,  says  Corneille  le  Bruyn  in  his  Travels,  f 
help  observing  the  admirable  providence  of  God  to  this 
country,  who  sends  at  a  fixed  season  such  great  quantities 
of  rain  in  Ethiopia,  in  order  to  water  Egypt,  where  a  shower 
of  rain  scarce  ever  falls ;  and  who  by  that  means  causes  the 

*  Ciiin  caeteri  amnes  abliiant  terras  et  evisoerent,  Kilns  adeo  nihil  exedlt  neo 
abradit,  ut  oontWi  adjiciat  vires. — Ita  jiivat  agios  duabus  ex  causis,  et  quod,  iuf 
ondat,  et  quod  oblimat.— Seuec.  Nat.  Qusest.  1.  iv.  c,  2.  t  vol.  ii. 


DESCKIPTIOX    OF    EGYPT.  169 

driest  and  most  sandy  soil  to  become  the  richest  and  most 
fruitful  country  in  the  universe. 

Another  thing  to  be  observed  here  is,  that,  as  the  inhab- 
itants say,  in  the  beginning  of  June,  and  the  four  following 
months,  the  north-east  winds  blow  constantly,  in  order  to 
keep  back  the  waters,  which  would  otherwise  flow  too  fast ; 
and  to  hinder  them  from  discharging  themselves  into  the 
sea,  the  entrance  to  which  these  winds  bar  up,  as  it  were, 
from  them.  The  ancients  have  not  omitted  this  circum- 
stance. 

The  same  Providence,  whose  ways  are  wonderful  and  in- 
finitely various,  displayed  itself  after  a  quite  different  man- 
ner in  Palestine,  in  rendering  it  exceedingly  fruitful ;  not  by 
rains,  which  fell  during  the  course  of  the  yeai',  as  is  usual  in 
other  places  ;  nor  by  a  peculiar  inundation  like  that  of  the 
Nile  in  Egypt ;  but  by  sending  fixed  rains  at  two  seasons, 
when  his  people  were  obedient  to  him,  to  make  them  more 
sensible  of  their  continual  dependence  upon  him.*  God  him- 
self commands  them,  by  his  servant  Moses,  to  make  this  re- 
flection, t  The  I  incl  whither  thou  goest  in  to  possess  it,  is 
not  as  the  land  of  Egypt,  from  whence  ye  came  out,  wliere 
thou  soweclst  thy  seed,  and  wateredst  it  with  thy  foot,  as  a 
garden  of  herbs :  but  the  land  whither  ye  go  to  possess  it, 
is  a  land  of  hills  and  vcdleys,  and  drinketh  water  of  the 
rain  of  heaven.  After  this,  God  promises  to  give  his  peo- 
ple, so  long  as  they  shall  continue  obedient  to  him,  the 
former  and  the  latter  rain  :  the  first  in  autumn,  to  bring  up 
the  corn ;  and  the  second  in  the  spring  and  summer,  to 
make  it  grow  and  ripen. 

VIII.      THE    DIFFERENT    PROSPECTS    EXHIBITED    BY  THE  NILE. 

There  cannot  be  a  finer  sight  than  Egypt  at  two  seasons 
of  the  year.  %  For  if  a  man  ascends  some  mountain,  or 
one  of  the  largest  pyramids  of  Grand  Cairo,  in  the  months 
of  July  and  August,  he  beholds  a  vast  sea,  in  which  num- 
berless towns  and  villages  a])pear,  with  several  causeys  lead- 
ing from  place  to  place  ;  the  whole  interspersed  with  groves 
and  fruit-trees,  whose  tops  only  are  visible,  all  which  forms 
a  delightful  i>rospect.  This  view  is  bounded  by  mountains 
and  woods,  Avhich  terminate,  at  the  utmost  distance  the  eye 

»  MuUiformis  sipientia,  Eph.  iii.  10.  t  Duet.  xiT  lft-13. 

t  Ilia  facies  pulcherriina  est,  cum  jam  se  in  a;;roa  Nilus  ingessit.  Latent 
c»mpi,  opertieque  sunt  valles  :  oppitia  i]iKitlaruiu  nio<lo  extant.  Nullum  in 
Mediterranei.-*,  nisi  per  nuvigia,  <-ommercium  est ;  majorque  est  laetitia  in  genti- 
bus,  quo  minus  terrarum  suaruiu  vident.— Senec.  Nat.  Qua-st.  1.  iv.  c.  2. 


170  ANCIENT    HISTORY. 

can  discover,  the  most  beautiful  horizon  that  can  be  im- 
agined. On  tlie  contrary,  in  winter,  that  is  to  say,  in  the 
months  of  January  and  February,  tlie  Avhole  coxmtry  is  like 
one  continued  scene  of  beautiful  meadows,  whose  verdure 
enamelled  with  flowers,  charms  the  eye.  The  spectator  be- 
holds, on  every  side,  flocks  and  herds  dispersed  over  all  the 
plains,  with  infinite  numbers  of  husbandmen  and  gardeners. 
The  air  is  then  perfumed  by  the  great  quantity  of  blossoms 
on  the  orange,  lemon,  and  other  trees  ;  and  is  so  pui-o,  that  a 
Avholesomer  or  more  agreeable  is  not  found  in  the  world ; 
so  that  nature,  being  then  dead  as  it  were  in  ail  other  cli- 
mates seems  to  be  alive  only  for  so  delightful  an  abode. 

IX,        THE    CAXAL    FORMED    BY    THE    NILE,  BY    WHICH    A    COil- 
MUNICATION    IS    MADE    IJETAVEEN    THE    TWO    SEAS. 

The  canal,*  by  which  a  communication  was  made  be- 
tween the  Red  Sea  and  Mediterranean,  ought  to  have  a 
place  here,  as  it  was  not  one  of  the  least  advantages  which 
the  Nile  procured  to  Egypt.  Sesostris,  or  accordiiig  to 
others,  Psammeticus,  first  projected  tlie  design,  and  began 
this  work.  Necho,  successor  to  the  last  ])rince,  laid  out  im- 
mense sums  upon  it,  and  em])loyed  a  prodigious  number  of 
men.  It  is  said,  that  above  six  score  thousand  Egyptians 
perished  in  the  undertaking.  He  gave  it  over,  terrified  by 
an  oracle,  which  told  him  that  he  Avoidd  thereby  open  a 
door  for  barbarians,  for  by  this  name  they  called  all  foreign- 
ers, to  enter  Egypt.  The  work  was  contiiuied  by  Darius, 
the  first  of  that  name  ;  but  he  sdso  desisted  from  it,  on  his 
being  told,  that  as  the  Red  Sea  lay  higher  than  EgA'pt,  it 
would  drown  the  whole  country.  But  it  Avas  at  last  fin- 
ished under  the  Ptolemies,  Avho,  by  the  help  of  sluices, 
opened  or  shut  the  canal  as  there  was  occasion.  It  began 
not  far  from  the  Delta,  near  the  town  of  Bubastus.  It  was 
a  liundred  cubits,  that  is,  twenty-five  fathoms  broad,  so 
that  two  vessels  might  pass  with  ease  ;  it  had  depth  enough 
to  carry  the  largest  ships,  and  was  above  a  thousand  stadia, 
that  is,  above  fifty  leagues  long.  This  canal  Av^as  of  great 
Bei'A'ice  to  Egypt.  Bui,  it  is  noAV  almost  filled  uj),  and  there 
are  scarce  any  remains  of  it  to  be  seen. 

•Herod,  1.  Ji.  c.  15S.    Strab.  1.  xvii.  p.  804.     Pliii.  1.  vi.  c.  29.    Diod.  1.  i.  p.  29. 


DliSClilPTION    OF    EGYPT.  171 


CHAPTER  HI. 

LOWER      E  G  y  1'  T  . 

I  AM  now  to  speak  of  Lower  Egypt.  Its  shape,  which 
resembles  a  triangle,  or  delta  J,  gave  occasion  to  its  bear- 
ing the  latter  name,  which  is  that  of  one  of  th3  Greek  let- 
ters. Lower  Egypt  forms  a  kind  of  island  ;  it  begins  at  a 
place  where  the  Nile  is  divided  into  two  large  canals, 
through  which  it  em])ties  itself  into  the  Mediterranean  ;  the 
mouth  on  the  right  hand  is  called  the  Pelusinn,  and  the  other 
the  Canopic,  from  the  two  cities  in  their  neighborhood, 
Pelusium  and  Canopus,  now  called  Damietta  and  Rosetta. 
Between  these  two  large  branches,  there  are  five  others  of 
less  note.  The  island  is  the  best  cultivated,  the  most  fruit- 
ful, and  the  richest  part  of  Egypt.  Its  chief  cities,  very 
anciently,  were  Heliopolis,  Heracleopolis,  Kaucratis,  Sais, 
Tanis,  Canopus,  Pelusium  ;  and,  in  latter  times,  Alexandria, 
Nicopolis,  etc.  It  was  in  the  country  of  Tanis  that  the 
Israelites  dwelt. 

There  was  at  Sais  a  temple  dedicated  to  Minerva,*  who 
is  supposed  to  be  the  same  as  Isis,  with  the  following  in- 
scription ;  lam  tchatever  hath  been,  and  is,  ajul  shall  be  j 
and  no  mortal  hath  drawn  aside  'my  veil. 

Heliopolis, t  that  is,  the  city  of  the  sun,  was  so  called 
from  a  magnificent  temple  there  dedicated  to  that  planet. 
Herodotus,  and  other  authors  after  him,  relate  some  partic- 
ulars concerning  the  phoenix  and  this  temple,  Avhich,  if  true, 
would  indeed  be  very  wonderful.  Of  this  kind  of  birds,  if 
we  may  believe  the  ancients,  there  is  never  but  one  at  a  time 
in  the  world.  He  is  brought  forth  in  Arabia,  lives  five  or 
six  hundred  years,  and  is  of  the  size  of  an  eagle.  His  head 
is  adorned  Avith  a  shining  and  most  beautiful  crest ;  the 
feathers  of  his  neck  are  of  a  gold  color,  and  the  rest  of  a 
purple  ;  his  tail  is  Avhite  intermixed  with  red,  and  his  eyes 
sparkling  like  stars.  When  he  is  old,  and  finds  his  end  ap- 
proaching, he  builds  a  nest  with  M^ood  and  aromatic  spices, 
and  then  dies.     Of  his  bones  and  marrow  a  worm  is  pro- 

*  Plutar.  (le  Isid.  p.  .154. 

t  Strab.  1.  xvii.  p.  ^05.  Herod.  L  ii.  c.  73.  Pliii.  1.  x.  c  2.  Tacit,  Ann,  1.  vi. 
C  28. 


'If72  AirClEWT    HISTOKY. 

duced,  out  of  which  another  phcEnix  is  formed.  His  first 
care  is  to  solemnize  his  parent's  obsequies,  for  which  pur- 
pose he  makes  up  a  ball  in  the  shape  of  an  egg,  with  abun- 
dance of  perfumes  of  myrrh,  as  heavy  as  he  can  carry, 
which  he  often  essays  beforehand  ;  then  he  makes  a  hole  in 
it,  where  he  deposits  his  parent's  body,  and  closes  it  care- 
fully with  myrrh  and  other  perfumes.  After  this  he  takes 
up  the  precious  load  on  his  shoulders,  and  flying  to  the  altar 
of  the  sun,  in  the  city  of  Pleliopolis,  he  there  burns  it. 

Herodotus  and  Tacitus  dispute  the  truth  of  some  of  the 
circumstances  of  this  account,  but  seem  to  suppose  it  true 
in  general.  Pliny,  on  the  contrary,  in  the  very  beginning 
of  the  account  of  it,  insinuates  })lainly  enough,  that  he  looks 
upon  the  whole  as  fabulous ;  and  this  is  the  opinion  of  all 
modern  authors. 

This  ancient  tradition,  though  grounded  on  an  evident 
falsehood,  hath  yet  introduced  into  almost  all  languages,  the 
custom  of  giA'ing  the  name  of  phoenix  to  whatever  is  singu- 
lar or  uncommon  in  its  kind  :  Mara  avis  in  terris,  *  says 
Juvenal,  speaking  of  the  difficulty  of  finding  an  accom- 
plished woman  in  all  respects.  And  Seneca  observes  the 
same  of  a  good  man.  f 

AVliat  is  reported  of  swans,  viz. :  that  they  never  sing  but 
in  their  expiring  moments,  and  that  then  they  warble  very 
melodiously,  is  likewise  grounded  merely  on  a  vulgar  error  ; 
and  yet  it  is  used,  not  only  by  the  poets,  but  also  by  the 
orators,  and  even  the  philosophers.  0  mutis  qiioque  pisci- 
bus  donatura  cycni,  si  liheat^  sonum,  %  says  Horace  to  Mel- 
pomene. Cicero  compares  the  excellent  discourse  which 
Crassus  made  in  the  senate,  a  few  days  before  his  death,  to 
the  melodious  singing  of  a  dying  swan.  Ula  tanquam 
cycnea  fuit  divini  hominis  vox  et  oratio.  De  Orat.  1.  iii. 
n.  6.  And  Socrates  used  to  say,  that  good  men  ought  to 
imitate  swans,  who  perceiving  by  a  secret  instinct,  and  sort 
of  divination,  what  advantage  there  is  in  death,  die  sing- 
ing and  with  joy.  Providentes  quid  in  morte  honi  sit, 
cum  cantu  et  voluptate  moriuntur.  Tusc.  Qu.  1.  i.  n.  73. 
I  thought  this  short  digression  might  be  of  service  to  youth ; 
and  return  now  to  my  subject. 

It  was  in  Heliopolis,  that  an  ox,  under  the  name  of 
Mnevis,  was  worshipped  as  a  god.§    Cambyses,  king  of  Per- 

*  Sat.  vi. 

t  Vir  bonus  tarn  cito  noc  fieri  potest,  nee  intelligi — tanquam  phoenix,  semel 
anno  quingentesimo  nascitur. — Ep.  40.  %  Od.  iii.  1.  iv. 

§  Strab.  1.  xvii.  p.  805 


DESCRIPTIOX    OF    EGYPT.  173 

sia,  exercised  his  sacrilegious  rage  on  this  city ;  burning  the 
temples,  demolishing  the  palaces,  and  destroying  the  most 
precious  monuments  of  :!ntiquity  in  it.  There  are  still  to  be 
seen  some  obelisks  which  escajied  his  fury ;  and  others  were 
brought  from  thence  to  Rome,  to  which  city  they  are  an 
oi'nament  even  at  this  day. 

Alexandria,  built  by  Alexander  the  Great,  from  whom  it 
had  its  name,  vied  almost  in  magnificence  with  the  ancient 
cities  in  Egypt.  It  stands  four  days'  journey  from  Cairo, 
and  was  formerly  the  chief  mai-t  of  all  the  eastern  trade. 
The  merchandise  *  was  unloaded  at  Portus  Muris,  f  a  town 
on  the  Avestern  coast  of  the  Red  Sea  ;  from  whence  it  was 
brought  upon  camels  to  a  town  of  Thebais,  called  Copht,  and 
conveyed  down  the  Nile  to  Alexandria,  whither  merchants 
resorted  from  all  parts. 

It  is  well-known,  that  the  East-India  trade  has  at  all 
times  enriched  those  who  carried  it  on.  This  was  the  chief 
source  of  the  vast  treasures  that  Solomon  amassed,  and 
which  enabled  him  to  build  the  magnificent  temple  of  Jeru- 
salem. David,  by  conquering  Idumtea,  became  master  of 
Elath  and  Esiongeber,  |  tAvo  towns  situated  on  the  eastern 
shore  of  the  Red  Sea.  From  these  two  ports,  Solomon  sent 
fleets  to  Ophir  and  Tarshish,  §  which  always  brought  back 
immense  riches.  ||  This  traffic,  after  having  been  enjoyed 
some  time  by  the  Syrians,  Avho  regained  Idumaea,  passed 
from  them  into  the  hands  of  the  Tyrians.  These  got  all 
their  merchandise  conveyed  by  the  way  of  Rhinoculura,  a 
seaport  town,  lying  between  the  confines  of  Egypt  and 
Palestine^  to  Tyre,  from  whence  they  distributed  them  all 
over  the  western  world.  Hereby  the  Tyrians  enriched 
themselves  exceedingly,  under  the  Persian  empire,  by  the 
favor  and  protection  of  whose  monarchs  they  had  the  full 
possession  of  this  trade.  But  when  the  Ptolemies  had  made 
themselves  masters  of  Egypt,  they  soon  drew  all  this  trade 
into  their  kingdom,  by  building  Berenice  and  other  ports  on 
the  western  side  of  the  Red  Sea,  belonging  to  Egypt ;  and 
fixed  their  chief  mart  at  Alexandria,  which  thereby  rose  to 
be  the  city  of  the  greatest  trade  in  the  world.  IF  There  it 
continued  for  many  centuries  after  ;  and  all  the  traffic,  which 
the  western  parts  of  the  world  from  that  time  had  Avith  Per- 
sia, India,  Arabia,   and  the  eastern  coasts  of  Africa,  was 

*Strab.  1.  xvi.  p.  781.    t  Or,  Myos  Hormos.    t2Sam.  viii.  14.    §  I.  Kings,  ix.  26. 

II  He  got  in  one  voyage  450  talents  of  gold,  2  Chron.  viii.  13,  which  amounts 
to  fourteen  millions  three  hundred  and  eighty-six  thousand  and  six  hundred  dol- 
lars.—Prid.  Connect,  vol.  1.  ad.  ann.  740,  note. 

If  Strab.  1.  xvi.  p.  481. 


174  AXCIEXT    HISTORY. 

wholly  carried  on  through  the  Red  Sea  and  the  moutli  of 
the  Nile,  till  a  way  Avas  discovered,  a  little  above  two  hun- 
dred years  since,  of  sailing  to  these  parts  by  the  Ca})e  of 
Good  Hope.  After  this,  the  Portuguese  for  some  time  were 
masters  of  this  trade;  but  now  it  is  in  a  manner  engrossed 
by  the  English  and  Dutch.  This  short  account  of  the  East- 
India  trade,  from  Solomon's  time  to  the  present  age,  is  ex- 
tracted from  Dr.  Prideaux.* 

For  the  convenience  of  trade,  there  Avas  built  near  Alex- 
andi'ia,  in  an  island  called  Pharos,  a  tower  which  bore  the 
same  name,  f  At  the  top  of  this  tower  was  kept  a  fire,  to 
light  such  ships  as  sailed  by  night  near  those  dangerous 
coasts,  which  Avere  full  of  sands  and  shelves  ;  from  Avhence 
all  other  tpAvers  designed  for  the  same  use  have  been  called, 
as  Pharo  di  Messina,  etc.  The  famous  architect  Sostratus 
built  it  by  order  of  Ptolemy  Philadelphus,  who  expended 
eight  hundred  talents  upon  it.  t  It  was  reckoned  one  of 
the  seven  wonders  of  the  world.  Some,  through  a  mistake, 
have  commended  that  prince,  for  permitting  the  architect  to 
put  his  name  in  the  inscription  Avhich  was  fixed  on  the  tower 
instead  of  his  own.  §  It  was  very  shoit  and  plain,  accord- 
ing to  the  manner  of  the  ancients.  SostraUis  Cnidius 
Dexiphanis  F.  Diis  Servatoribus,  pro  naviijantibus :  i.e.^ 
Sostratus,  the  Cnidian,  son  of  Dexiphanes,  to  the  protecting 
deities,  for  the  use  of  seafaring  people.  But  certainly  Ptol- 
emy must  have  very  much  undervalued  that  kind  of  im- 
mortality which  princes  are  generally  Aery  fond  of,  to  suffer 
that  his  name  should  not  be  so  much  as  mentioned  in  tlie  in- 
scription of  an  edifice  so  capable  of  immortalizing  him.  What 
we  read  in  Lucian  concerning  this  matter,  deprives  Ptolemy 
of  a  modesty,  Avhich  indeed  Avould  be  Aery  ill  placed  here. 
This  author  informs  us  that  Sostratus,  to  engross  the  Avhole 
glory  of  that  noble  structure  to  himself,  caused  the  inscrip- 
tion Avith  his  OAvn  name  to  be  carA^ed  in  the  marble,  which 
he  afterwards  covered  with  lime,  and  thereupon  juit  the 
king's  name.  Tlie  lime  soon  mouldered  aAvay  :  and  by  that 
means,  instead  of  procuring  the  architect  the  honor  with 
which  he  had  flattered  himself,  served  only  to  discover  in 
future  ages  his  mean  fraud  and  ridiculous  vanity.  || 

Riches  failed  not  to  bring  into  this  city,  as  they  usually 

*  Part  I.  1.  i.  p.  9.  t  Strab.  1.  xvii.  p.  Till.     Pliii.  1.  xxxvi.  c.  12. 

t  Eight  li\nidred  thousand  crowns,  or  almost  eight  luuidred  and  eleven 
thousand  dollars. 

§  Magno  animo  Pt-olemaei  regis,  quod  in  ea  permiscrit  Sostrali  Cuidii  archi- 
tecti  Rtructuraj  iionien  inscribi. — Plin. 

II  De  Scribend.  Hist.  p.  706. 


MANNERS    AXD    CUSTOMS    OF    THE    EGYPTIANS.  175 

do  in  all  places,  luxury  and  licentiousness ;  so  that  tlie  Alex- 
andrian voluptuousness  became  a  proverb.  *  In  this  city 
arts  and  sciences  were  also  industriously  cultivated  ;  witness 
that  stately  edifice,  surnamed  the  Museum,  where  the  literati 
nsed  to  meet,  and  Avere  maintained  at  the  public  expense  : 
and  the  famous  library,  which  Avas  augmented  consider;d)ly 
by  Ptolemy  Philadelphus,  and  Avdiich,  by  the  munificence  of 
the  kings,  his  successors,  at  last  contained  seven  hundred 
thousand  volumes.  In  Oassar's  wars  Avith  the  Alexandrians,t 
part  of  this  library,  situate  in  the  Brucliion,$  which  consisted 
of  four  hundred  thousand  volumes  was  unhap^jily  consumed 
by  fire. 


PART    SECOND. 

•'•OF    THE    MAXNERS    AND    CUSTOMS    OF    THE    EGYPTIANS. 

Egypt  was  ever  considered  by  all  the  ancients  as  the 
most  renoAvned  school  for  Avisdom  and  politics,  and  the 
source  from  Avhence  most  arts  and  sciences  Avere  de- 
rived. This  kingdom  bestowed  its  noblest  labors  and 
finest  arts  on  the  improA'ement  of  mankind ;  and  Greece  Avas 
80  sensible  of  this,  that  its  most  illustrious  men,  as  Homer, 
Pythagoras,  Plato,  even  its  great  legislators,  Lyciirgus  and 
Solon,  with  many  more  Avhom  it  is  needless  to  mention, 
travelled  into  Egypt  to  complete  their  studies,  and  draw 
from  that  fountain  Avhatever  was  most  rare  and  valuable  in 
every  kind  of  learning.  God  himself  has  giA^en  this  kingdom 
a  glorious  testimony.  When  praising  Moses,  he  says  of  him, 
that  He  %oas  learned  in  all  the  wisdom  of  the  Egyptians.  § 

To  giA^e  some  idea  of  the  manners  and  customs  of  Egypt, 
I  shall  confine  myself  principally  to  these  particulars  :  its 
kings  and  government ;  ])riests  and  religion  ;  soldiers  and 
war ;  science,  arts,  and  trades. 

The  reader  must  not  be  surprised,  if  he  sometimes  finds, 
in  the  customs  I  take  notice  of,  a  kind  of  contradiction. 
This  circumstance  is  owing,  either  to  the  difference  of  coun- 
tries and  nations  Avhich  did  not  always  follow  the  same 
usages,  or  to  the  different  way  of  thinking  of  the  historians 
whom  I  copy. 

"  Ne  Alexandrinis  quidem  permittenda  deliciis. — Qiiiiitil. 

t  Pint,  in  Ofes.  p.  TAX.     Seneca  de  tvanquill  anim.  c-  ix. 

j  A  quarter  or  division  of  tlie  city  of  Alexandria.  §  Acts.  vii.  22. 


176  ANCIENT    HISTOBY. 


CHAPTER  I. 

CONCERNING   THE    KINGS    AND    GOVERNMENT. 

The  Egyptians  were  the  first  people  wlio  rightly  under^ 
stood  the  rules  of  goA^ernment.  A  nation  so  grave  and  seri- 
ous, immediately  perceived,  that  the  true  end  of  polities  is  to 
make  life  easy,  and  a  people  happy. 

The  kingdom  was  hereditary ;  but,  according  to  Diodo- 
rus,  the  Egyptian  princes  conducted  themselves  in  a  differ- 
ent manner  from  what  is  usually  seen  in  other  monarchies, 
where  the  prince  acknowledges  no  other  rule  of  his  actions 
but  his  own  arbitrary  will  and  pleasure.*  But  here,  kings 
were  under  greater  restraint  than  their  subjects.  They  had 
some  particular  oties,  digested  by  a  former  monarch,  that 
composed  part  of  those  books  which  the  Egyptians  called 
sacred.  Thus,  every  thing  being  settled  by  ancient  custom, 
they  never  sought  to  live  in  a  different  way  from  their  an- 
cestors. 

No  slave  nor  foreigner  was  admitted  into  the  immediate 
service  of  the  prince ;  such  a  post  was  too  important  to  be 
entrusted  to  any  persons,  except  those  who  were  the  most 
distinguished  by  their  birth,  and  had  received  the  most  ex- 
cellent education ;  to  the  end  that,  as  they  had  the  liberty 
of  approaching  the  king's  person  day  and  night,  he  might, 
from  men  so  qualified,  hear  nothing  which  was  unbecoming 
the  royal  majesty  ;  or  have  any  sentiments  instilled  into 
him,  but  such  as  were  of  a  noble  and  generous  kind.  For, 
adds  Diodorus,  it  is  very  rarely  seen,  that  kings  fly  out  into 
any  vicious  excess  unless  those  who  approach  them  approve 
their  irregularities,  or  serve  as  instruments  to  their  passions. 

The  kings  of  Egypt  freely  permitted,  not  only  the  quality 
and  proportion  of  their  eatables  and  liquids  to  be  prescribed 
them  (a  thing  customary  in  Egypt,  the  inhabitants  of  which 
were  all  sober,  and  whose  air  inspired  frugality)  ;  but  even 
that  all  their  hours,  and  almost  every  action,  should  be  under 
the  regulation  of  the  laws. 

In  the  morning  at  daybreak,  when  the  head  is  clearest, 
and  the  thoughts  most  unperplexed,  they  read  the  several 
letters  they  received,  to  form  a  more  just  and  distinct  idea 

*  Diofl.  1.  i.  p.  63,  &c. 


MANJ^^EES    AND    CUSTOMS    OF    THE    EGYPTIANS.  177 

of  the  affairs  wliicli  Avere  to  come  under  their  coiisideraiiou 
that  day. 

As  soon  as  they  were  dressed,  they  went  to  the  daily 
sacrifice  performed  in  the  teni})le  ;  where,  surrounded  with 
their  whole  court,  and  the  victims  placed  before  the  altar, 
they  assisted  at  the  prayer  pronounced  aloud  by  the  high 
priest,  in  which  lie  asked  of  the  gods  health  and  all  other 
blessings  for  the  king,  because  he  governed  his  people  with 
clemency  and  justice,  and  made  the  laws  of  his  kingdom  the 
rule  and  standard  of  his  actions.  The  high  priest  entered 
into  a  long  detail  of  his  royal  virtues  ;  observing  that  he 
was  religious  to  the  gods,  affable  to  men,  moderate,  jiist, 
magnanimous,  sincere  ;  an  enemy  to  falsehood,' liberal,  master 
of  his  passions,  punishing  crimes  with  the  utmost  lenity, 
,  but  boundless  in  rewarding  merit.  He  never  spoke  of  the 
faults  which  kings  might  be  guilty  of,  but  supposed  at  the 
same  time,  that  they  never  committed  any,  except  by  sur- 
prise or  ignorance ;  and  loaded  with  imprecations  such  of 
their  ministers  as  gave  them  ill  counsel,  and  suppressed  or 
disguised  the  truth.  Such  were  the  methods  of  conAcying 
instruction  to  their  kings.  It  was  thought  that  reproaches 
would  only  sour  their  tempers  ;  and  that  the  most  effectual 
method  to  inspire  them  with  virtue,  would  be  to  point  out 
to  them  their  duty  in  praises  conformable  to  the  sense  of  the 
laws,  and  pronounced  in  a  solemn  manner  before  the  gods. 
After  the  prayers  and  sacrifice  were  ended,  the  counsels  and 
actions  of  great  men  were  read  to  the  king  out  of  the  sacred 
books,  in  order  that  he  might  govern  his  dominions  accord- 
ing to  their  maxims,  and  maintain  the  laws  which  had  made 
their  predecessors  and  their  subjects  so  happy. 

I  have  already  observed,  that  the  quantity  as  well  as 
quality  of  both  eatables  and  liquids  were  prescribed  by  the 
laAvs  to  the  king ;  his  table  was  covered  with  nothing  but 
the  most  common  food,  because  eating  in  Egypt  was  de- 
signed not  to  please  the  palate,  but  to  satisfy  the  cravings  of 
nature.  One  would  have  concluded  (observes  the  historian) 
that  these  rules  had  been  laid  down  by  some  able  physician, 
who  was  attentive  only  to  the  health  of  the  prince,  rather 
than  by  a  legislator.  The  same  simplicity  was  seen  in  all 
other  things,  and  we  read  in  Plutarch,  of  a  temple  in  Thebes, 
which  had  one  of  its  pillars  inscribed  with  imprecations 
against  that  king  Avho  first  introduced  profusion  and  luxury 
into  Egypt.* 

•  De  laid,  et  Osir,  p.  364. 

12 


178  ANCIEXT    HISTORY. 

The  principal  duty  of  kings,  and  their  most  essential 
function,  is  the  administering  of  justice  to  their  subjects. 
Accordingly,  the  Icings  of  Egypt  cultivated  more  immedi- 
ately this  duty ;  convinced  that  on  this  dejiended  not  only 
the  ease  and  comfort  of  individuals,  but  the  happiness  of  the 
state  ;  which  Avould  be  a  herd  of  robbers,  rather  than  a  king- 
dom, should  the  weak  be  unprotected,  and  the  })owerful 
enabled  by  their  riches  and  influence,  to  commit  crimes  with 
impunity. 

Thirty  judges  were  selected  out  of  the  principal  cities,  to 
form  a  body  for  dispensing  justice  through  the  whole  king- 
dom. The  prince,  in  filling  these  vacancies,  chose  such  as 
were  most  renowned  for  their  honesty,  and  put  at  their  head 
him  who  was  most  distinguished  for  his  knowledge  and  love 
of  the  laws,  and  was  had  in  the  most  univei-sal  esteem.  By 
his  bounty,  they  had  revenues  assigned  them,  to  the  end 
that,  being  freed  from  domestic  cares,  they  might  devote 
their  whole  time  to  the  execution  of  the  laws.  Thus,  honor- 
ably maintained  by  the  generosity  of  the  ]»rince,  they  admin- 
istered gratuitously  to  the  ])eople,  that  justice  to  which  they 
have  a  natural  right,  and  Avhich  ought  to  be  equally  open  to 
all ;  and,  in  some  sense,  to  tlie  poor  more  than  the  rich,  be- 
cause the  latter  find  a  support  within  themselves;  whereas 
the  very  condition  of  the  fonner  exposes  them  more  to  in- 
juries, and  therefore  calls  louder  for  the  protection  of  the 
laws.  To  guard  against  surprise,  affairs  were  transacted  by 
Avriting  in  the  assemblies  of  these  judges.  That  false  elo- 
quence was  dreaded,  which  dazzles  the  mind,  and  moves  the 
passions  Truth  could  not  be  expressed  with  too  much 
plainness,  as  it  was  to  have  the  only  sway  in  judgments; 
because  in  that  alone  the  i-ich  and  poor,  the  powerful  and 
weak,  the  learned  and  the  ignorant,  were  to  find  relief  and 
security.  The  president  of  this  senate  wore  a  collar  of  gold 
set  with  precious  stones,  at  wliich  hung  a  figure  re])reserited 
blind,  this  being  called  the  emblem  of  truth.  When  the 
president  put  this  collar  on,  it  was  imderstood  as  a  signal  to 
enter  iipon  business.  He  touched  the  party  with  it  who  was 
to  gain  his  cause,  and  this  was  the  foi-m  of  passing  sentence. 

The  most  excellent  circumstance  in  the  laws  of  the 
Egyptians,  was,  that  every  individual,  from  his  infancy,  was 
nui'tured  in  tlie  strictest  observance  of  them.  A  new  custom 
in  Egypt  Avas  a  kind  of  miracle.*  All  things  there  ran  in 
the  old  channel ;  and  the  exactness  with  which  little  matteiti 

•  Plut.  in  Tim.  p.  656. 


man:n^ers  axd  customs  of  the  egyptiaxs.        179 

were  adhered  to,  preserved  those  of  more  importance ;  con- 
sequently no  nation  ever  preserved  tlieir  laws  and  customs 
longer  than  the  Egyptians. 

Wilful  murder  was  i^unished  with  death,  whatever  might 
be  the  condition  of  the  murdered  person,  whether  he  was 
free-born  or  otherwise.  *  In  this  the  humanity  and  equity 
of  the  Egyptians  was  superior  to  that  of  the  Komans,  who 
gave  the  master  an  absolute  power  as  to  life  and  death  over 
his  slave.  The  Emperor  Adrian,  indeed,  abolished  this  law, 
from  an  opinion,  that  an  abuse  of  this  nature  ought  to  be 
reformed,  let  its  antiquity  or  authority  be  ever  so  gTeat. 

Perjury  Avas  also  punished  Avith  death,  because  that  crime 
attacks  both  the  gods,  whose  majesty  is  trampled  u])on  by 
invoking  their  name  to  a  false  oath,  and  men,  by  breaking  the 
strongest  tie  of  human  society,  viz. :  sincerity  and  honesty,  f 

The  false  accuser  was  condemned  to  undergo  the  punish- 
ment whicli  the  person  accused  was  to  suffer,  had  the  accusa- 
tion been  proved,  t 

Pie  who  had  neglected  or  refused  to  save  a  man's  life 
when  attacked,  if  it  was  in  his  ]>ower  to  assist  him,  Avas 
punished  as  rigorously  as  the  assassin  ;  but  if  the  unfortunate 
person  could  not  be  succored,  the  offender  was  at  least  to  be 
impeached,  and  penalties  were  decreed  for  any  neglect  of  this 
kind.  §  Thus  the  subjects  were  a  guard  and  protection  to 
one  another  ;  and  the  whole  body  of  the  community  united 
against  the  designs  of  the  bad. 

No  man  Avas  allowed  to  be  useless  to  the  state ;  but 
every  man  was  obliged  to  enter  his  name  and  place  of  abode 
in  a  public  register,  that  remained  in  the  hands  of  the  mag- 
istrate, and  to  state  his  profession,  and  means  of  support.  || 
If  he  gave  a  false  account  of  himself,  he  was  immediately 
put  to  death. 

To  prevent  the  borrowing  of  money,  the  parent  of  sloth, 
frauds,  and  chicane,  king  Asychus  made  a  very  judicious 
law.  IF  The  wisest  and  best  regulated  states,  as  Athens  and 
Rome,  ever  found  insuperable  difficulties,  in  contriving  a 
just  medium  to  restrain,  on  the  one  hand,  the  cmxelty  of  the 
creditor  in  the  exaction  of  his  loan  ;  and,  on  the  other,  the 
knavery  of  the  debtor,  who  refused  or  neglected  to  pay  his 
debts.  NoAV,  Egypt  took  a  wise  course  on  this  occasion ; 
and  without  doing  an  injury  to  the  personal  liberty  of  its 
inhabitants,  or  ruining  their  families,  pursued  the  debtor 

•  Diod.  1.  i.  p.  70.  Pag«  69.  t  Idem.  §  Dicxi.  1,  i.  p.  69. 

a  Idem.  7  Herod.  1.  ii.  c.  136. 


180  ANCIENT    HISTORY. 

with  incessant  fears  of  infamy  in  case  he  were  dishonest. 
No  man  Avas  ])ei'mitte(l  to  borrow  money  without  pawning 
to  the  creditor  the  body  of  his  father,  Miiich  every  Egyptian 
embalmed  with  great  care  ;  and  kept  rcAerentially  in  liis 
house  (as  will  be  observed  in  tlie  sequel),  and  therefore 
might  easily  be  moved  from  one  place  to  another.  But  it 
was  equally  impious  and  infamous  not  to  redeem  soon  so 
pi-ecious  a  jdedge  ;  and  he  who  died  without  having  dis- 
charged this  duty,  was  de])rived  of  the  customary  honor 
paid  to  the  dead.  * 

Diodorus  remarks  an  error  committed  by  some  of  the 
Grecian  legislators,  f  They  forbid,  for  instance,  the  taking 
away  (to  satisfy  debts)  the  horses,  ploughs,  and  other  im- 
plements of  husbandry  employed  by  ])easants ;  judging  it 
inhuman  to  reduce,  by  this  security,  these  poor  men  to  an 
impossibility  of  discharging  their  debts,  and  getting  their 
bread  :  but  at  thosame  time  they  permitted  the  creditor  to 
imprison  the  ])easants  themselves,  who  alone  were  capable 
of  using  these  implements  ;  which  exposed  them  to  the  same 
inconveniences,  and  at  the  same  time  deprived  the  govern- 
ment of  ]iersons  Avho  belong,  and  are  necessary  to  it ;  who 
labor  for  the  public  emolument,  and  over  whose  person  no 
private  man  has  any  right. 

Polygamy  Avas  allowed  in  Egypt,  except  to  ])riests,  who 
could  marry  but  one  woman,  t  Whatever  was  the  condi- 
tion of  the  woman,  whether  she  was  free  or  a  slaA'e,  her 
children  Avere  deemed  free  and  legitimate. 

One  custom  that  was  pi'actised  in  Egypt,  shows  the  pro- 
found darkness  into  Avhich  such  nations  as  Avere  most  cele- 
brated for  their  Avisdom  have  been  plunged  ;  and  this  is  the 
marriage  of  brothers  Avith  their  sisters,  Avhieh  Avas  not  only 
authorized  by  the  laws,  but  even,  in  some  measure,  Avas  a 
part  of  their  religion,  from  the  exam])le  and  ])ractice  of  such 
of  their  gods  as  had  been  the  most  anciently  and  univer- 
sally adored  in  Egypt,  that  is,  Osiris  and  Isis.  § 

A  very  great  respect  was  there  paid  to  old  age.  The 
young  Avere  obliged  to  rise  up  for  the  old,  and  on  every  oc- 
casion to  resign  to  them  the  most  honorable  seat.  The 
Spartans  borroAved  this  law  from  the  Egyptians.  || 

*  Tills  law  put  the  whole  sepulchre  of  the  debtor  into  the  power  of  the  credi- 
tor, who  removed  to  his  own  house  the  body  of  the  fjither:  the  debtor  refusing 
to  discharge  his  obligation,  was  to  be  deprived  of  buiiiil,  either  in  his  father's 
sepulchre  or  any  other  :  and  while  he  lived,  he  was  not  permitted  to  bury  any 

person  descended  from  him.  MrjSe  avrtZ  eicfU'w  TeAeuTrjo-at'Ti  cirai  Ta<f)ris  KVprjuai.— 
H^t'  aXXov  fiTjSefa  Tov  iavTe  arro  yevotievov  ^\l/a.i. — Herod. 

t  Died.  1.  i.  p.  71.       t  Idem.  p.  72.       §  Idem.  p.  22.       y  Herod.  1.  ii.  c.  20, 


MANN'ERS    AND    CUSTOMS    OF    THE    EGYPTIANS.  181 

The  virtue  in  the  highest  esteem  among  the  Egyptians, 
was  gratitude.  The  glory  which  has  been  given  tlieni  of 
being  the  most  grateful  of  all  men,  shows  that  they  were 
the  best  formed  of  any  nation  for  social  life.  Benefits  are 
the  band  of  concord,  both  public  and  private.  He  who  ac- 
knowledges favors,  loves  to  do  good  to  others  ;  and  in  ban- 
ishing ingratitude,  the  pleasure  of  doing  good  remains  so 
pure  and  engaging,  that  it  is  impossible  for  a  man  to  be 
insensible  to  it :  but  no  kind  of  gratitude  gave  the  Egyjv 
tians  a  more  pleasing  satisfaction,  than  that  which  was  paid 
to  their  kings.  Princes,  Avhile  living,  were  by  them  hon- 
ored as  so  many  A'isible  representations  of  tlie  Deity ;  and 
after  their  death  were  mourned  as  the  fathers  of  their  coun- 
try. These  sentiments  of  respect  and  tenderness,  proceeded 
from  a  strong  persiiasion,  that  the  Divinity  himself  had 
placed  them  upon  the  throne,  as  he  distinguished  them  so 
greatly  from  all  other  mortals  ;  and  that  kings  bore  the 
most  noble  characteristics  of  the  Supreme  Boing,  as  the 
power  and  will  of  doing  good  to  others  are  united  in  their 
persons 


CHAPTER  II. 

CONCERNING  THE  PRIESTS  AND  RELIGION  OF  THE  EGYPTIANS. 

Peiests,  in  Egypt,  held  the  second  rank  to  kings.  They 
had  great  privileges  and  revenues ;  their  lands  were  ex- 
empted from  all  imposts ;  of  which  some  traces  are  seen  in 
Genesis,  where  it  is  said,  Joseph  made  it  a  law  over  the 
land  of  Egypt,  that  Pharaoh  shoidd  have  the  fifth  j)art^ 
except  the  land  of  the  priests  only^  which  became  not  Pha- 
raoKs* 

The  prince  usually  honored  them  with  a  large  share  in 
his  confidence  and  government,  because  they,  of  all  his  sub- 
jects, had  received  the  best  education,  had  acquired  the 
greatest  knowledge,  and  were  most  strongly  attached  to  the 
king's  person  and  the  gx)od  of  the  public.  They  were  at 
the  same  time  the  depositaries  of  religion  and  of  the  sci- 
ences ;  and  to  this  circumstance  was  owing  the  great  respect 
which  was  paid  them  by  the  natiA^es  as  well  as  foreigners, 

•Geii.  xlvii.  2C. 


182  ANCIENT    HISTORY. 

by  whom  they  were  alike  consulted  upon  the  most  sacred 
things  relating  to  the  mysteries  of  religion,  and  the  most 
profound  subjects  in  the  several  sciences. 

The  Egyptians  pretend  to  be  the  first  institutors  of  festi- 
vals and  processions  in  honor  of  the  gods.  One  festival  was 
celebrated  in  the  city  of  Bubastus,  whither  persons  resorted 
from  all  parts  of  Egypt,  and  upwards  of  sevent}'  thousand, 
besides  children,  were  seen  at  it.  Anothei*,  surnamed  the 
Feast  of  tlie  Lights,  was  solemnized  at  Sais.  All  persons, 
thi'oughout  Egypt,  who  did  not  go  to  Sais,  were  obliged  to 
illuminate  tlieir  windows.* 

Different  animals  were  sacrificed  in  different  countries ; 
but  one  common  and  general  ceremony  was  observed  in  all 
sacrifices,  viz. :  the  laying  of  hands  upon  the  head  of  the  vic- 
tim, loading  it  at  the  same  time  with  imprecations,  and 
praying  the  gods  to  divert  upon  that  victim,  all  the  calami- 
ties which  might  threaten  Egypt,  f 

It  is  to  Egypt  that  Pythagoras  owed  his  favorite  doc- 
trine of  the  metempsychosis,  or  transmigration  of  souls. 
The  Egyptians  believed,  that  at  the  death  of  men,  their 
souls  transmigrated  into  other  human  bodies  ;  and  that,  if 
they  had  been  vicious,  they  were  imprisoned  in  the  bodies 
of  unclean  or  ill-conditioned  beasts,  to  expiate  in  them  their 
past  ti-ansgi'cssions  :  and  that  after  a  revolution  of  some 
centuries,  they  again  animated  other  human  bodies.  $ 

The  priests  had  the  possession  of  the  sacred  books,  which 
contained,  at  large,  the  ])rinciples  of  government,  as  well  as 
the  mysteries  of  divine  Avorship.  Both  were  commonly  in- 
volved in  symbols  and  enigmas,  Avhich  under  these  veils 
made  truth  more  venerable,  and  excited  more  strongly  the 
curiosity  of  men.  §  The  figure  of  Harpocrates,  in  the  Egyp- 
tian sanctuaries,  with  his  finger  u])on  his  mouth,  seemed  to 
intimate  that  mysteries  were  there  inclosed,  the  knowledge 
of  which  M^as  revealed  but  to  very  few.  The  sphinxes, 
placed  at  the  entrance  of  all  temples,  implied  the  same.  It 
is  very  well  known  that  pyramids,  obelisks,  pillars,  statues, 
in  a  word,  all  public  monuments,  Avere  usually  adorned  with 
hieroglyphics,  that  is,  with  SAinbolical  writings ;  whether 
these  were  characters  unknoAvn  to  the  vulgar,  or  figures  of 
animals,  under  which  was  couchefl#a  hidden  and  parabolical 
meaning.  Thus,  by  a  hare  was  signified  a  lively  and  pierc- 
ing attention,  because  this  creature  has  a  very  delicate  sense 

•Herod,  l.ii.c.  60,  t  Trtem.  c.  nrt. 

$  Diod.  1.  i.  p.  8ti.  §  Plut.  de  IsiU.  et  Uair.  p.  361, 


MANNERS    AND    CUSTOMS    OF    THE    EGYPTIANS.  183 

of  hearing.*  The  statiie  of  a  judge  without  hands,  and  with 
eyes  fixed  upon  the  ground,  symbolized  tlic  duties  of  those 
who  were  to  exercise  the  judiciary  functions. f 

It  would  require  a  volume  to  treat  fully  of  the  religion 
of  the  Egyptians.  But  I  shall  confine  myself  to  two  arti- 
cles, which  form  the  principal  part  of  it ;  and  these  are,  the 
worship  of  the  different  deities,  and  the  ceremonies  relating 
to  funerals. 

SECT.    I. THE    WORSHIP    OF    THE    VARIOUS    DEITIES. 

Never  were  any  people  more  superstitious  than  the 
Egyptians.  They  had  a  great  number  of  gods,  of  different 
orders  and  degrees,  whicli  I  shall  omit,  because  they  belong 
more  to  fable  than  to  histoiy.  Among  the  rest,  two  were 
universally  adored  in  that  country,  and  these  were  Osiris 
and  Isis,  which  are  thought  to  be  the  sun  and  moon  ;  and, 
indeed,  the  worship  of  those  planets  gave  rise  to  idolatry. 

Besides  these  gods,  the  Egyptians  worshipped  a  great 
number  of  beasts ;  as  the  ox,  the  dog,  the  Avolf,  the  hawk, 
the  crocodile,  the  ibis,  |  the  cat,  etc.  Many  of  these  beasts 
were  the  objects  of  the  superstition  only  of  some  particular 
cities  ;  and  while  one  people  worshipped  one  species  of  ani- 
mals as  gods,  their  neighbors  had  the  same  animal  gods  in 
abomination.  This  was  the  source  of  the  continual  wars 
which  were  carried  on  between  one  city  and  another;  and 
this  was  owing  to  the  false  policy  of  one  of  their  kings,  who 
to  deprive  them  of  the  opportunity  and  means  of  conspiring 
against  the  state,  endeavored  to  amuse  them,  by  engaging 
them  in  religious  contests.  I  call  this  a  false  and  mistaken 
policy,  because  it  directly  thwarts  the  true  spirit  of  govern- 
ment, the  aim  of  which  is  to  unite  all  its  members  in  the 
strictest  ties,  and  to  make  all  its  strength  consist  in  the  per- 
fect harmony  of  its  several  parts. 

Every  nation  had  a  great  zeal  for  their  gods.  "  Among 
us,"  says  Cicero,  "  it  is  very  common  to  see  temples  robbed, 
and  statues  carried  off ;  but  it  was  never  known  that  any 
person  in  Egypt  ever  abused  a  crocodile,  an  ibis,  a  cat ;  for 
Its  inhabitants  would  have  suffered  the  most  extreme  tor- 
ments, rather  than  be  guilty  of  such  sacrilege."  §  It  was 
death  for  any  person  to  kill  one  of  these  animals  volunta- 
rily ;  and  even  a  punishment  was  decreed  against  him  who 
should  have  killed  an  ibis,  or  a  cat,  with  or  without  design.  | 

*  Pint.  Synipos.  1.  iv.  p.  670.       t  Id.  de  Isid.  p.  .^55.     +  Or  the  EKj'ptiaii  stork. 
§  De  Nat.  Deor.  1.  i.  u.  82.    Tu8.  Quiust.  1.  v.  ii.  76.  ||  ilerod,  1.  ii.  c.  65. 


184  AJfCIEXT    HISTORY. 

Diodorus  relates  an  incident,  to  which  he  liimself  was  an 
eye-witness,  during  his  stay  in  Egypt.  A  Koman  having 
inadvertently,  and  without  design,  killed  a  cat,  the  exasper- 
fited  populace  ran  to  his  house,  and  neither  the  authority  of 
the  king,  Avho  immediately  detached  a  1)udy  of  his  guards, 
nor  the  terror  of  the  Roman  name,  could  rescue  the  unfor- 
tunate criminal.  *  And  such  was  the  reverence  which  the 
Egyptians  had  for  these  animals,  that  in  an  extreme  famine 
they  chose  to  eat  one  another,  rather  than  feed  upon  their 
imagined  deities. 

Of  all  these  animals,  the  bull  Apis,  called  Epaphus  by 
the  Greeks,  Avas  the  most  famous,  f  Magnificent  temples 
were  erected  to  him  ;  extraordinary  honors  were  paid  him, 
while  he  lived,  and  still  gi-eater  after  his  death.  Egypt 
went  then  into  a  general  mourning.  His  obsequies  were 
solemnized  with  such  pomp  as  is  hardly  credible.  In  the 
reign  of  Ptolemy  Lagus,  the  bull  Apis  dying  of  old  age,  t 
the  funeral  pomp,  besides  the  ordinary  expenses,  amounted 
to  upwards  of  fifty  thousand  French  crowns.  §  After  the 
last  honors  had  been  paid  to  the  deceased  god,  the  next  care 
was  to  provide  him  a  successor,  and  all  Egypt  was  sought 
through  for  that  purpose.  He  was  known  by  certain  signs,  > 
which  distinguished  him  from  all  other  animals  of  that  spe- 
cies ;  upon  his  forehead  was  to  be  a  white  spot,  in  form  of  a 
crescent ;  on  his  back,  the  figure  of  an  eagle  ;  upon  his 
tongue,  that  of  a  beetle.  As  soon  as  he  was  found,  mourn- 
ing gave  place  to  joy ;  and  nothing  was  heard  in  all  parts 
of  Egypt  but  festivals  and  rejoicings.  The  new  god  was 
brought  to  Memphis  to  take  possession  of  his  dignity,  and 
there  installed  with  a  gi-eat  number  of  ceremonies.  The 
reader  will  find  hereafter,  that  Cambyses,  at  his  return  from 
his  unfortunate  expedition  against  Ethiopia,  finding  all  the 
Egyptians  in  transports  of  joy  for  the  discovery  of  their 
new  god  Apis,  and  imagining  that  this  was  intended  as  an 
insult  upon  his  misfortunes,  killed,  in  the  first  impulse  of 
Ills  fury,  the  younp:  bull,  who  by  that  means  had  but  a  short 
enjoyment  of  his  divinity. 

It  is  plain  that  the  golden  calf,  set  up  near  Mount  Sinai 
by  the  Israelites,  was  owing  to  their  abode  in  Egypt,  and 
an  imitation  of  the  god  Apis  ;  as  well  as  those  which  were 

*Dio<l.  1.  i.  p.  74,75.     t  Herod,  l.iii.  c.  27,  &e.  Diod.  1.  i.p.  70.  Pliii.  l.viii.o.  46. 

t  PUiiy  alarms,  that  hs  was  not  allowed  to  exceed  a  certain  teim  of  years, 
and  was  drowned  in  tbe  priest's  well — Xon  est  fas  enni  certos  vitje  excedere 
annos,  niersamque  in  sacerdotuin  fonte  enecantus — Nat.  Hist.  1.  viii.  c.  46. 

§  $.6,000. 


MANNERS    AND    CITSTOMS    OF    THE    EGYPTIAXS.  185 

afterwards  set  up  by  Jeroboam,  who  had  resided  a  consid- 
erable time  in  Egypt,  in  the  two  extremities  of  the  kingdom 
of  Israel. 

The  Egyptians,  not  contented  with  offering  incense  to 
animals,  carried  their  folly  to  such  an  excess,  as  to  ascribe  a 
divinity  to  the  pulse  and  roots  of  their  gardens.  For  this 
they  are  ingeniously  reproached  by  the  satirist : 

Who  lias  not  heard  wliere  J2gypt's  realms  are  named, 

What  monster  ^'ods  her  frantic  sons  have  framed  ? 

Here  Ibis  gorged  with  vveU-growii  serpents,  there 

The  crocodile  tonimaiids  religious  fear  : 

Where  Memnoifs  statue  magic  strains  inspire 

With  vocal  sounds  that  emulate  the  lyre  ; 

And  Thebes,  such,  Fate,  are  tliy  disastrous  turns, 

Now  pro-^trate  o'er  her  pompous  ruins  mourns  ; 

A  monkey  god,  prodigious  to  be  told  ! 

Strikes  the  iieholder's  eye  with  biirnish'dgold  : 

To  godship  here  blue  Triton's  scaly  herd, 

The  river  progeny  is  there  preferred. 

Through  towns  Diana's  power  neglected  lies, 

WJiere  to  her  dogs  aspiring  temples  rise  : 

And  should  you  leeks  or  onions  eat,  no  time 

Would  expiate  the  sacrilegious  crime. 

Ridigioua  nations  sure,  and  blest  abodes, 

Where  every  orchard  is  o'er-run  with  gods  !* 

It  is  astonishing  to  see  a  natior.,  which  boasted  its  supe- 
(^•iority  above  all  others  with  regard  to  Avisdom  and  learning, 
thus  blindly  abandon  itself  to  the  most  gross  and  ridiculous 
superstitions.  Indeed,  to  read  of  animals  and  vile  insects, 
honored  Avith  religious  Avorship,  placed  in  temples,  and 
maintained  Avith  great  care  at  an  extravagant  expense  ;  f  to 
read,  that  those  Avho  murdered  them  Avere  punished  Avith 
death ;  and  that  these  animals  Avere  embalmed,  and  solemnly 
deposited  in  tombs  assigned  them  by  the  public ;  to  hear 
that  this  extravagance  Avas  carried  to  such  lengths,  as  that 
leeks  and  onions  Avere  acknoAvledged  as  deities,  Avere  in- 
voked in  necessity,  and  depended  upon  for  succor  and  pro- 
tection ;  are  absurdities  Avhich  Ave,  at  this  distance  of  time, 
can  scarcely  belicA'e  ;  and  yet  they  have  the  evidence  of  all 
antiquity.     You   enter,  says   Lucian,  t  into   a   magnificent 

*  Quis  nescit,  A''olusi  Bithynice,  qualia  demens 

^gyptus  portenta  colat  ?   Crocodilon  adorat  ^ 

Pars  hsec  :  ilia  pavet  saturam  serpentibus  Ibin. 
Effigies  sacri  nitet  aurea  Cercopilheci, 
Dimidio  magicaj  resonant  ubi  Alemnone  chordae, 
Atque  vetus  Thebe  centum  jacet  obruta  portis. 
Illic  cperuleos,hic  piseem  fluminis,  illic 
Oppida  tota  canem  venerantur,nemo  Dianam. 
Porrum  et  cepe  nefas  violare,  ac  frangere  morsu. 
O  sanctas  gentes,  quibus  hsec  nascuntur  in  hortis 
Numina  !  — Juven.  Satir.  xv. 

t  Biodorus  atfirnis,  that  in  his  time  the  expense  amounted  to  no  less  than 
one  hundred  thousand  crowns,  or  %>  110,000.— Lib.  i.  p.  7G.  J  Imag. 


186  AXCLEXT    HISTORY. 

temple,  every  part  of  which  glitters  with  gold  and  silver. 
You  there  look  attentively  for  a  god,  and  are  cheated  with 
a  stork,  an  ape,  or  a  cat ;  a  just  emblem,  adds  that  author, 
of  too  many  palaces,  the  masters  of  whicli  are  far  from  be- 
ing the  brightest  ornaments  of  them. 

Several  reasons  are  given  for  the  -worship  paid  to  ani- 
mals by  the  Egy])tians.  * 

The  first  is  drawn  from  fabulous  history.  It  is  pretended 
that  the  gods,  in  a  rebellion  made  against  them  by  men, 
fled  into  Egypt,  and  there  concealed  themselves  under  the 
form  of  dift'erent  animals  ;  and  that  tliis  gave  birth  to  the 
worship  which  was  afterAvards  |)aid  to  those  animals. 

Tlie  second  is  taken  from  the  benefit  which  these  several 
animals  procure  to  mankind  :  f  oxen  by  their  labor  ;  slieep 
by  their  wool  and  milk  ;  dogs  by  their  service  in  hunting 
and  guarding  houses,  Avhence  the  god  Anubis  was  repre- 
sented with  a  dog's  head  ;  the  Ibis,  a  bird  Acry  much  resem- 
bling a  stork,  was  worshipped,  because  he  put  to  flight  the 
winged  ser]:)ents,  with  which  Egypt  would  otherwise  have 
been  grievously  infested ;  the  crocodile,  an  amphibious 
creature,  that  is,  living  alike  upon  land  and  water,  of  a  sur- 
prising strength  and  size,  t  ^vas  worshipped,  because  he 
defended  Egypt  from  the  incursions  of  the  wild  Arabs  ;  the 
Ichneumon  was  adored,  because  he  prevented  the  too  great 
increase  of  crocodiles,  which  might  have  jtroved  destructive 
to  Egypt.  Now,  the  little  animal  in  question  does  this 
service  to  the  country  two  ways.  First,  it  watches  the  time 
when  the  crocodile  is  absent,  and  breaks  his  eggs,  but  docs 
not  eat  them.  Secondly,  when  he  sleeps  upon  the  banks  of 
the  Nile,  which  he  always  does  with  his  mouth  open,  this 
small  animal,  which  lies  concealed  in  the  mud,  leaps  at  once 
into  his  mouth  ;  gets  down  to  his  entrails,  Avhich  he  gnaws; 
then  piercing  his  belly,  the  skin  of  which  is  very  tender,  he 
escapes  with  safety ;  and  thus,  by  his  address  and  subtility, 
returns  A'ictorious  over  so  terrible  an  enemy. 

Philosophers,  not  satisfied  Avith  reasons,  Avhich  were  too 
trifling  to  account  for  sixch  strange  absurdities  as  dishonored 
the  heathen  system,  and  at  Avhich  themselves  secretly 
blushed,  ha\'^e,  since  the  establishment  of  Christianity,  suj)- 
posed  a  third  reason  for  the  Avorship  Avhich  the  Egyptians 
paid  to  animals  ;  and  declared  that  it  Avas  not  offered  to  the 

*  Diotl.  1.  i.  p.  77,  &c. 

t  Ipsi  qui  inidentar  ^gyptii,  iiullam  bellnam  iiigi  ob  alinuam  utilitatem 
Quani  ex  ea  caperenl.  cousopraveruiit. — ("ie.  lib.  1.  l)e  Katina  Deor.  n.  101. 

i  Wliioli  accordlDj;  lo  Ifoiodotus,  is  more  tliaii  17  cubits  in  leiigib,  1.  ii.  c  6d» 


MAKXKKS    AXD    CUSTOMS    OF    THE    EGYPTIAXS.  187 

animals  themselves,  but  to  the  gods  of  Avhom  they  are 
symbols.  Plutarch,  in  his  treatise,  *  Avhere  he  examines 
professedly  the  pretensions  of  Isis  and  Osiris,  the  tAvo  most 
famous  deities  of  the  Egyptians,  says  as  follows:  "Philoso- 
phers honor  the  image  of  God  wherever  they  find  it,  c^-cn 
in  inanimate  beings,  and  consequently  more  in  those  which 
have  life.  We  are  therefore  to  appi'OA'e,  not  the  worshi]> 
pers  of  these  animals,  but  those  who,  by  their  means,  ascend 
to  the  Deity;  they  are  to  be  considered  as  so  many mirrcH's, 
"which  nature  holds  forth,  and  in  which  the  Supreme  Being 
disj^lays  himself  in  a  wonderful  manner ;  or,  as  so  niany  in- 
struments, which  he  makes  use  of  to  manifest  outwardly 
his  incomprehensible  wisdom.  Shovild  men,  therefore,  for 
the  embellishing  of  statues,  amass  together  all  the  gold  and 
precious  stones  in  the  Avorld,  the  worship  must  not  be  re- 
ferred to  the  statues,  for  the  Deity  does  not  exist  in  colors 
artfully  disposed,  nor  in  frail  matter  destitute  of  sense  and 
motion.  Plutarch  says  in  the  same  treatise,  f  that  as  the  sun 
and  moon,  heaven  and  earth,  and  the  sea,  are  common  to  all 
men,  but  have  different  names  according  to  the  difference 
of  nations  and  languages  ;  in  like  manner,  though  there  is 
but  one  Deity  and  one  Providence,  Avhich  goA^erns  the  uni- 
verse, and  Avhich  has  several  subaltern  ministers  under  it, 
men  give  to  the  Deijty,  which  is  the  same,  different  names ; 
and  pay  it  different  honors,  according  to  the  hiAvs  and  cus- 
toms of  every  country." 

But  Avere  these  reflections,  Avhich  offer  the  most  rational 
vindication  possible  of  idolatrous  Avorship,  sufficient  to 
cover  the  absurdity  of  it  ?  Could  it  be  called  exulting  the 
diA'ine  attributes  in  a  suitable  manner,  to  direct  thoAvorship- 
pers  to  admire  and  seek  for  the  image  of  them  in  beasts  of 
the  most  A'ile  and  contemptible  kinds,  as  crocodiles,  ser])ents, 
and  cats  ?  Was  not  this  rather  degrading  and  debasing  the 
Deity,  of  whom,  even  the  most  stupid  usually  entertain  a 
much  greater  and  more  august  idea  ? 

And  CA'en  these  philosophers  Avere  not  always  so  just,  as 
to  ascend  from  insensible  things  to  their  invisible  Author. 
The  Scriptures  tell  us,  that  these  pretended  sages  deserve, 
on  account  of  their  pride  and  ingratitude,  to  be  given  over 
to  a  reprobate  mind  /  and  v)hile  they  professed  themselves 
wise,  to  heco^ne  fools,  for  having  changed  the  glory  of  the 
incorruptible  God, into  an  image  made  like  to  corruptible 
m,an,  and  to    birds,  and  four-footed  beasts,  and  creeping 

*  Herod.  1.  ii.  p.  38-'.  t  Idem.  p.  377, 378. 


ISS  AXCIENT    HISTORY. 

things.  *  To  show  wliat  man  is  Avhen  left  to  himself,  God 
permitted  that  very  nation  which  had  carried  human  wis- 
dom to  its  greatest  lieiglit,  to  be  the  theati-e  in  which  the 
most  ridiculous  and  absurd  idolairy  was  acted.  And,  on 
the  other  side,  to  display  the  almighty  power  of  his  grace, 
he  converted  the  fruitful  deserts  of  Egypt  into  a  terrestrial 
paradise,  by  peopling  them,  in  the  time  appointed  by  his 
providence,  Avith  numberless  multitudes  of  illustrious  her- 
mits, whose  fervent  piety  and  rigorous  penance  have  done 
so  much  honor  to  the  Christian  religion.  I  cannot  forbear 
giving  here  a  famous  instance  of  it ;  and  I  hope  the  reader 
Avill  excuse  this  kind  of  digi-ession. 

The  great  wonder  of  Lower  Egypt,  says  Abbe  Fleury  in 
his  Ecclesiastical  History,  was  the  city  of  Oxyrinchus,  peo- 
pled with  monks,  both  within  and  Avithout,  so  that  they 
were  more  numerous  than  its  other  inhabitants,  f  The 
public  edifices,  and  idol  temples,  had  been  couA'^erted  into 
monasteries,  and  these  likcAvise  Avere  more  in  number  than 
the  private  houses.  The  monks  lodged  even  over  the  gates, 
and  in  the  toAvers.  The  people  had  tAveh'e  churches  to  as- 
semble in,  exclusiA^e  of  the  oratories  belonging  to  the  mon- 
asteries. There  Avere  tAventy  thousand  virgins  and  ten 
thousand  monks  in  this  city,  eA^ery  part  of  Avhich  echoed 
night  and  day  Avith  the  praises  of  God.  By  order  of  the 
magistrates,  sentinels  were  posted  at  the  gates,  to  take  notice 
of  all  strangers  and  poor  Avho  came  into  the  city ;  and  the 
inhabitants  A'ied  with  each  other  Avho  should  first  receiA-e 
them,  in  order  to  have  an  opportunity  of  exercising  their 
hospitality  towards  them. 

SECT.    11. THE     CEREMONIES     OF    THE    EGYPTIAN    FUNERALS. 

I  shall  noAV  give  a  concise  account  of  the  funeral  cere- 
monies of  the  Egyptians. 

The  honors  Avhich  ha\'e  been  paid  in  all  ages  and  nations 
to  the  bodies  of  the  dead,  and  the  religious  care  taken  to 
proAude  sepulchres  for  them,  seem  to  insinuate  ai;  universal 
persuasion,  that  bodies  were  lodged  in  sepulchres  merely  as 
a  deposit  or  trust. 

We  have  already  observed,  in  our  mention  of  the  jiyra- 
mids,  with  what  magnificence  sepulchres  Avere  built  in.  Egypt, 
for,  besides  that  they  Avere  erected  as  so  many  sacred  monu- 
ments, destined  to  transmit  to  future  times  the  memory  of 

*  Kom.  i.  V.  22,  25.  t  Tom.  v.  p.  2.5,  20. 


MAXXEKS    AXD    CUSTOJIS    01<'    THE    KCiVrTIA^'S.  189 

great  princes,  Ihey  Avere  likewise  considercjfl  r.s  tlie  mniisioiis 
Avhere  the  body  m'US  to  remain  during  a  long  succession  of 
ages ;  wlierens,  common  houses  were  called  inns,  in  Avhiclx 
men  were  to  abide  only  as  travellers,  and  that  dui'ing  tb.e 
course  of  a  life  which  was  too  short  to  engage  their  affec- 
tions. * 

When  any  person  in  a  family  died,  all  the  kindred  and 
friends  quitted  their  usual  habits,  and  put  on  mourning ;  and 
abstained  from  baths,  wine,  and  dainties  of  every  kind. 
This  mourning  continued  from  forty  to  seventy  days,  prob- 
ably according  to  the  quality  of  the  person. 

Bodies  Mere  embalmed  three  different  ways,  t  The 
most  magnificent  was  bestowed  on  persons  of  distinguished 
rank,  and  the  expense  amounted  to  a  talent  of  silver,  or 
three  thousand  French  livrcs.  $ 

Many  hands  Mere  employed  in  this  ceremony.  §  Some 
drew  the  brain  tlirough  the  nostrils,  by  an  instrument  mad-e 
for  that  purpose.  Others  emptied  the  boM'els  and  intestines, 
by  cutting  a  hole  in  the  side,  ^vith  an  Ethio]n;;n  stone  -that 
was  as  sharp  as  a  razor ;  after  which  the  cavities  were  filled 
with  perfumes  and  various  odoriferous  drugs.  As  this 
evacuation  (which  was  necessarily  attended  Avith  some  dis- 
sections) seemed  in  some  measure  cruel  and  inhuman,  the 
persons  emj^loyed  fled  as  soon  as  the  operation  Miis  over, 
and  were  j)ursued  with  stones  by  the  spectators.  But  those 
Avho  embalmed  the  body  were  honorably  treated.  They 
filled  it  with  myrrh,  cinnamon,  and  all  sorts  of  spices. 
After  a  certain  time  the  body  was  swathed  in  la-vvn  fillets, 
which  were  glued  together  Avith  a  kind  of  very  thin  gum, 
and  then  crusted  over  Avith  the  most  exquisite  perfumes. 
By  this  means,  it  is  said,  that  the  entire  figuie  of  the  body, 
the  very  lineaments  of  the  face,  and  the  hair  on  the  lids  and 
eye-bi'OM's,  were  preserAed  in  their  natural  jierfection.  The 
body  thus  embalmed,  was  delivered  to  the  relations,  mIio 
shut  it  up  in  a  kind  of  open  chest,  fitted  exactly  to  the  size 
of  the  corpse ;  then  they  placed  it  u])right  against  the  Avail, 
either  in  sepulchres,  if  they  had  any,  or  in  their  houses. 
These  embalmed  bodies  are  now  M'hat  we  call  mummies, 
which  are  still  brought  from  Egypt,  tind  are  found  in  the 
cabinets  of  the  curious.  This  shoAvs  the  care  which  the 
Egyptians  took  of  their  dead.  Their  gratitude  to  their  de- 
ceased  relations  w^as   immortal.      Children,  by  seeing  the 

•  Diod.  1.  i.  p.  47.    t  Herod.  1.  ii.  c.  85,  &c.    t  About  $610.    §  Diod.  1.  i.  p.  21. 


190  AXCIEXT    HISTORY. 

bodies  of  their  ancestors  thus  presented,  recalled  to  mind 
those  virtiies  for  which  the  public  had  honored  them  ;  and 
were  excited  to  a  love  of  those  laws  which  such  excellent 
persons  had  left  for  their  security.  We  find  that  part  of 
these  ceremonies  Avei'e  performed  in  the  funeral  honors  paid 
to  Jose})h  in  Egyj^t. 

I  have  said  that  the  public  recognized  the  virtues  of  de- 
ceased persons,  because  that,  before  they  could  be  admitted 
into  the  sacred  asylum  of  the  tomb,  they  underwent  a  sol- 
emn trial.  And  this  circumstance  in  the  Egyptian  funerals, 
is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  to  be  found  in  ancient  history. 

It  was  a  consolation,  among  the  heathens,  to  a  dying  man, 
to  leave  a  good  name  behind  him,  imagining  that  this  is  the 
only  human  blessing  of  which  death  cannot  deprive  us.  But 
the  Egyptians  would  not  suffer  praises  to  be  bestowed  indis- 
criminately on  all  deceased  jiersons.  This  honor  was  to  be 
obtained  only  from  the  piiblic  voice.  The  assembly  of  the 
judges  met  on  the  other  side  of  a  lake,  which  they  crossed 
m  a  boat.  He  avIio  sat  at  the  helm  was  called  Charon,  in 
the  Egyptian  language;  and  this  first  gave  the  hint  to 
Orpheus,  who  had  been  in  Egypt,  and  after  him  to  the  other 
Greeks,  to  invent  the  fiction  of  Charon's  boat.  As  soon  as 
a  man  was  dead,  he  Avas  brought  to  his  trial.  The  public 
accuser  was  heard.  If  he  proved  that  deceased  had  led  a 
bad  life,  his  memory  Avas  condemned,  and  he  Avas  deprived 
of  burial.  The  people  admired  the  power  of  the  laAvs, 
which  extended  even  beyond  the  grave  ;  and  CA'ery  one, 
struck  Avith  the  disgrace  inflicted  on  the  dead  person,  was 
afraid  to  reflect  dishonor  on  his  oavu  memory,  and  his  family. 
But  if  the  deceased  person  was  not  convicted  of  any  crime, 
he  was  interred  in  an  honorable  manner. 

A  still  more  astonishing  circumstance  in  this  public  in- 
quest upon  tlie  dead,  was,  that  the  throne  itself  was  no 
protection  fi'om  it.  Kings  were  spared  during  their  lives, 
because  the  public  peace  Avas  concerned  in  this  forbearance ; 
but  their  quality  did  not  exempt  them  from  the  judgment 
passed  upon  the  dead,  and  even  some  of  them  Avere  depnived 
of  sepulture.  This  custom  Avas  imitated  by  the  Israelites. 
We  see  in  Scripture,  that  bad  kings  were  not  interred  in 
the  monuments  of  their  ancestors.  This  practice  suggested 
to  princes,  tliat  if  their  majesty  j-laced  them  out  of  the 
reach  of  men's  judgment  Avhile  they  Avere  alive,  they  would 
at  last  be  liable  to  it,  Avhen  death  should  reduce  them  to  a 
level  with  their  subjects 


MAXIfERS    XSD    CUSTOMS    OF    THE    EGYPTIANS,  191 

When,  therefore,  a  fjivorable  judgment  was  pronounced 
on  a  deceased  person,  the  next  thing  was  to  proceed  to  the 
ceremonies  of  interment.  In  his  panegyric,  no  mention 
was  made  of  his  birth,  because  every  Egyptian  was  deemed 
noble.  'No  praises  were  considered  as  just  or  true,  but 
such  as  related  to  the  ])ersonal  merit  of  the  deceased.  Tie 
was  applauded  for  having  received  an  excellent  education  in 
his  younger  years ;  and  in  his  more  advanced  age,  for  having 
cultivated  piety  towards  the  gods,  justice  towards  men, 
gentleness,  modesty,  moderation,  and  all  other  virtues  which 
constitute  the  good  man.  Then  all  the  people  shouted  and 
bestowed  the  highest  eulogies  on  the  deceased,  as  one  Avho 
would  be  received  for  ever  into  the  society  of  the  virtuous 
in  Phito's  kingdom. 

To  conclude  this  article  of  the  ceremonies  of  funei*al,  it 
may  not  be  amiss  to  obsei've  to  young  pupils,  the  different 
manners  in  which  the  bodies  of  the  dead  were  treated  by 
the  ancients.  Some,  as  wo  observed  of  the  Egyptians,  ex- 
posed them  to  view  after  they  had  been  embalmed,  and  thus 
preserved  them  to  after  ages.  Others,  as  the  Romans,  burnt 
them  on  a  funeral  pile  ;  and  others,  again,  laid  them  in  the 
earth. 

The  care  to  ])reserve  bodies  without  lodging  them  in 
tombs,  appears  injurious  to  human  nature  in  general,  and  to 
those  persons  in  particular  for  whom  this  res]>ect  is  designed  ; 
becaiise  it  exposes  too  visibly  their  wretched  state  and  de- 
formity, since  whatever  care  may  be  taken,  spectators  see 
nothing  but  the  melancholy  and  frightful  remains  of  what 
they  once  were.  The  custom  of  burning  dead  bodies  has 
something  in  it  cruel  and  barbarous,  in  destroying  so  hastily 
the  remains  of  persons  once  dear  to  us.  That  of  interment 
is  certainly  the  most  ancient  and  religious.  It  restores  to 
the  earth  what  had  been  taken  from  it ;  and  prepares  our 
belief  of  a  second  restitution  of  our  bodies,  fi*om  that  dust 
of  which  they  were  at  first  formed. 


CHAPTER  III. 

OF   THE   EGYPTIAX   SOLDIERS   AND    WAR. 

The  profession  of  arms  was  in  great  repute  among  the 
"Egj'ptians.  After  the  sacerdotal  families,  the  most  illustri- 
ous, as  with  us,  were  those  devoted  to  a  military  life.     They 


192  ANCIEXT    HISTORY. 

were  not  only  distinguished  by  honors,  but  by  ample  liber- 
alities. Every  soldier  was  allowed  tweh-e  aroura?,  that  is,  a 
piece  of  arable  land,  very  nearly  answering  to  half  a  French 
acre,  *  exempt  from  all  tax  or  tribute.  Besides  this  ])rivi- 
lege,  each  soldier  received  a  daily  allowance  of  five  pounds 
of  bread,  two  of  flesh,  and  a  quart  of  Avine.  f  This  allow- 
ance Avas  sufficient  to  support  part  of  their  family.  Such 
an  indulgence  made  them  more  affectionate  to  the  person  of 
their  prince,  and  the  interests  of  their  country,  and  more 
resolute  in  the  defence  of  both  ;  and,  as  Diodorus  observes, 
it  was  thought  inconsistent  with  good  j)olicy,  and  even  com- 
mon sense,  to  commit  the  defence  of  a  country  to  men  who 
had  no  ijiterest  in  its  preservation.  + 

Four  hundred  thousand  soldiers  were  kept  in  continual 
pay,  all  natives  of  Egypt,  and  trained  up  in  the  exactest 
discipline.  §  They  were  inured  to  the  fatigues  of  Avar,  by  a 
severe  and  rigorous  education.  There  is  an  art  of  forming 
the  body  as  Avell  as  the  mind.  This  art,  lost  by  our  sloth, 
Avas  Avell  knoAvn  to  the  ancients,  and  especially  to  the  Egyji- 
tians.  Foot,  liorse,  and  chariot  races,  Avere  ])erformed  in 
Egypt  Avith  AA'onderful  agility,  and  the  Avorld  could  notsliDAV 
better  horsemen  than  the  Egyptians.  The  Scriptures  in 
seA'eral  places  s])eaks  advantageously  of  their  cavalry.  || 

3Iilitary  hnvs  were  easily  ])reserved  in  Egypt,  because 
sons  received  them  from  their  fathers ;  the  profession  of 
war,  as  all  others,  being  transmitted  from  father  to  son. 
Those  Avho  fled  in  battle,  or  discovered  any  signs  of  coAvard- 
ice,  were  only  distinguished  by  some  particular  mark  of  ig- 
nominy; it  being  thought  more  adA'isable  to  restrain  them 
by  motives  of  lionor,  than  by  the  terrors  of  punishment. 

But  notwithstanding  this,  I  Avill  not  pretend  to  say  that 
the  Egyptians  Avere  a  Avarlike  people.  ^  It  is  of  little  advan- 
tage to  haA'e  regular  and  Avell-paid  troops  ;  to  haAe  armies 
exercised  in  peace,  and  employed  only  in  mock-fights  ;  it  is 
Avar  alone,  and  real  combats,  Avhich  form  the  soldier.  Egypt 
loved  peace,  because  it  loved  justice,  and  maintained  sol- 
diers only  for  its  security.     Its  inhabitants,  content  with  a 

•  Twelve  arouiae.  An  Egvplian  aroura  was  lOjOO")  square  cubits,  equal  to 
three  roods,  two  perches,  55  l-4th  square  feet  of  our  nieasuie. 

t  The  Greek  Is  oivov  reaaapei;  dpus^pes,  which  some  have  made  to  signify  a 
determinate  quantity  of  wine,  or  any  other  liquid  ;  others,  regarding  the  etymol- 
ogy of  the  word  apucrTrjo.  have  translated  it  by  Jiauxfnim.  a  bucket,  as  Lucretius, 
lilj.  V.  i.  51  ;  others,  hy  hnunfus,  a  draught  or  sup.  Hero<lotiis  s.-iys  ihis  allowance 
was  given  only  to  the  two  thousand  guards  who  attended  annually  on  the  kings.— 
•Lib.  il.  0. 168. 

+  Lib.  i,  p.  67.  §  Herod.  1.  ii.  c.  164, 168.  ||  Caut.  i.  8.  Isa.  xxxvi.  9.  H  Died.  p.  76. 


MANNERS    AXD    CUSTOMS    OF    THE    EGYPTIANS.  193 

country  which  abounded  in  all  things,  had  no  ambitious 
dreams  of  conquest.  The  Egyptians  extended  their  reputa- 
tion in  a  very  different  manner,  by  sending  colonies  into  all 
parts  of  the  world,  and  with  them  laws  and  politeness. 
They  triumphed  by  the  wisdom  of  their  counsels,  and  the 
superiority  of  their  knowledge  ;  and  this  empire  of  the  mind 
appeared  more  noble  and  glorious  to  them,  than  that  which 
is  achieved  by  arms  and  conquest.  Bnt  nevertheless,  Egypt 
has  given  birth  to  illustrious  conquerors,  as  will  be  observed 
hereafter,  when  we  come  to  treat  of  its  kings. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

OF   THEIR   ARTS   AND    SCIENCES. 

The  Egyptians  had  an  inventive  genius,  and  turned  it  to 
profitable  speculations.  Their  Mercuries  filled  Egyj)t  with 
wonderful  inventions,  and  left  it  scarcely  ignorant  of  any 
thing  which  could  contribute  to  accomplish  tlie  mind,  or 
procure  e:)se  aiul  happiness.  The  discovei'ers  of  any  useful 
invention  received,  both  living  and  dead,  rewards  worthy  of 
their  profitable  labors.  It  is  this  which  consecrated  the 
books  of  their  two  Mercuries,  and  stamped  them  with  a 
divine  authority.  The  first  libraries  were  in  Egypt ;  and 
the  titles  they  bore,  inspired  an  eager  desire  to  enter  them, 
and  dive  into  the  secrets  they  contained.  They  were  called 
the  "  Remedy  for  the  Diseases  of  the  Soul,"  *  and  that  very 
justly,  because  the  soul  was  there  cured  of  ignorance',  the 
most  dangerous,  and  the  parent  of  all  other  maladies. 

As  their  country  was  level,  and  the  air  of  it  always  serene 
and  unclouded,  they  were  among  the  first  who  observed 
the  coui'se  of  the  planets.  These  observations  led  them  to 
regidate  the  year,  from  the  course  of  the  sun  ;  for,  as  Diod- 
orous  observes,  their  year,  from  the  most  remote  antiquity, 
was  composed  of  three  hundred  and  sixty-five  days  and  six 
hours. t     To  adjust  the  property  of  their  lands,  which  were 

t  It  will  not  seem  surprising  that  the  Egyptians,  who  were  the  most  ancient 
observers  of  the  celestial  mutioiir;,  should  have  arrived  to  this  knowledge,  when 
it  is  coiisideied,  that  the  lunar  vear,  made  use  of  by  the  Greeks  and  Konians, 
though  it  apptjars  so  incouveiiieat  and  irregular,  supposed  nevertheless  a  knowl- 
ed,'rof  thb  solar  year,  such  as  Piodorus  Siculus  ascribes  to  the  Kgyptians.  It 
will  appear  at  tirst  sitilit,  by  calculating  their  intercalations,  that  those  wh')  fivst 
diviiled  the  year  in  this  manner  were  not  ignorant,  that  to  three  hundretl  and 
Bixty-ftve  days  some  hours  were  to  be  added,  to  keep  pace  with  the  sun.  Their 
only  error  lay  in  the  supposition,  that  only  six  hours  were  waiitiug  ;  whereat)  an 
addition  of  almost  eleven  minutes  more  was  requisite. 

13 


194  AXCIENT    HISTORY. 

every  year  covered  by  the  overflowing  of  the  Nile,  they 
were  obliged  to  have  recourse  to  surveys ;  and  this  first 
taught  them  geometry.  They  were  great  observers  of  na- 
ture, which,  in  a  climate  so  serene,  and  under  so  intense  a 
sun,  was  vigorous  and  fruitful. 

By  this  study  and  application,  they  invented  or  improved 
the  science  of  physic.  The  sick  were  not  abandoned  to  the 
arbitrary  will  and  caprice  of  the  physician.  He  was  obliged 
to  follow  fixed  rules,  which  were  the  ol>ser\'ations  of  old 
and  experienced  practitioners,  and  written  in  the  sacred 
books.  While  these  rules  were  observed,  the  physician 
was  not  answerable  for  the  success  ;  otherwise  a  miscarriage 
cost  him  his  life.  This  law  checked,  indeed,  the  temerity 
of  empirics  ;  but  then  it  might  prevent  new  discoveries, 
and  keep  the  art  from  attaining  to  its  just  perfection. 
Every  physician,  if  Herodotus  may  be  credited,*  confined 
his  practice  to  the  cure  of  one  disease  only,  one  was  for  the 
eyes,  another  for  the  teeth,  and  so  on. 

What  we  have  said  of  the  pyramids,  the  labp-inth,  and 
tliat  infinite  number  of  obelisks,  temples,  and  ])alaces,  whose 
precious  remains  still  strike  us  with  admiration,  and  in  Avhich 
were  displayed  the  magnificence  of  the  ])rinces  who  raised 
them,  the  skill  of  the  workmen,  the  riches  of  the  ornaments 
diffused  over  every  part  of  them,  and  the  just  j^roportion 
and  beautiful  symmetry  of  the  parts  in  which  their  gi-eatest 
beauty  consisted,  seemed  to  vie  with  each  other ;  works,  in 
many  of  which  the  liveliness  of  the  colors  remains  to  this 
day,,  in  spite  of  the  rude  hand  of  time,  which  commonly 
deadens  or  destroys  them  :  all  this,  I  say,  shows  the  perfection 
to  which  architecture,  painting,  sculpture,  and  other  arts,  had 
arrived  in  Egypt. 

The  Egyptians  entertained  but  a  mean  opinion  of  that 
sort  of  exercise,  which  did  not  contribute  to  invigorate  the 
body,  or  improve  health  ;t  and  of  music,t  which  they  con- 
sidered as  a  useless  and  dangerous  diversion,  and  only  fit  to 
enervate  the  mind. 

♦Lib.ii.c.  84.  ,  .  t  T)io(l.  1.  i.  p.  73. 

t  'Vrjv  Si  fxavaLKTiv  voixi^ovaiv  i  fuovov  a\pritr  Tov  virapxeiy,  dAAd  #coi  /SAa/Scpij',  us  i» 
iic9r)\vi'ov<n,  rai    toiv  avSpiiv  >liv\ds- 


MANNERS    AND    CUSTOMS    OF    THE    EGYPTIANS.  195 


CHAPTER  V. 

OF   THEIR   HUSBANDMEN,    SHEPHERDS,    AND    ARTIFICERS. 

Husbandmen,  shepherds,  and  artificers,  formed  the  three 
classes  of  lower  life  in  Eo-ypt,  but  were  nevertheless  had  in 
very  great  esteem,  partieul.irly  husbandmen  and  shepherds.* 
The  body  politic  requires  a  superiority  and  subordination 
of  its  several  members  ;  for  as  in  the  natural  body,  the  eye 
may  be  said  to  hold  the  first  rank,  yet  its  lustre  does  not 
d  rt  contempt  upon  the  feet,  the  hands,  or  even  on  those 
parts  which  are  less  honorable ;  in  like  manner,  among  the 
Egyptians,  the  jiriests,  soldiers,  and  scholars,  were  dis- 
tinguished by  particular  honors;  but  all  professions,  to  the 
meanest,  had  their  share  in  the  public  esteem,  because  the 
despising  of  any  man,  whose  labors,  however  mean,  were 
useful  to  the  state,  was  thought  a  crime. 

A  better  reason  than  the  foregoing,  might  have  inspired 
them  at  the  first  with  these  sentiments  of  equity  and  moder- 
ation, which  they  so  long  preserved.  As  they  all  descended 
from  Cham,t  their  common  father,  the  memory  of  their  still 
recent  origin  occurring  to  the  minds  of  all  in  those  first  ages, 
established  among  them  a  kind  of  equality,  and  stamped,  in 
their  opinion,  a  nobility  on  every  person  derived  from  the 
common  stock.  Indeed,  the  difference  of  conditions,  and  the 
contempt  with  which  persons  of  the  lowest  rank  are  treated, 
are  owing  merely  to  the  distance  from  the  common  root ; 
Avhich  makes  us  forget,  that  the  meanest  plebeian  when  his 
descent  is  traced  back  to  the  source,  is  equally  noble  with 
the  most  elevated  rank  and  title. 

Be  that  as  it  will,  no  ]>rofession  in  Egypt  Avas  considered 
as  grovelling  or  sordid.  By  this  means  arts  were  raised  to 
their  highest  perfection.  The  honor  which  cherished  them, 
mixed  with  every  thought  and  care  for  their  improvement. 
Every  man  had  his  way  of  life  assigned  lum  by  the  laws,  and 
it  Avas  perpetuated  from  father  to  son.  Two  professions  at 
one  time,  or  a  change  of  that  which  a  man  Avas  born  to, 
were  never  alloAved.     By  this  means,  men  became  more  able 

•  Diod.  1.  i.  p.  6T,  68.  t  Or  Ham. 


196  ANCIENT   HISTORY. 

and  expert  in  employments  which  they  had  always  exercised 
from  their  infancy  ;  and  every  man,  adding  his  own  expe- 
rience to  that  of  his  ancestors,  was  more  capable  of  attain- 
ing perfection  in  his  particular  art.  Besides,  this  wholesome 
institution,  which  had  been  established  anciently  throughout 
Egy])t,  extinguished  all  irregular  ambition  ;  and  tauglit  every 
man  to  sit  down  contented  with  his  condition,  without  aspir- 
ing to  one  more  elevated,  from  interest,  vain  glory,  or  levity. 

From  this  source  flowed  numberless  inventions  for  the 
improvement  of  all  the  arts,  and  for  rendering  life  more 
commodious,  and  trade  more  easy.  I  could  not  believe  that 
Diodorus  was  in  earnest  in  what  he  relates  concerning  the 
Egyi)tian  industry,  aIz.:  that  this  people  had  found  out  a  way, 
by  an  artificial  fecundity,  to  hatch  eggs  without  the  sitting 
of  the  hen  ;  *  but  all  modern  travellers  declare  it  to  be  a  fact, 
which  certainly  is  worthy  our  curiosity  and  is  said  to  be 
jwactised  in  some  jjlaces  of  Europe.  Their  relations  inform 
us,  that  the  Egyptians  stow  eggs  in  ovens,  which  are  healed 
to  such  a  temjierature,  and  with  such  just  jjrojiortion  to  the 
natural  warmth  of  the  hen,  that  the  chickens  produced  from 
thes6-  means  are  as  strong  as  those  which  are  hatched  the 
natural  way.  The  season  of  tlie  year  ])roper  for  this  opera- 
tion is,  from  the  end  of  December  to  the  end  of  April ;  the 
heat  in  Egypt  being  too  violent  in  the  other  months.  Dur- 
ing these  four  months,  upwards  of  three  liundred  thousand 
eggs  are  laid  in  these  ovens,  which,  though  they  are  not  all 
successfid,  nevertheless  produce  vast  nimibers  of  fowls  at  an 
easy  rate.  The  art  lies  in  givbig  the  ovens  a  due  degree  of 
heat,  which  must  not  exceed  a  fixed  proi)ortion.  About  ten 
days  are  bestowed  in  heating  these  ovens,  and  very  near  as 
much  time  in  hatching  the  eggs.  It  is  very  entertaining, 
say  these  travellers,  to  observe  the  hatching  of  these  chick- 
ens, some  of  which  show  at  first  nothing  but  their  heads, 
others  but  half  their  bodies,  and  others  again  come  quite  out 
of  the  egg,  these  last,  the  moment  they  are  hatched,  make 
their  w^ay  over  the  unhatched  eggs,  and  foi-m  a  diverting 
spectacle.  Corneille  le  Bruyn,  in  his  Travels,!  has  collected 
the  observations  of  other  travellers  on  this  subject.  Pliny 
likewise  mentions  it ;  but  it  ajjpears  from  him,  that  the 
Egyptians,  anciently,  employed  warm  dung,  not  ovens,  to 
hatch  eggs. I 

I  have  said,  that  husbandmen  particularly,  and  those  who 
took  care  of  f  ocks,  were  in  great  esteem  in  Egypt,  some 

♦  Diod.  1.  i.  p.  67.  t  Tom.  ii.  p.  64.  t  Wb.  x.  c.  54. 


MANNERS    AND    CUSTOMS    OF    THE    EGYPTIANS.  197 

parts  of  it  excepted,  where  the  latter  were  not  suffered.'* 
It  was,  indeed,  to  these  two  professions  tliat  Egypt  owed  its 
riches  and  ])lenty.  It  is  astonisliing  to  reflect  what  advan- 
tages tlie  Egyptians,  by  their  art  and  labor,  drew  from  a 
country  of  no  great  extent  but  whose  soil  was  made  wonder- 
fully fruitful  by  the  inundations  of  the  Nile,  and  the  labori- 
ous industry  of  the  inhabitants. 

It  will  be  always  so  with  eveiy  kingdom,  whose  govern- 
ors direct  all  their  actions  to  the  ])ublic  welfare.  The  culture 
of  lands,  and  the  breeding  of  cattle,  Avill  be  an  inexhaustible 
fund  of  wealth  in  all  countries,  where,  as  in  Egypt,  tliese 
profitable  c;dlings  are  supported  and  encouraged  by  maxims 
of  state  policy.  And  we  may  consider  it  as  a  misfortune, 
that  they  are  at  present  fallen  into  so  general  a  disesteem  ; 
though  it  is  from  them  that  the  most  elevated  ranks,  as  we 
esteem  them,  are  furnished  not  only  with  the  necessaries, 
but  even  th.e  luxuries  of  life.  "  For,"  says  Abbe  Fleury,  in 
liis  admirable  work  '  Of  the  Manners  of  the  Israelites,'  whei-c 
the  subject  I  am  iipon  is  thoroughly  examined,  "  it  is  the 
])easant  who  feeds  the  citizen,  the  magistrate,  the  gentleman, 
the  ecclesiastic :  and  whatever  artifice  or  craft  may  be  used 
to  convert  money  into  commodities,  and  these  back  again 
into  money,  yet  all  must  ultimately  be  owned  to  be  received 
from  the  products  of  tlie  earth,  and  the  animals  that  it  sus- 
tains and  nourishes.  Nevertheless,  when  we  compare  men's 
different  stations  of  life  together,  we  give  the  lowest  place 
to  the  husbandman ;  and  with  many  people  a  w^ealthy  citizen, 
enervated  with  sloth,  useless  to  the  public,  and  void  of  all 
merit,  has  the  preference,  merely  because  he  has  more  money, 
and  lives  a  more  easy  and  delightful  life. 

"  But  let  us  imagine  to  ourselves  a  country  where  so 
great  a  difference  is  not  made  between  the  several  condi- 
tions ;  where  the  life  6f  a  nobleman  is  not  made  to  consist 
in  idleness  and  doing  nothing,  but  in  a  careful  j^reservation 
of  his  liberty,  that  is,  in  a  due  subjection  to  the  laws  and 
the  constitution  ;  by  a  man's  subsisting  upon  his  estate  with- 
out dependence  on  any  one,  and  being  contented  to  enjoy 
a  little  with  liberty,  rather  than  a  great  deal  at  the  price  of 
mean  and  base  compliances :  a  country,  where  sloth,  effemi- 
nacy, and  the  ignorance  of  things  necessary  for  life,  ai-e  held 
in  just  contempt,  and  where  pleasure  is  less  valued  than 

*  Swineherds,  in  ])arUcii]ar,  had  a  general  ill-naine  tbrou^-liout  Egypt,  as  they 
had  the  c;iic  of  so  impure  an  aiiiiiiMl.  Herodotus,  1.  ii.  <■.  i7,  tells  us,  that  tlioy 
were  not  pi-rmitted  to  enter  the  Egyptian  temples,  nor  would  any  man  give  them 
his  daughter  in  marriage. 


198  ANCIENT    HISTORY. 

health  and  bodily  strength  :  in  such  a  country,  it  will  be 
much  more  for  a  man's  reputation  to  ])lough,  and  keep 
flocks,  than  to  Avaste  all  his  hours  in  sauntering  from  jilace 
to  ])lace,  in  gaming,  and  expensive  diversions."  But  we 
need  not  have  recourse  to  Plato's  commonwealth  for  in- 
stances of  men  who  have  led  these  useful  lives.  It  was  thus 
that  the  greatest  ])art  of  mankind  lived  during  near  four 
thousand  years  ;  and  that  not  only  the  Israelites,  but  the 
Egyptians,  the  Gi'eeks,  and  the  Romans,  that  is  to  say, 
nations  the  most  civilized,  and  most  renowned  for  arms  and 
wisdom.  They  all  inculcate  the  regnrd  which  ought  to  be 
paid  to  agriculture  and  the  breeding  of  cattle  ;  one  of  which 
(without  saying  any  thing  of  hemp  and  flax,  so  necessary  for 
our  clothing,)  sup])lies  us,  by  corn,  fruits,  and  pulse,  with  not 
only  a  plentiful  but  a  delicious  nourishment ;  and  the  other, 
besides  its  supply  of  exquisite  meats  to  cover  our  tables, 
almost  alone  gives  life  to  manufactures  and  trade,  by  the 
skins  and  stufts  it  furnishes. 

Princes  are  commonly  desirous,  and  their  interest  cer- 
tainly requires  it,  that  the  peasant,  who,  in  a  literal  sense, 
sustains  the  heat  and  burden  of  the  day,  and  i)ays  so  great  a 
portion  of  the  national  taxes,  should  meet  with  favor  and 
encouragement.  But  the  kind  and  good  intentions  of 
princes  are  too  often  defeated  by  the  insatiable  and  merci- 
less avarice  of  those  who  are  appointed  to  collect  their 
revenues.  History  has  transmitted  to  us  a  fine  saying  of 
Tiberius  on  this  head.  A  prefect  of  Egypt,  having  aug- 
mented the  annual  tribute  of  the  province,  and  doubtless 
with  the  view  of  making  his  cour^  t-  •  the  emperor,  remitted 
to  him  a  sum  much  larger  than  was  customary  ;  *  that  prince, 
who  in  the  beginning  of  his  reign  thought,  or  at  least  spoke 
justly,  answei-ed,  'j.'hat  it  loac-  his  design  not  to  flay ^  hut  to 
shear  his  sheep. \ 


CHAPTER  VI. 

OF   THE   FERTILITY    OF  EGYPT. 


Under  this  head  I  shall  treat  only  of  some  plants  jieculiar 
to  Egypt,  and  of  the  abundsmce  of  corn  which  it  produced. 
Papyrus.     This  is  a  plant,  from  the  root  of  which  shoot 

*  Biod.  1.  Ivii.  p.  G08. 

t  KeipiaOai.  liov  to.  jrpo^aTa  a\\'  ovk  a.-nc(vpca9ai.  ^oiAo/iai — Diod.  1.  IviJ 


MANNERS    AND    CUSTOMS    OF    THE    EGYPTIANS.  199 

out  a  great  many  triangular  stalks,  to  the  height  of  six  or 
seven  cubits.  The  ancients  w^rote  at  first  upon  palm  leaves  ; 
next,  on  the  inside  of  the  bark  of  trees,  from  whence  the 
Avord  liber,  or  book,  is  derived ;  after  that,  upon  tables  cov- 
ered over  with  wax,  on  which  the  characters  were  impressed 
with  an  instrument  called  stylus,  sharp-])ointed  at  one  end 
to  write  with,  and  flat  at  the  other  to  efface  what  had  been 
written  ;  *  which  gave  occasion  to  the  following  expression 
of  Horace : 

Ssepe  stylum  vertas,  iterum  quas  digna  leei  sint 
Sciipturus.  — Sat.  lib.  ix.  ver.  72. 

Oft  turn  your  style,  if  you  desire  to  write 
Things  that  will  bear  a  second  reading. 

The  meaning  c.f  which  is,  that  a  good  performance  is  not  to 
be  expected  without  many  erasures  and  corrections.  At 
last  the  use  of  paper  f  was  introduced,  and  this  was  made  of 
the  bark  of  papyrus,  divided  into  thin  flakes  or  leaves,  which 
were  very  proper  for  writing ;  and  the  papyrus  was  like- 
wise called  byblus. 

Nondum  flumineas  Memphis  contexere'byblos 
Noverat.  — Lucan. 

Memphis  as  yet  knew  not  to  form  in  leaves 
The  watery  Byblus. 

Pliny  calls  it  a  wonderful  invention,  so  useful  to  life, 
that  it  preserves  the  memory  of  great  actions,  and  immor- 
talizes those  who  achieve  them.  X  Varro  ascribes  this  in- 
vention to  Alexander  the  Great,  when  he  built  Alexandria ; 
but  he  had  only  the  merit  of  making  paper  more  common, 
for  the  invention  was  of  much  greater  antiquity.  The 
same  Pliny  adds,  that  Eumenes,  king  of  Pergamus,  sixbsti- 
tuted  parchment  instead  of  paper  ;  in  emulation  of  Ptol- 
emy, king  of  Egypt,  whose  liberty  he  was  ambitious  to 
excel  by  this  invention,  which  had  the  advantage  over  pa- 
per. Parchment  is  the  skin  of  a  sheep,  dressed  and  made 
fit  to  write  upon.  It  was  called  Pergamenum  from  Perga- 
mus, whose  kings  had  the  honor  of  the  invention.  All  the 
ancient  manuscripts  are  either  upon  parchment  or  vellum, 
which  is  calf-skin,  and  a  great  deal  finer  than  the  common 
parchment.  It  is  very  curious  to  see  white  fine  paper 
wrought  out  of  filthy  rags   picked  up  in   the  streets.     The 

*  Plin.  1.  xiii.  c.  tl. 

t  Tlie  papyrus  was  divided  into  thin  flakes,  into  which  it  naturally  parted, 
which  being  laiil  on  a  table,  and  inoi-stened  with  the  glutinous  waters  of  the  Nile, 
were  afterwards  press  ;d  to  lether,  ami  dried  in  ihe  sun. 

%  Postea  proniiscue  natait  nsus  rei.  qua  constat  immortalitas  hominum— 
Chart*  U8U  maxime  humanitas  constat  in  meiuoria. 


200  aNciekt  histoPwY. 

plant  papyrus  was  useful  likewise  for  sails,  tackling,  clothes, 
coverlets,  etc.* 

LiNUM.  Flax  is  a  plant  whose  bark,  full  of  fibres  or 
strings,  is  useful  in  making  line  linen.  The  method  of  mak- 
ing this  linen  in  Egj^pt  was  wonderful,  and  carried  to  such 
perfection,  that  the  threads  which  were  drawn  out  of  them, 
were  almost  too  small  for  tlie  observation  of  tlie  sharpest 
eye.  Priests  were  always  habited  in  linen,  and  never  in 
woollen ;  and  not  only  the  priests,  but  all  persons  of  dis- 
tinction, generally  Avore  linen  clothes.  This  flax  formed  a 
considerable  branch  of  the  Egyptian  trade,  and  great  quan- 
tities of  it  were  exported  into  foreign  countries.  The  man- 
ufacture of  flax  employed  a  great  number  of  hands  in 
Egypt,  especially  of  the  women,  as  appears  from  that  pas- 
sage in  Isaiah,  in  which  the  prophet  menaces  Egypt  with  a 
drought  of  so  terrible  a  kind,  that  it  should  interrupt  every 
kind  of  labor.  Moreover^  they  that  work  in  fine  flax,  and 
they  that  weave  net-work,  shall  be  confounded.^  We  like- 
wise And  in  Scripture,  that  one  effect  of  the  jilague  of  hail, 
called  down  by  Moses  upon  Egypt,:]:  was  the  destruction  of 
all  the  flax  which  was  then  boiled.  This  storm  Avas  in 
March. 

Byssus.  This  was  another  kind  of  flax  extremely  fine 
and  small,  which  often  received  a  purple  dye.  §  It  was 
very  dear;  and  none  but  rich  and  wealthy  persons  could 
afford  to  wear  it.  Pliny,  who  gives  the  first  place  to  the 
asbeston  or  asbestinum,  i.  c,  the  incombustible  flax,  places 
the  byssus  in  the  next  rank ;  and  says,  that  it  served  as  an 
ornament  to  the  ladies.  ||  It  appears  from  the  Holy  Scri})- 
tures,  that  it  was  chiefly  from  Egypt  cloth  made  from  this 
fine  flax  was  brought.  Fine  linen  with  broidered  work 
froin  Egypt.  T[ 

I  take  no  notice  of  the  lotus  or  lote-tree,  a  common 
plant,  and  in  great  request  with  the  Egyptians,  of  whose 
berries,  in  former  times,  they  made  bread.  There  was  an- 
other lotus  in  Africa,  which  gave  its  name  to  the  eotophagi 
or  lotus-eaters,  because  they  lived  upon  the  fruit  of  this  tree, 
which  had  so  delicious  a  taste,  if  Homer  may  be  credited, 

*  Piin.  1.  xix.  c.  1.        t  Isa.  xix.  9.        t  Exod.  ix.  31.        §  Pliu.  1.  xix.  c.  1. 

II  Proximus  byssino  mulier  im  maxime  d-^liciis  genito  :  liiventuin  jam  est 
etiani  {scilicet  Limim)  quod  igiiibus  iioii  al)Suniotur  :  vivuin  id  vocaiit,  arden- 
tesque  in  focis  coiivl\ioriim"ex  eo  yidinius  niappas,  bordibns  exustis  tiplfiides- 
■ceiites  igni  niagis  qiiam  possent  aqnia. — i.f.  A  llax  is  now  found  out,  whicn  ia 
proo!"  against  the  violence  of  tire  ;  it  is  cnlled  living  flax,  and  wo  liave  neen  table- 
iiapkina  of  it  glowing  in  tlie  firm's  of  our  dining-rooms,  and  receiving  a  lustre  and 
a  cleanness  from  flames,  which  no  water  could  have  given  it. 

H  Kzek.  xxvii.  7- 


MANJTERS    AXD    CUSTOMS    OF    THE    EGYPTIANS.  '201 

that  it  made  the  eaters  of  it  forget  all  tlie  sweets  of  llieir 
native  country,*  as  CJlysses  found  to  liis  cost  on  his  return 
from  Troy. 

In  general,  it  may  be  said,  that  the  Egyptian  pulse  and 
fruits  were  excellent ;  and  might,  as  Pliny  observes,  h:,ve 
sufficed  singly  for  the  nourishment  of  the  inhabitants,  such 
was  their  excellent  quality,  and  so  great  their  plenty. f  And, 
indeed,  working  men  lived  then  almost  upon  nothing  else, 
as  appears  from  those  wlio  were  employed  in  building  the 
pyramids. 

Besides  these  rural  riches,  the  Nile,  from  its  fish,  and 
the  fatness  it  gave  to  the  soil  for  the  feeding  of  cattle,  fur- 
nished the  tables  of  the  Egyptians  with  the  most  exquisite 
fish  of  every  kind,  and  the  most  succulent  flesh.  This  it 
was  which  made  the  Israelites  so  deeply  regret  the  loss 
of  Egypt,  when  they  found  themselves  in  the  Avilderness  : 
~Who^  say  they,  in  a  plaintive,  and  at  tlie  same  time  seditious 
tone,  shall  give  us  Jl-'sh  to  eat'?  ,We  remetnher  the  flash 
which  we  did  eat  in  Egypt  freely,  the  cucumbers  and  'mel- 
ons, and  the  leeks,  ana  the  onions,  and  the  garlic. %  'We 
sat  hy  the  flesh  pots,  and  we  did  eat  bread  to  the  fidl.  § 

But  the  great  and  matchless  wealth  of  Egy])t  arose 
from  its  corn,  which,  even  in  an  almost  universal  famine, 
enabled  it  to  support  all  the  neighboring  nations,  as  it  par- 
ticularly did  under  Joseph's  administration.  In  later  ages 
it  was  the  resource  and  most  certain  granary  of  Rome  and 
Constantinople.  It  is  a  well-known  story,  how  a  calumyy 
raised  against  St.  Athanasius,  viz. :  of  his  having  menaced 
Constantinople,  that  for  the  futixre  no  more  corn  should  be 
imported  to  it  from  Alexandria,  incensed  the  emperor  Con- 
stantino against  that  holy  bishop,  because  he  knew  that  his 
capital  city  could  not  subsist  Avithout  the  corn  Avhich  Avas 
brought  to  it  from  Egypt.  The  same  reason  induced  all 
the  emperors  of  Rome  to  take  so  great  a  care  of  Egypt, 
which  they  considered  as  the  nursing  mother  of  the  world's 
metropolis. 

Nevertheless,  the  same  river  which  enables  this  prov- 
ince to  subsist  the  tAvo  most  populous  cities  in  the  Avorld, 
sometimes  reduced  even  Egypt  itself  to  the  most  terrible 
famine ;  and  it  is  astonishing  that  Joseph's  wise  foresight, 

*  Ta)V  6*  6(TTt5  AuiTOto  ^ayoi  fAcAtTjfie'a  /capTrbr, 

Q'oK  W  anayyelkai  irdKiv  rjOeAev,  ovSe  vet<T0a<-         — OdySS.  ix.  ver.  94    95. 
M17  TTui  Tis  AwToio  <ba.yo>v,  vocrrnio  \d9-i]Tai.-  ver.  102. 

+  iEgyptws  frugiim  qiiirtein  fertilisima,  sed  lit  prope  80la  iis  carere  possit, 
taiita,  est  cibonim  ex  herbis  abimdaiitia. — Pliu.  1,  xxi.  c.  15. 

i  Numb.  xi.  4,  5.  §  Exod.  xvi.  3. 


202  ANCIENT   HISTORY. 

which,  in  fruitful  years,  had  made  provision  for  seasons  of 
sterility,  should  not  have  taught  tliese  so  niucli  boasted  pol- 
iticians, a  like  care  against  the  changes  and  inconstancy  of 
the  Nile.  Pliny,  in  his  panegyric  upon  Trajan,  paints,  with 
wonderful  strength,  the  extremity  to  which  that  country 
was  reduced  by  a  famine,  under  that  prince's  reign,  and  his 
generous  relief  of  it.  The  reader  will  not  be  displeased  to 
read  here  an  extract  of  it,  in  which  a  greater  regard  will 
be  had  to  Pliny's  thoughts,  than  to  his  expressions. 

The  Egyptians,  says  Pliny,  who  gloried  that  they  needed 
neither  rain  nor  sun  to  produce  their  corn,  and  who  believed 
they  might  confidently  contest  the  ])rize  of  plenty  with 
the  most  fruitful  countries  of  the  world,  were  condemned  to 
unexpected  drought  and  a  fatal  sterility ;  from  the  greatest 
part  of  their  territories  being  deserted  and  left  unwatered 
by  the  Nile,  whose  inundation  is  the  source  and  sure  stand- 
ard of  their  abundance.  They  then  implored  that  assist- 
ance from  their  prince,  which  they  used  to  expect  only  from 
their  river.*  The  delay  of  their  relief  was  no  longer  than 
that  which  employed  a  courier  to  bring  the  melancholy 
news  to  Rome  ;  and  one  Avould  have  imagined,  that  this 
misfortune  had  befallen  them  only  to  distinguish  with 
greater  lustre  the  generosity  and  goodness  of  Caesar.  It 
was  an  ancient  and  general  opinion  that  our  city  could  not 
subsist  without  provisions  drawn  from  Egypt,  f  This  vain 
and  proud  nation  boasted,  that  though  it  was  conquered,  it 
nevertheless  fed  its  conquerors  ;  that,  by  means  of  its  river, 
either  abundance  or  scarcity  were  entirely  at  its  disposal. 
But  we  have  now  returned  to  the  Nile  his  own  harvests,  and 
given  him  back  the  provisions  he  sent  us.  Let  the  Egyp- 
tians be  then  convinced  by  their  own  experience,  that  they 
are  not  necessary  to  us,  and  are  only  our  vassals.  Let  them 
know  that  their  ships  do  not  so  much  bring  us  the  provis- 
ion we  stand  in  need  of,  as  the  tribute  which  they  owe  us. 
And  let  them  never  forget,  that  we  can  do  without  them, 
but  that  they  can  never  do  without  us.  This  most  fruit- 
ful province  had  been  ruined,  had  it  not  worn  the  Ro- 
man chains.  The  Egyptians,  in  their  sovereign,  found  a 
deliverer,  and  a  father.     Astonished  at  the  sight  of  their 

•  Inundatione  id  est,  ubertate  regio  frauda,ta,  sic  openi  cwsaris  invocavit, 
Bt  solet  aiiiiiem  suum. 

t  Percrebuerat  antiquitas  urbem  nostrain  nisi  opibus  JEgypti  ali  sustentarique 
non  posfe.  Superbau  veiitosa  et  iiisolens  iiatio,  quod  vicloiem  quidem  populum 
pasceret  tameii,  quod(iue  in  suo  lluniine,  in  suis  manibiis,  vel  abundantia  nostra 
vel  fanie.-i  esset.  Ref udimus  Nile  suaa  copias.  Kecepit  f rumenta  quai  miserat, 
deportatasque  messes  revexit. 


MANNERS    AND    CUSTOMS    OF    THE    EGYPTIANS.  203 

granaries,  filled  without  any  labor  of  their  own,  they  were 
at  a  loss  to  know  to  whom  they  owed  this  foreign  and  gra- 
tuitous plenty.  Tlie  famine  of  a  people,  though  at  such  a 
distance  from  us,  yet  so  speedily  stopped,  ser\  ed  only  to  let 
them  feel  the  advantage  of  living  under  our  empire.  The 
Nile  may,  in  other  times,  have  diffused  more  plenty  on 
Egypt,  but  never  more  glory  upon  us.*  May  Heaven,  con- 
tent with  this  proof  of  the  people's  patience,  and  the 
prince's  generosity,  restore  for  ever  back  to  Egypt  its  an- 
cient fei'tility ! 

Pliny's  reproach  to  the  Egyptians,  for  their  vain  and 
foolish  pride,  with  regard  to  the  inundations  of  the  Nile, 
points  out  one  of  their  most  peculiar  characteristics,  and 
recals  to  my  mind  a  fine  passage  of  Ezekiel,  where  God  thus 
speaks  to  Pharaoh,  one  of  their  kmgs  ;  Behold^  lam  against 
thee,  Pharaoh,  king  of  Eggjji-,  the  great  dragon  that  lietli  in 
the  midst  of  his  rivers,  which  hath  said,  My  river  is  rag 
own,  and  I  have  m^ade  it  for  myself.^  God  perceived  an 
insupportable  ])ride  in  the  heart  of  this  prince,  a  sense  of 
security  and  confidence  in  the  inundations  of  the  Nile,  inde- 
pendent entirely  of  the  influences  of  Heaven ;  as  though  the 
happy  effects  of  this  inundation  had  been  owing  to  nothing 
but  his  own  care  and  labor,  or  those  of  his  predecessors ; 
the  river  is  mine,  and  I  have  made  it. 

Before  I  conclude  this  second  part,  which  treats  of  the 
manners  of  the  Egyptians,  I  think  it  incumbent  on  me  to 
direct  the  attention  of  my  readers  to  different  passages 
scattered  in  the  history  of  Abraham,  Jacob,  Joseph,  and 
Moses,  which  confirm  and  illustrate  ]iart  of  what  we  meet 
with  in  profane  authors  upon  this  subject.  They  will  there 
observe  the  jjerfect  polity  which  reigned  in  Egypt,  both  in 
the  court  and  the  rest  of  the  kingdom ;  the  vigilance  of  the 
prince,  who  was  informed  of  all  transactions,  had  a  regular 
council,  a  chosen  number  of  ministers,  armies  ever  well 
maintained  and  disciplined,  and  of  every  order  of  soldiery, 
horse,  foot,  armed  chariots  ;  intendants  in  all  the  provinces  ; 
overseers  or  guardians  of  the  public  granaries ;  wise  and 
exact  dispensers  of  tho  corn  lodged  in  them  ;  a  court  com- 
posed of  great  ofiicers  of  the  crown,  a  captain  of  his  guards, 
a  chief  cup-bearer,  a  master  of  his  pantry,  in  a  word,  all 
things  that  compose  a  prince's  household,  and  constitute  a 
magnificent  court.      But  above  all  these,  the  readers  will 

*  Nilus  iEjiypto  quidem  ssepe,  sed  gloriaj  iiostrae  iiuiiquam  largior  fluxit. 
t  Ezek.  xxix.  3,  9. 


204  ANCIENT    HISTORY. 

admire  the  fear  in  wliicli  the  threatenings  of  God  woro  held, 
the  inspector  of  all  actions,  and  the  judge  of  kino>,  them- 
selves ;  and  the  horror  the  Egyptians  had  for  adultery,  which 
was  acknowledged  to  be  a  crime  of  so  heinous  a  nature,  that 
it  alone  was  capable  of  bringing  destruction  on  a  nation.* 


PART   THIRD. 

THE   HISTORY   OF   THE   KINGS   OF   EGYPT. 

No  part  of  ancient  history  is  more  obscure  or  uncertain 
than  that  of  the  first  kings  of  Egypt.  This  prond  nation, 
fondly  conceited  of  itvS  antiquity  and  nobility,  thought  it 
gtarious  to  lose  itself  in  an  abyss  of  infinite  ages,  as  though 
it  seemed  to  carry  its  pretensions  backward  to  eternity. 
According  to  its  own  historians,  first  gods,  and  afterwards 
demi-gods  or  heroes,  governed  it  successively,  through  a 
series  of  more  than  twenty  thousand  years,  f  But  the  ab- 
surdity of  this  vain  and  fabulous  claim  is  easily  discovered. 
To  gods  and  demi-gods,  men  succeeded  as  rulers  or  kings 
in  Egypt,  of  whom  Manetho  has  left  us  thirty  dynasties  or 
principalities.  This  Manetho  was  an  Egyptian  high-priest, 
and  keeper  of  the  sacred  archives  of  Egypt,  and  had  been 
instructed  in  the  Grecian  learning:  he  wrote  a  history  of 
Egypt,  which  he  pretended  to  have  extracted  from  the 
writings  of  Mercurius,  and  other  ancient  memoirs  preserved 
in  the  archives  of  the  Egyptian  temples.  He  drcAV  up  this 
history  under  the  reign,  and  at  the  command  of  Ptolemy 
Philadelphus.  If  his  thirty  dynasties  are  allowed  to  be  suc- 
cessive, they  make  up  a  sei'ies  of  time,  of  more  than  five 
thousand  three  hundred  years,  to  the  reign  of  Alexander  the 
Great ;  but  this  is  a  manifest  forgery.  Besides,  we  find  in 
Eratosthenes,  t  who  was  invited  to  Alexandria  by  Ptolemy 
Euergetes,  a  catalogue  of  thirty-eight  kings  of  Thebes,  all 
different  from  those  of  Manetho.  The  clearing  up  of  these 
difficulties  has  put  the  learned  to  a  great  deal  of  trouble  and 
labor.  The  most  effectual  way  to  reconcile  such  contradic- 
tions, is  to  suppose,  with  almost  all  the  modern  writers  upon 
this  subject,  that  the  kings  of  these  different  dynasties  did 
not  reign  successively  after  one  .  ther,  but  many  of  them 
at  the  same   time,    and  in    different   countries   of    Egypt. 

*  Geu.  xii.  10-20.  t  Diod.  1.  i.  p.  41.  t  A  historian  of  Cyreiie. 


MANXERS    AXD    CUSTOMS    OF    THE    EGYPTIAXS.  205 

There  were  in  Egypt  four  princij)al  dynasties,  that  of 
Thebes,  of  Thin,  of  Memphis,  and  of  Tanis.  I  shall  nol  here 
give  my  readers  a  list  of  the  kings  who  have  reigned  in  Egypt, 
most  of  whom  are  only  known  to  lis  by  their  names.  I  shall 
only  take  notice  '  f  what  seems  to  me  most  proper  to  give  youth 
the  necessary  light  into  this  part  of  history,  for  whose  sake 
principally  I  engaged  in  this  undertaking ;  and  I  shall  con- 
fine myself  chiefly  to  the  memoirs  left  us  by  Herodotus  iind 
Diodorus  Siculus  concerning  tlie  Egyptian  kings,  Avithout 
even  scrupulously  preserving  the  exactness  of  succession,  at 
least  in  the  beginnings,  which  are  very  obscure  ;  and  without 
pretending  to  reconcile  these  tAvo  historians.  Their  design, 
especially  that  of  Herodotus,  was  not  to  lay  before  us  an 
exact  series  of  the  kings  of  Egypt,  but  only  to  ]>oint  out 
those  ])rinces,  Avhose  history  appeared  to  them  most  impoi"- 
tant  and  instructive.  I  shall  follow  tlie  same  plan,  and  hope 
to  be  forgiven  for  not  lia\ing  involved  either  myself  or  my 
readers,  in  a  labyrinth  of  almost  inextricable  difficulties,  from 
which  the  most  able  can  scarcely  disengage  themselves,  when 
they  pretend  to  follow  the  series  of  history,  and  reduce  it  to 
fixed  and  certain  dates.  The  curious  may  consult  the  learned 
works,  in  which  this  subject  is  treated  in  all  its  extent.  * 

I  am  to  })remise,  that  Herodotus,  upon  the  credit  of  the 
Egy))tian  priests  whom  he  had  consulted,  gives  us  a  great 
number  of  oracles,  and  singular  incidents,  all  which,  though 
he  relates  them  as  so  many  facts,  the  judicious  reader  will 
easily  discover  to  be  what  they  really  are,  I  mean  fictions. 

The  ancient  history  of  Egyj)t  comprehends  2158  years, 
and  is  naturally  divided  into  three  periods. 

The  first  begins  with  the  establishment  of  the  Egyptian 
monarchy  by  Menes  or  Misraim,  the  son  of  Cham,t  in  the 
year  of  the  Avorld  1816 ;  and  ends  Avith  the  destruction  of 
that  monarchy  by  Cambyses,  king  of  Persia,  in  the  year  of 
the  Avorld  3479.     This  first  period  contains  1663  years. 

The  second  period  is  intermixed  Avith  the  Persian  and 
Grecian  history,  and  extends  to  the  death  of  Alexander  the 
Great,  Avhich  happened  in  the  year  3681,  and  consequently 
includes  202  years. 

The  third  period  is  that  in  which  a  new  monarchy  was 
formed  in  Egjq^t  by  the  Legidai,  or  Ptolemies,  descendants 
from  Lagus,  to  the  death  of  Cleopati-a,  the  last  queen  of 
Egy]it,  in  3074: ;  and  this  last  com))rehends  293  years. 

I  shall  noAv  treat  only  of  tlie  first  period,  reserving  the 
two  others  for  the  eras  to  Avhich  they  belong. 

*  Sir  ,Tohii  Marsham's  Canon,  Chronic.  Father  Pezron  ;  the  Dissertations  of 
F.  Touniemine,  Abbe  Seyin,  etc.  t  Or  Ham- 


206  ANCIENT   HISTOEY. 


THE  KINGS  OF  EGYPT. 

Mexes.*  Historians  are  unanimously  agreed,  that  Meneg 
was  the  first  king  of  Egypt.  It  is  ])retended,  and  not  wi*^^h- 
out  foundation,  that  he  is  the  same  with  Misraim,  the  son  of 
Cham. 

Cham  was  the  second  son  of  Noah.  When  the  family  of 
the  hitter,  after  the  extravagant  attempt  of  building  tlie 
tower  of  Babel,  dispersed  themselves  into  different  countries, 
Cham  retired  to  Africa,  and  it  doubtless  was  he  Avho  after- 
wards Avas  worshipped  as  a  god,  under  the  name  of  Jupiter 
Ammon.  He  had  four  children,  Chus^f  Misraim,  Phut,  and 
Canaan.  Chus  settled  in  Ethio])ia,  Misraim  in  Egypt,  which 
generally  is  called  in  Scripture  after  his  name,  and  by  that 
of  Cham  his  father;  t  Phut  took  ])ossession  of  tliat  part  of 
Africa  which  lies  westward  of  Egypt ;  and  Canaan,  of  that 
country  which  afterwards  bore  his  name.  The  Canaanites 
are  certainly  the  same  people  who  are  called  almost  always 
Phoenicians  by  the  Greeks,  of  which  foreign  name  no  reason 
can  be  given,  any  more  than  of  the  oblivion  of  the  true  one. 

I  return  to  Misraim. §  He  is  agreed  to  be  the  samcAvith 
Menes,  whom  all  liistorians  declare  to  be  the  first  king  of 
Egypt,  the  institutor  of  the  worship  of  the  gods,  and  of  the 
ceremonies  of  the  sacrifices. 

Busiris,  some  ages  after  him,  built  the  famous  city  of 
Thebes,  and  made  it  the  seat  of  his  empire.  We  haA^e  else- 
where taken  notice  of  the  Avealth  and  magnificence  of  this 
city.  The  prince  is  not  to  be  confounded  Avith  Busiris,  so 
infamous  for  his  cruelties. 

Osymandyas.  Diodorus  giA^es  a  A'ery  particular  descrip- 
tion of  many  magnificent  edifices  raised  by  this  king  ;  one 
of  Avhich  Avas  adorned  Avith  sculptures  and  paintings  of  ex- 
quisite beauty,  representing  his  expedition  against  the  Bac- 
trians,  a  people  of  Asia,  whom  he  had  iuA-adcd  Avith  four 
hundred  thousand  foot  and  tAventy  thousand  horse.  ||  In 
another  part  of  the  edifice,  was  exhibited  an  assembly  of 
the  judges,  whose  president  wore  on  his  breast  a  picture  of 

*  A.M.  1816.     Ant.  J.  C.  2138.  t  Or  Cush,  Gen.  x.  6. 

t  The  traces  of  its  old  name,  MesraVm,  remain  to  this  day  among  the  Ara- 
bians, who  call  it  Mesre  ;  by  the  testimony  of  Plutarch,  it  was  called  Xij/iia, 
Chemia,  bv  an  easy  corruption  of  Chemia,  and  this  for  Cham  or  Ham. 

§  Herod.  1.  ii.  p.  99.    Died.  1.  i.  p.  42.  U  Died.  1  i.  p.  44, 46. 


KINGS    OF    EGYPT.  207 

truth,  with  her  eyes  shut,  and  himself  Avas  surrounded  with 
books;  an  emphatic  emblem,  denoting  that  judges  ought  to 
be  perfectly  versed  in  the  laws,  and  impartial  in  the  admin- 
istration of  them. 

The  king  likewise  Avas  painted  here,  offering  to  the  gods 
gold  and  silver,  which  be  drew  every  year  from  the  mines  of 
Egyjit,  amounting  to  the  sum  of  sixteen  millions.  * 

Not  far  from  hence  was  seen  a.  inagnificent  lil>rary,  the 
oldest  mentioned  in  history.  Its  title  or  inscription  on  the 
front  was,  The  office^  or  treasury,  of  remedies  for  the  dis' 
eases  of  the  soul.  Near  it  were  statues,  re|)resenting  all  the 
Egyptian  gods,  to  each  of  whom  the  king  made  suitable  of- 
ferings ;  by  which  he  seemed  to  be  desirous  of  informing 
posterity,  that  his  life  and  reign  had  been  distinguished  by 
piety  to  the  gods  and  justice  to  men. 

His  mausoleum  discovered  uncommon  magnificence  ;  it 
was  encompassed  with  a  circle  of  gold,  a  cubit  in  breadtli, 
and  365  cubits  in  circximference ;  each  of  which  showed  the 
rising  and  setting  of  the  sun,  moon,  and  the  rest  of  the 
planets.  For  so  early  as  this  king's  reign,  the  Egy])tians 
divided  the  year  into  twelve  months,  each  consisting  of 
thirty  days ;  to  which  they  added  every  year  five  days  and 
six  hours. t  The  spectator  did  not  know  which  to  admire 
most  in  this  stately  monument,  the  richness  of  its  materials, 
or  the  genius  and  industry  of  the  artists  and  workmen. 

Uchoreus,  one  of  the  successors  of  Osymandyas,  built 
the  city  of  Memphis.  %  This  city  was  150  fui'longs,  or  more 
than  scA^en  leagues  in  circumference,  and  stood  at  the  point 
of  the  Delta,  in  that  part  Avhere  the  Nile  divides  itself  into 
several  branches  or  streams.  Southward  from  the  city,  he 
raised  a  lofty  mole.  On  the  right  and  left  he  dug  very  deep 
moats  to  receive  the  river.  These  were  faced  with  stone  ; 
and  raised,  near  the  city,  by  strong  causeys  ;  the  whole  de- 
signed to  secure  the  city  from  the  inundations  of  the  Nile, 
and  the  incursions  of  the  enemy.  A  city  so  advantageously 
situated,  and  so  strongly  fortified,  that  it  was  almost  the 
key  of  the  Nile,  and  by  this  means  commanded  the  whole 
country,  became  soon  the  usual  residence  of  the  Egyptian 
kings.  It  kept  possession  of  this  honor,  till  it  was  forced  to 
resign  it  to  Alexandria,  built  by  Alexander  the  Great. 

Moeris.  This  king  made  the  famous  lake,  which  Avent 
by  his  name,  and  Avhereof  mention  has  been  already  made. 

*  Three  thousand  two  hundred  myriads  of  minae. 

t  See  Sir  Isaac  Newton's  Chionology,  p.  30.  t  Di©d.  p.  46. 


208  ANCIENT    HISTORY. 

Egypt  had  long  been  governed  by  its  native  princes, 
when  strangers,  called  Shejiherd-kings  (Hycsos  in  the 
Egyptian  language),  from  Arabia  or  Phoenicia,  invaded  and 
seized  a  great  part  of  lower  Egypt,  and  Mempliis  itself ;  but 
Upper  Egypt  remained  unconqucred,  and  the  kingdom  of 
Tliebes  existed  till  the  reign  of  Sesostris.  *  These  foreign 
princes  governed  about  two  hundred  and  sixty  years. 

Under  one  of  these  princes  called  Pharaoh  in  Scripture 
(a  name  common  to  all  the  kings  of  Egypt),  Abraham  ar- 
rived there  with  his  wife  Sarah,  who  was  exposed  to  great 
hazard,  on  account  of  her  exquisite  beauty,  Avhich  reaching 
the  prince's  ear,  she  was  by  him  taken  from  Abraham, 
upon  the  siip})osition  that  she  was  not  a  Avife,  but  oidy  his 
sister,  f 

Thethmosis,  or  Amosis,  having  expelled  the  Shepherd 
kings,  reigned  in  Lower  Egypt,  t 

Long  after  his  reign,  Joseph  was  brought  a  slave  into 
Egypt,  by  some  Ishmaelitish  merchants  ;  sold  to  Potipliar, 
and,  by  a  series  of  wonderful  events,  enjoyed  tbe  suitreme 
authority,  by  his  being  raised  to  the  chief  em] doy merit  of 
the  kingdom.  §  I  shall  pass  over  his  history,  as  it  is  so  uni- 
versally known  ;  but  must  take  notice  of  a  remark  of  Justin, 
the  epitomizer  of  Trogus  Pompeius,  ||  an  excellent  historian 
of  the  Augustan  age,  viz. :  that  Joseph,  the  youngest  of 
Jacob's  children,  whom  his  brethren,  through  envy,  had  sold 
to  foreign  merchants,  being  endowed  fr<jm  heaven  1[  with 
the  interpretation  of  dreams,  and  a  knowledge  of  futurity, 
preserved,  by  his  uncommon  prudence,  Egypt  from  the  fam- 
ine with  which  it  was  menaced,  and  was  extremely  caressed 
by  the  king. 

Jacob  also  went  into  Egypt  with  his  whole  family,  which 
met  with  the  kindest  treatment  from  the  Egyptians,  whilst 
Joseph's  im])ortant  services  were  fresh  in  their  memories.  ** 
But  after  his  death,  say  the  Scriptures,  there  arose  up  a 
netc  kiuff,  tohicJi  knew  tiot  Josejyh.  tt 

Rumeses-miamum,  according  to  Archbishop  Usher,  was 
the  name  of  this  king,  Avho  is  called  Pharaoh  in  Scrij^ture.  XX 
He  reigued  sixty-six  years,  and  oppressed  the  Israelites  in  a 
most  gievious  manner.  Jie  set  over  them  task  niasters,^^  to 
ajflici  them  with  their  burdens,  and  they  built  Jar  Pharaoh 

♦  A.  M.  V.>'M.  Ant.  .1.  G.  2(184.       t  A.  j\l.  •J0S4.     Ant.  J.  C.  1020.     Gen.  xii.  10-20. 
t  A.  M.2179.  Ant.  J.  C.  1825.    §  A.  M.  2276.  Ant-  .J.  C.  IT2K     II  Lib.  xxxvi.  c.  2. 
il  Ju-tiii  ascribes  this  gift  of  liBaven  to  Jo8ei)h"8   skill  in  magical  arte. — Cuiu 
ma^ioaB  ibi  a'tes  (Egypta  scil.)  solerti  ingeiilo  percepisset,  &c. 

**  A.  M.  2298.    Ant.  J,  C.  1706.    tt  KxoU,  i,  8.      U  A.  M.  2427.    Aut.  J.  C.  1577. 
|§  Exo4.  i.  11, 13,  14. 


KINGS    OF    EGYPT.  209 

treasure  cities^*  Pithon  and  Haamses — and  the  Egyptians 
made  the  children  of  Israel  serve  with  rigor,  and  they  made 
their  lives  bitter  with  hard  bondage,  in  mortar  and  in  brick, 
and  in  all  manner  of  service  iii  the  field ;  all  their  service 
wherein  they  made  them  serve,  teas  with  7'igor.  This  king 
had  two  sons,  Anienophis  and  Busiris. 

Amenophis,  the  ehiest,  succeeded  him.  t  He  was  the 
Pharaoh  under  whose  reiun  tlie  Israelites  departed  out  of 
Egypt,  and  who  was  drowned  in  his  passage  through  the 
Red  Sea. 

Father  Tournemine  makes  Sesostris,  of  whom  we  shall 
speak  immediately,  the  Pharaoh  who  raised  the  prosecution 
against  the  Israelites,  and  oppressed  them  with  the  most 
painful  toils,  t  This  is  exactly  agreeable  to  the  account 
given  by  Diodorus  of  this  prince,  who  employed  in  his 
Egyptian  works  only  foi'eigners  ;  so  that  we  may  place  the 
memorable  event  of  the  passage  of  the  Red  Sea,  under  his 
son  Pheron  ;  §  and  the  characteristic  of  impiety  ascribed  to 
him  by  Herodotus,  greatly  strengthens  the  probability  of  this 
conjecture.  The  plan  I  have  proposed  to  follow  in  this  his- 
tory, excuses  me  from  entering  into  chronological  discus- 
sions. 

Diodorus,  (|  speaking  of  the  Red  Sea,  has  made  one  re- 
mark very  worthy  our  observation ;  a  tradition,  says  that 
historian,  has  been  transmitted  through  the  whole  nation 
from  father  to  son,  for  many  ages,  that  once  an  extraordi- 
nary ebb  dried  the  sea,  so  that  its  bottom  was  seen ;  and  that 
a  violent  flow  immediately  after  brought  back  the  waters  to 
their  former  channel.  It  is  evident  that  the  miraculous  pas- 
sage of  Moses  over  the  Red  Sea  is  here  hinted  at ;  and  I 
make  this  remark,  purposely  to  admonish  young  students, 
not  to  slip  over,  in  their  perusal  of  authors,  these  precious 
remains  of  antiquity ;  especially  when  they  bear,  like  this 
passage,  any  relation  to  religion. 

Archbishop  Usher  says,  that  Amenophis  left  two  sons, 
one  called  Sesothis,  or  Sesostris,  and  the  other  Armais.  The 
Greeks  called  him  Belus,  and  his  two  sons,  Egyptus  and 
Danaus. 

Sesostris  was  not  only  one  of  the  most  powerful  kings 
of  Egypt,  but  one  of  the  greatest  conquerors  that  antiquity 
boasts  of.  ^ 

*  Heb.  urbes  thesaurorum.  LXX.  iirbes  munita''.  These  cities  were  appointed 
to  preserve,  as  in  a  storehouse,  the  corn,  oil,  and  other  products  of  Egypt. — 
Vatab.  t  A.  M.  24!H.    Ant.  J.  C-  1510.  t  A.  M.  2513.    Ant.  J.  0.  1491. 

§  This  name  bears  a  grent  resemblance  to  Pharaoh,  so  common  to  llie  Egyp- 
tian kings.         II  Lib.  iii.  p.  74.       H  Herod.  1.  ii.  cap.  102, 110.  Died.  1.  i.  p.  48, 54. 

14 


210  ANCIENT    HISTORY. 

His  father,  whether  by  inspiration,  caprice,  or,  as  the 
Egyptians  say,  by  the  authority  of  an  oracle,  formed  a  de- 
sign of  making  his  son  a  conqueror.  This  he  set  about  after 
the  Egyptian  manner,  that  is,  in  a  great  and  noble  way.  All 
the  male  children  born  in  the  same  day  with  Scsostris,  were, 
by  the  king's  order,  brought  to  court.  Here  they  were  edu- 
cated as  if  they  had  been  his  own  children,  with  the  same 
care  bestowed  on  Sesostris,  wdth  whom  they  were  brought 
up.  He  could  not  possibly  have  gi^"en  liim  more  faithful 
ministei's,  nor  officers  who  more  zealously  desired  the  suc- 
cess of  his  arms.  The  chief  part  of  their  education  Avas,  the 
inuring  them  from  their  infancy  to  a  hard  and  laborious  life, 
in  order  that  they  might  one  day  be  capable  of  sustaining 
with  ease  the  toils  of  war.  They  were  never  suffered  to  eat, 
till  they  had  run,  on  foot  or  horseback,  a  considerable  race. 
Hunting  was  their  most  common  exercise. 

^lian  remarks  that  Sesostris  Avas  taught  by  Mercury, 
who  instructed  him  in  politics,  and  arts  of  gOAcrnment.  * 
This  Mercury  is  he  Avhom  the  Greeks  called  Trismegistus, 
i.  €.,  thrice  great.  Egypt,  his  native  country,  owes  to  him 
the  invention  of  almost  every  art.  The  two  books,  Avhich 
go  under  his  name,  bear  such  evident  characters  of  novelty, 
that  the  forgery  is  no  longer  doubted.  There  Avas  another 
Mercury,  who  also  Avas  A'ery  famous  among  the  Egyptians, 
for  his  rare  knoAvledge ;  and  of  much  greater  antiquity  then 
the  former.  Jamblicus,  a  priest  of  Egv])t,  aflirins,  that  it 
Avas  customary  with  the  Egy]itians,  to  pul)lish  all  new  books 
or  inA'entions  under  the  name  of  Hermes,  or  Mercury. 

When  Sesostris  Avas  more  advanced  in  years,  his  father 
sent  him  against  the  Arabians,  in  order  that,  by  fighting 
Avith  them,  he  might  acquire  military  knoAvledge.  Here  the 
young  ])rince  learned  to  bear  hunger  and  thirst,  and  subdued 
a  nation  which  till  then  had  ncA'er  been  conquered.  The 
youth  educated  Avith  him,  attended  him  in  all  his  campaigns. 

Accustomed  by  this  conquest  to  martial  toils,  he  Avas 
next  sent  by  his  father  to  try  his  fortune  AvestAvard.  He 
invaded  Libya,  and  subdued  the  greatest  part  of  that  vast 
continent. 

Sesotris.  f  In  the  course  of  this  expedition,  his  father 
died,  and  left  him  capable  of  attempting  the  greatest  enter- 
prises. He  formed  no  less  a  design  than  that  of  the  con- 
quest of  the  Avorld.  But  before  he  left  his  kingdom,  he  had 
provided  for  his  domestic  security,  in  Avinning  the  hearts  of 

•  Ta  yoijftara  tirftoucru  Ciji/oi.— Lib.  xii.  C.  4.  t  A..  M.  2513.     Ant.  J.  C.  1491 


KINGS    OF    KGYPT.  211 

his  subjects  by  his  generosity,  justice,  and  a  popular  obliging 
behavior.  He  was  no  less  studious  to  gain  the  Jiffection  of 
his  officers  and  soldiers,  who  were  ever  ready  to  shed  the  last 
droo  of  their  blood  in  liis  service;  persuaded  that  his  entcr- 
I^rlses  Avould  all  be  unsuccessful,  unless  his  army  should  be 
attached  to  his  person,  by  all  the  ties  of  esteem,  affection, 
and  interest.  He  divided  the  country  into  thirty-six  govern- 
ments, called  Nomi,  and  bestowed  them  on  persons  of  merit, 
and  the  most  approved  fidelity. 

In  the  mean  time  he  made  the  requisite  preparations, 
levied  forces,  and  headed  them  with  officers  of  the  greatest 
bravery  and  reputation,  and  these  were  taken  chiefly  from 
among  the  youths  who  had  been  educated  with  liim.  He 
had  seventeen  hundred  of  these  officers,  who  were  all  capable 
of  inspiring  his  troops  with  resolution,  a  love  of  discipline, 
and  a  zeal  for  the  service  of  their  prince.  His  army  con- 
sisted of  six  hundred  thousand  foot,  and  twenty-four  thou- 
sand horse,  besides  twenty-seven  thousand  armed  chariots. 

He  began  his  expedition  by  inA^•lding  Ethiopia,  situated 
to  the  south  of  Egypt.  He  made  it  tributary,  and  obliged 
the  nations  of  it  to  furnisli  him  annually  with  a  certain 
quantity  of  ebony,  ivoi-y,  and  gold. 

He  had  fitted  out  a  fleet  of  four  hundred  sail,  and  order- 
ing it  to  sail  to  the  Red  Sea,  made  himself  master  of  the  isles 
and  cities  lying  on  the  coasts  of  that  sea.  Tie  himself  head- 
ing his  land-army,  over-ran  and  subdued  Asia  with  amazing 
rapidity,  and  advanced  farther  into  India  than  Hercules, 
Bacchus,  and,  in  after  times,  Alexander  himself  had  ever 
done  ;  for  lie  subdued  the  countries  beyond  the  Ganges,  and 
advanced  as  far  as  the  Ocean.  One  may  judge  from  hence, 
liow  unable  the  more  neighboring  countries  were  to  resist 
him.  The  Scythians,  as  far  as  the  river  Tanais,  Armenia, 
and  Cappadocia,  were  conquered.  He  left  a  colony  in  the 
ancient  kingdom  of  Colchos,  situated  to  the  east  of  the  Black 
Sea,  where  the  Egyptian  customs  and  manners  have  been 
ever  since  retained.  Herodotus  saw  in  Asia  Minor,  from 
one  sea  to  the  other,  monuments  of  his  victories."  In  several 
countries  was  read  the  following  inscription,  engraven  on 
pillars:  Sesostris^kmy  of  kings,  and  lord  of  lords,  subdued 
this  country  by  the  power  of  his  arms.  Such  pillars  are 
found  even  in  Thrace,  and  his  empire  extended  from  the 
Ganges  to  the  Danube.  In  his  expeditions,  some  nations 
bravely  defended  their  liberties,  and  others  yielded  them  up 
without  making  the  least  resistance.     This   disparity  was 


212  ANCIENT    HISTORV. 

denoted  by  him  in  hieroglyphical  figures,  on  the  monuments 
erected  to  perpetuate  the  remembrance  of  liis  victories,  agree- 
ably to  the  Eg\i)tian  practice. 

The  scarcity  of  provisions  in  Tlirace  stopped  the  progress 
of  his  conquests  and  prevented  liis  advancing  farther  i)i  Eu- 
rope. One  remarkable  circumstance  is  observed  in  tliis 
conqueror,  who  never  once  thouglit,  as  others  had  done,  of 
preserving  his  acquisitions;  but  contenting  himself  with  the 
glory  of  having  subdued  and  despoiled  so  many  nations, 
after  having  s])read  desolation  througli  tlie  world  for  nine 
years,  he  confined  himself  almost  Avithin  the  ancient  limits 
of  Egypt,  a  few  neigliboring  provinces  excepted  ;  for  we  do 
not  find  any  traces  or  footsteps  of  this  new  empire,  either 
under  himself  or  his  successors. 

He  returned,  therefore,  laden  with  the  spoils  of  tiie  van- 
quished nations  ;  dragging  after  him  a  numberless  multi- 
tude of  captives,  and  covered  with  greater  glory  than  his 
predecessors ;  that  glory,  I  mean,  Avhich  employs  so  many 
tongues  and  pens  in  its  praise,  which  consists  in  invading  a 
gi-eat  number  of  provinces  in  a  hostile  Avay,  and  is  often 
productive  of  numberless  calamities.  He  rewarded  his 
officers  and  soldiers  with  a  truly  royal  magnificence,  in  pro- 
portion to  their  rank  and  merit.  He  made  it  both  his 
pleasure  and  duty,  to  put  the  companions  of  his  victory  in 
such  a  condition  as  might  enable  them  to  enjoy,  during  the 
remainder  of  their  days,  a  calm  and  easy  repose,  the  just 
reward  of  their  past  toils. 

With  regard  to  himself,  for  ever  careful  of  his  own  re}>- 
utation,  and  still  more  of  making  his  power  advantageous 
to  his  subjects,  he  employed  the  repose  which  peace  alloAved 
him,  in  raising  works  that  might  contribute  more  to  the 
enriching  of  Egypt,  than  the  immortalizing  of  his  name ; 
works  in  which  the  art  and  industry  of  the  workmen  were 
more  admired,  than  the  immense  sums  which  had  been  ex- 
2)ended  on  them. 

A  hundred  famous  temples,  raised  as  so  many  monu- 
ments of  gr.Ttitude  to  the  tutelar  gods  of  all  the  cities,  were 
the  first,  as  well  as  the  most  illustrious  testimonies  of  his 
victories ;  and  he  took  care  to  publish  in  the  inscriptions 
on  them,  that  these  mighty  works  had  been  completed  with- 
out burdening  any  of  his  subjects.  He  made  it  his  glory  to 
be  tender  of  them,  and  to  employ  only  captives  in  these 
monuments  of  his  conquests.  The  Scriptures  take  notice  of 
something  like  this,  where  they  speak  of  the  buildings  of 


KI>fGS    OP    EGYPT.  213 

Solomon.*  But  he  was  especially  studious  of  adorning  and 
enriching  the  temple  of  Vulcan  at  Pelusium,  in  acknoM-l- 
edgment  of  that  god's  imaginary  protection  of  him.  when, 
on  his  return  from  his  expeditions,  his  brother  h;ul  :  design 
of  destroying  him  m  that  city,  with  his  Avife  and  children, 
by  setting  fire  to  the  apartment  Avhere  he  then  lay. 

His  great  work  Avas,  the  raising,  in  avevj  part  of  Egypt, 
a  considerable  number  of  high  banks  or  moles,  on  whicli  v.eyv 
cities  were  built,  in  order  that  these  might  be  a  security  for 
men  and  beasts,  during  the  inundations  of  the  Nile. 

From  Memphis,  as  far  as  the  sea,  he  cut,  on  both  sides 
of  the  river,  a  great  number  of  canals,  for  the  conveniency 
of  trade,  and  the  conveying  of  2:)rovisions,  for  the  settling 
an  easy  correspondence  between  such  cities  as  were  most 
distant  from  one  another.  Besides  the  advantages  of  traffic, 
Egyjjt  was,  by  these  canals,  made  inaccessible  to  the  cav- 
alry of  its  enemies,  which  before  had  so  often  harassed  it 
by  repeated  incursions. 

He  did  still  more  :  to  securo  Egypt  from  the  inroads  of 
its  nearer  neighbors,  the  Syrians  and  Arabians,  he  fortified 
all  the  eastern  coast  from  Pelusium  to  Heliopolis,  that  is, 
for  upward  oi  seven  leagues. f 

Sesostris  might  have  been  considered  as  one  of  the  most 
illustrious  and  most  boasted  heroes  of  antiquity'  had  not  the 
lustre  of  his  warlike  actions,  as  Avell  as  his  pacific  virtues, 
been  tarnished  by  a  thirst  of  glory,  and  a  blind  fondness  for 
his  own  grandeur,  which  made  him  forget  that  he  was  a 
man.  The  kings  and  chiefs  of  the  conquered  nations  came, 
at  stated  times,  to  do  homage  to  their  victor,  and  ])ay  him 
the  appointed  tribute.  On  every  other  occasion,  he  treated 
them  with  some  humanity  and  generosity.  But  Avhen  he 
went  to  the  temple,  or  entered  his  capital,  he  caused  these 
princes,  four  abreast,  to  be  harnessed  to  his  car,  instead  of 
horses  ;  and  valued  himself  upon  his  being  thus  drawn  by 
the  lords  and  sovereigns  of  other  nations.  What  I  am  most 
surprised  at  is,  that  Diodorus  should  rank  this  foolish  and 
inhuman  vanity  among  the  most  shining  actions  of  this 
prince. 

Becoming  blind  in  his  old  age,  he  despatched  himself, 
after  having  reigned  thirty-three  years,  and  left  liis  kingdom 
immensely  rich.  X  His  empire  ncA-ertheless  did  not  reach 
beyond  the  fourth  generation.     But  there  still  remained,  so 

*  II.  Chroii.  viii.  9.  "  But  of  tlie  children  of  Israel  did  Solomon  make  no  ser- 
vants for  his  work." 

1 150  stadia,  about  18  miles  English.  t  Tacit.  Ann.  1.  ii.  c.  60. 


1214  ANCIENT    HISTORY, 

late  as  tlie  reigii  of  Tiberius,  magnificent  monuments,  Avliicli 
showed  the  extent  of  Egypt  under  Sesostris,*  and  the 
immense  tributes  which  Avere  paid  to  it.  f 

I  now  return  to  some  facts  wliich  should  have  been 
mentioned  before,  as  tliey  occurred  in  this  period,  but  were 
omitted,  in  order  that  I  miglit  not  break  the  thread  of  the 
history,  and  therefore  will  now  barely  mention  them. 

About  the  era  in  question,  the  Egyptians  settled  them- 
selves in  divers  parts  of  the  earth.  The  colony  which 
Cecrops  led  out  of  Egj'pt,  built  twelve  cities,  or  rather  so 
many  towns,  of  which  he  composed  the  kingdom  of 
Athens.  | 

We  observed,  that  the  bi'other  of  Sesostris,  called  by  the 
Greeks  D.maus,  had  formed  a  design  to  murder  him  on  his 
return  to  Egypt  after  his  conquests.  But  being  defeated  in 
his  horrid  ])roject,  he  was  obliged  to  tly.  §  He  thereupon 
retired  to  Peloponnesus,  where  lie  seized  upon  the  kingdom 
of  Argos,  which  had  been  founded  about  four  hundred  years 
before  by  Inachus. 

Busiris,  brother  of  Amenophis,  so  infamous  among  the 
ancients  for  his  cruelties,  exercised  Ids  tyranny  at  that  time 
on  the  banks  of  the  Xile,  and  barbarously  cut  the  throats 
of  all  foreigners  who  landed  in  his  country:  this  was  prob- 
ably during  the  absence  of  Sesostris.  || 

About  the  same  time  Cadmus  brought  from  Syria,  into 
Greece,  the  invention  of  letters.  ^  Some  pretend  that 
these  characters,  or  letters,  Avere  Egyptian,  and  that  Cad- 
mus himself  was  a  native  of  Egypt,  and  not  of  Phoenicia; 
and  the  Egyptians,  who  ascribe  to  themselves  the  invention 
of  every  art,  and  boast  a  greater  antiquity  than  any  other 
nation,  ascribed  to  their  Mercury  the  honor  of  inventing 
letters.  Most  of  the  learned  agree,  that  Cadmus  carried 
the  PhcBuician,  or  Syrian  letters  into  Greece,  and  that  those 
letters  were  the  same  as  the  Hebraic  ;  the  Hebrews  who 
formed  but  a  small  nation,  being  comprehended  under  the 
general  name  of  Syrians.**  Joseph  Scaliger,  in  his  notes  on 
the  Chronicon  of  Eusebius,  proves  that  the  Greek  letters, 
and  those  of  the  Latin  alphabet  formed  from  them,  derive 

*  Tacit.  Ann.  1.  ii. 

t  Legebantiir  iiulicta  gentibtis  tributa — hand  minus  magniftoa  quam  nunc  vl 

Parthoriim  aut  potentia  IU>mana  jubeutur. Inscribed  on   pillars,  were  read 

the  tributes  imposed  on  vanquished  nations,  which  were  not  inferior  to  those 
now  paid  t'>  the  Parthian  and  Romnn  powers. 

t  A-  M.  244s.  §  A.  M.  '2XiO.  \\  A.  M.  2.533.  t  A.  M.  2540. 

**  The  reader  may  consult  on  this  i^ubject  two  learned  dissertations  of  Abb6 
Benaudot,  inserted  iu  the  second  volume  of  The  History  of  the  Academy  of  In- 
scriptions. 


KINGS    OF    EGYPT.  215 

their  original  from  the  ancient  Phoenician  letters,  which  are 
the  same  with  the  Samaritan,  and  were  used  hy  the  Jews 
before  the  Babylonish  ca])tiAity.  Cadmus  carried  only  six- 
teen letters  into  Greece,  eight  others  being  added  after- 
wards. * 

I  return  to  the  history  of  the  Egyptian  kings,  whom  I 
shall  hereafter  rank  in  the  same  order  with  Herodotus. 

Pheron  succeeded  Sesostris  in  his  kingdom,  but  not  in 
his  glory,  t  Herodotus  relates  but  one  action  of  his,  which 
shows  how  greatly  he  had  degenerated  from  the  religious 
sentiments  of  his  father,  t  In  ah  extraordinary  inundation 
of  tlie  Nile,  which  exceeded  eighteen  cubits,  this  j)rince, 
enraged  at  the  devastation  which  was  made  by  it,  threw  a 
javelin  at  the  river,  as  if  he  intended  thereby  to  chastise  its 
insolence  ;  but  was  himself  immediately  punished  for  his 
impiety,  if  the  historian  may  be  credited,  with  the  loss  of 
sight. 

Proteus.  §  He  was  the  son  of  Memphis,  where,  in 
Herodotus'  time,  his  temple  was  still  standing,  in  wliich 
was  a  chapel  dedicated  to  Venus  the  Stranger.  ||  It  is  con- 
jectured that  this  Venus  was  Helen.  For,  in  the  reign  of 
this  monarch,  Paris  the  Trojan,  returning  liome  with  Helen, 
Avhom  he  liad  stolen,  was  driAcn  by  a  storm  into  one  of  the 
mouths  of  tlie  Nile,  called  the  Canopic  ;  and  from  thence 
was  conducted  to  Proteus  at  Memjdus,  who  reproached  him 
in  the  strongest  terms  for  his  base  perfidy  and  guilt,  in 
stealing  the  wife  of  his  host,  and  Avith  her  all  the  effects  in 
his  house.  He  added,  that  the  only  reason  Avhy  he  did  not 
punish  him  with  de;!th  (as  his  crime  deserved)  Avas,  because 
tlie  Egyptians  were  careful  not  to  imbrue  their  hands  in  the 

*  Th3  sixteen  letters,  brought  by  Cadmus  into  Greece,  are  a,  p,  y,  S,  e,  t,  k,  a, 
fi,  I',  o,  TT,  p,  0-,  T,  CO.  Palaniedes,  at  Iho  siege  of  Troy,  i.  <■.,  upwards  of  two  hun- 
dred and  JiJfty  years  lower  tlian  <_.aduiut>,  added  the  four  foUi>wiug.  i,  6,  <j>,  x  ;  and 
Simonides,  a  long  time  aftex',  invented  the  four  otlieis,  namely  >;,  w,  f ,  ifr. 

t  A.  M.  2517.     Ant.  J.  (J.  11)7.  t  Herod.  1.  ii.  c.  111.     Diod.  1. 1.  p.  54. 

§  A.  M.  2St)j.     Ant.  J   0.  1201.     Herod.  1.  ii   c.  112,  120. 

II  I  do  not  think  myself  obliged  t<>  enter  here  into  a  discussion,  wliich  -would 
be  attended  with  very  perplexing  tuUicukits,  should  I  pretend  to  reconcile  the 
series,  or  succession  of  the  kinj;s,  as  given  by  Hcrodotua  with  tlic  opinion  of 
arohoishop  Usher.  This  last  supposes,  with  a  great  many  other  learned  men, 
that  Sesostris  is  tb.e  son  of  that  Egyptian  king  who  was  drowned  in  the  Red  Sea, 
whose  reign  must  consequently  have  begun  in  llie  year  of  the  world  2513,  and 
continued  till  the  yea'-  2547.  since  it  l'\stea  thirty-three  years.  Should  we  allow 
fifty  years  to  the  reien  of  Pheron  his  so)i,  there  would  still  be  an  interval  of 
above  two  hnndr.^d  yeai-s  betv.een  Pheron  and  Proteus,  who,  according  to  He- 
rodotus, succeeded  imnu'diately  the  first :  since  Proteus  lived  at  tlie  time  of  the 
sieje  of  Tiov.  which,  according  to  Usher,  was  taken.  An.  Mun.  2820.  T  know  not 
whether  his  almost  total  silence  on  the  Egyptian  kings  after  Sesostris,  was  owing 
tohi<  sells'^  of  this  difficuUv.  I  suppose  a  lon<T  interval  to  have  occurred  between 
Pheron  and  Proteus  ;  accordingly  Diodorus  (lil).  liv.')  fills  it  up  with  a  great  many 
kings ;  and  the  same  must  be  said  of  some  of  the  following  kings. 


216  ANCIENT    HISTORY. 

blood  of  strangers :  that  he  would  keep  Helen,  with  nil  the 
riches  that  were  brought  with  lu'r,  in  order  to  restore  them 
to  their  lawful  owner  :  that  as  for  himself  (Paris),  he  must 
either  quit  his  dominions  in  three  days,  or  exjiect  to  be 
treated  as  an  enemy.  The  king's  order  was  obeyed.  Paris 
continued  his  voyage,  and  arrived  at  Troy,  Avhither  he  was 
closely  pursued  by  the  Grecian  army.  The  Greeks  sum- 
moned the  Trojans  to  surrender  Helen,  and  with  her  all  the 
treasures  of  Avhich  her  husband  had  been  ])lundered.  The 
Trojans  answered,  that  neither  Helen  nor  her  treasures  were 
in  their  city.  And  indeed,  was  It  at  all  likely,  says  Herod- 
otus, that  Priam,  who  was  so  wise  an  old  i)rince,  should 
choose  to  see  his  children  and  country  destroyed  before 
his  eyes,  rather  than  give  the  Greeks  the  just  and  reason- 
able satisfaction  they  desired  ?  But  it  was  to  no  purpose 
for  them  to  aflirm  with  an  oath,  that  Helen  av:is  not  in  their 
city ;  the  Greeks,  being  firmly  persuaded  that  they  were 
trilled  witli,  persisted  obstinately  in  tlieir  unbelief.  The 
Deity,  continues  the  same  historian,  being  resolved  that  the 
Trojans,  by  the  total  destruction  of  their  city  and  empire, 
should  teach  the  affrighted  Avorld  this  lesson,  That  great 

CRIMES  ARE  ATTENDED  WITH  EQUALLY  GREAT  AND  SIGNAL 
PUNISHMENTS    FROM    THE    OFFENDED    GODS.*       McuelauS,     ill 

his  return  from  Troy,  called  at  the  court  of  king  Proteus, 
who  restored  him  Helen  Avith  all  her  treasure.  Herodotus 
proves  from  some  i)assages  in  Homer,  that  the  voyage  of 
Paris  to  Egypt  was  not  unknown  to  tliis  poet. 

Khampsinitus.  The  treasury  built  by  this  king,  who 
was  richer  than  any  of  liis  predecessors,  and  his  descent  into 
hell,  as  they  are  related  by  Herodotus,  f  have  so  much  the 
air  of  romance  and  fiction,  that  they  deserve  no  mention 
here. 

Till  the  reign  of  this  king,  there  had  been  some  shadow 
at  least  of  justice  and  moderation  in  Egypt;  but,  in  the 
tAvo  folloAving  reigns,  violence  and  cruelty  usurped  their 
place. 

Cheops  and  Cephrenus.  %  These  two  princes,  who  were 
truly  brothers  by  tlie  similitude  of  their  manners,  seem  to 
have  strove  which  of  them  should  distinguish  himself  most, 
by  a  barefaced  impiety  towards  the  gods,  and  a  barbarous 
inhumanity  to  men.  Cheo])S  reigned  fifty  years,  and  his 
brother  Cephrenus  fifty-six  years  after  him.     They  kept  the 

t  Lib.  ii.  c.  121, 123.  t  Herod.  \.  ii.  o.  12^,  128.    Diod.  1.  i.  i>.  57. 


KINGS    OF    EGYPT.  217 

temples  shut  during  the  whole  time  of  their  long  reigns ; 
and  forbid  the  offerings  of  sacritice  under  the  severest  pen- 
alties. On  the  other  hand,  they  oppressed  their  subjects,  by- 
employing  them  in  the  most  grievous  and  useless  works  ; 
and  sacriticed  the  lives  of  numberless  multitudes  of  men, 
merely  to  gratify  a  senseless  ambition,  of  immortalizing 
their  names  by  edifices  of  an  enormous  magnitude  and  a 
boundless  expense.  It  is  remarkable  that  those  stately 
pyramids,  which  have  so  long  been  the  admiration  of  the 
whole  world,  were  the  effects  of  the  irreligion  and  merciless 
cruelty  of  those  princes. 

Mycerinus.*  He  was  the  son  of  Cheops,  but  of  a  char- 
acter opposite  to  tliat  of  his  father.  So  far  from  walking  in 
his  steps,  he  detested  his  conduct,  and  pursued  quite  differ- 
ent measures.  lie  again  opened  the  temples  of  the  gods, 
restored  tlie  sacrifices,  did  all  that  lay  in  his  power  to  con^- 
fort  his  subjects,  and  make  them  forget  their  past  miseries  ; 
and  believed  himself  set  over  them  for  no  other  purpose 
than  to  exercise  justice,  and  to  make  them  taste  all  the 
blessings  of  an  equitable  and  peaceful  administration.  He 
heard  their  complaints,  dried  their  tears,  eased  their  m^isery, 
and  thought  himself  not  so  much  the  master,  as  the  father 
of  his  people.  This  ])rocured  him  the  love  of  them  all. 
Egypt  resounded  with  his  praises,  and  his  name  commanded 
veneration  in  all  places. 

One  would  naturally  conclude  that  so  prudent  and  hu- 
mane a  conduct  must  have  drawn  down  on  Mycerinus  the 
protection  of  the  gods.  But  it  liappened  far  otherwise. 
His  misfortunes  began  from  the  death  of  a  darling  and  only 
daughter,  in  whom  liis  whole  felicity  consisted.  lie  ordered 
extraordinary  honoi's  to  be  ])aid  to  her  memory,  Avhich  were 
still  continued  in  Herodotus's  time.  This  historian  informs 
us  that,  in  the  city  of  Sais,  exquisite  odors  were  burnt  in 
the  day-time,  at  tlie  tomb  of  this  princess,  and  that  it  was 
illuminated  with  a  lamp  by  night. 

He  wjis  told  by  an  oracle  that  his  reign  would  continue 
but  seven  years.  And  as  he  complained  of  this  to  the  gods, 
and  inquired  the  reason  why  so  long  and  prosperoxts  a  reign 
liad  been  granted  to  his  father  and  uncle,  who  were  equally 
cruel  and  imjiious,  while  his  own,  which  he  had  endeavored 
so  carefully  to  render  as  equitable  and  mild  as  it  was  possi- 
ble for  him  to  do,  should  be  so  short  and  unhappy  ;  he  was 
answered,  that  these  were  the  very  causes  of  it,  it  being  the 

*  Herod.  1.  ii.  p.  139,  140. 


218  AXCIEXT    HISTORY. 

will  of  the  gods  to  oppress  and  afflict  Egypt  during  the 
space  of  150  years,  as  a  })unishment  for  its  crimes ;  and  tliat 
his  reign,  which  was  appointed,  like  those  of  the  preceding 
nionarclis,  to  bo  of  fifty  years'  continuance,  was  shortened 
on  account  of  his  too  great  lenity.  Mycerinus  likewise  built 
a  pyramid,  but  much  inferior  in  dimensions  to  that  of  his 
father. 

Asychis.*  He  enacted  the  law  relating  to  loans,  which 
forbids  a  son  to  borrow  money,  without  giving  the  dead 
body  of  his  father  by  way  of  security  for  it.  The  law  add- 
ed, that  in  case  the  son  took  no  care  to  redeem  his  father's 
body  by  restoring  the  loan,  both  himself  and  his  cliildreu 
should  be  de])rived  for  ever  of  the  rights  of  sepulture. 

He  valued  himself  for  having  surpassed  all  his  prede- 
cessors, by  building  a  pyramid  of  brick  more  magnificent, 
if  this  king  was  to  be  credited,  than  any  hitherto  seen.  The 
following  inscription,  by  its  founder's  order,  was  engraved 

upon  it.  COMPAHK  ME  NOT  WITH  PYIiAMIDS  IJUILT  OV 
STOXE,  WHICH  I  AS  MUCH  EXCEL  AS  JuPITElt  DOES  ALL  THE 
OTHEK    GODS.f 

If  we  suppose  the  six  preceding  reigns  (the  exact  duran 
tion  of  some  of  which  is  not  fixed  by  Herodotus)  to  have 
continued  one  hundred  and  seventy  years,  tliere  will  remain 
an  interval  of  near  three  hundred  years  to  the  reign  of  Sa- 
bachus  the  Ethiopian.  In  this  interval  I  shall  ])lace  a  few 
circumstances  related  in  Holy  Scripture. 

Pharaoh,  king  of  Egypt,  ga^e  his  daughter  in  marriage 
to  Solomon,  king  of  Israel ;  who  received  her  in  that  ])art 
of  Jerusalem  called  the  city  of  David,  till  he  had  built  her 
a  palace,  t 

Sesach,  or  Shishak,  otherwise  called  Sesonchis. 
„  It  was  to  liim  that  JeroVjoam  fled  to  avoid  the  wrath  of 
Solomon,  Avho  intended  to  kill  him.  §  He  abode  in  Egypt 
till  Solomon's  death,  and  then  returned  to  Jerusalem,  when, 
putting  himself  at  the  head  of  the  rebels,  he  won  from  Re- 
hoboam,  the  son  of  Solomon,  ten  tribes,  over  Avhom  he  de- 
clared himself  king. 

Til  is  Sesach,  in  the  fifth  year  of  the  reign  of  Rehoboam, 
marched  against  Jerusalem,  because  the  Jcavs  had  trans- 
gressed against  the  Lord.     He  came  with  twelve  hundred 

•Heroil. ).  ii.  c.  136. 

+  'llie  remainder  of  the  iiiscriptioii,  as  we  iindit  in  Herodotus,  is,  "  For  men 
pluiigina  long  jkoIcs  flown  to  the  bottom  of  tlie  lake.  (Irew  bricks  (n-Au'dous  £ipv<7•o^) 
out  of  the  mn<l  wliicli  sluok  to  lliem.  and  gave  nie  iliisforni." 

t  A.  M.  2  01.    Ant.  .1.  C.  1013.      I.  Kings  iii.  1. 

§  A.  M.  a02C.    Ant.  J.  C.  978.    I.  Kings  xi.  40,  and  chap.  xil. 


KIXGS    OF    EGYPT.  219 

chariots  of  war  and  sixty  thousand  horse.*  lie  liad  brouglit 
numberless  niiUtitudes  of  people,  Avho  were  all  Libyans, 
Troglodytes,  and  Ethiopians. f  He  seized  upon  all  tlie 
strongest  cities  of  Judali,  and  advanced  as  far  as  Jerusalem. 
Tlien  the  king  and  the  princes  of  Israel,  liaving  humbled 
themselves,  and  implored  the  protection  of  the  God  of  Is- 
rael, he  told  them,  by  his  prophet  Shemaiah,  that,  because 
they  humbled  themselves,  he  would  not  utterly  destroy 
them,  as  they  had  deserved ;  but  that  they  should  be  the 
servants  of  Sesach ;  in  order  that  they  might  knoic  the  dif- 
ference of  his  service,  and  the  service  of  the  kingdoms  of  the 
country,  t  Sesach  retired  from  Jerusalem,  after  having 
plundered  the  treasures  of  the  house  of  the  Lord,  and  of  the 
king''s  house  ;  he  carried  off  every  thing  with  him,  and  even 
also  tJie  three  hundred  shields  of  gold  which  Solomon  Jtad 
n^ade. 

Zerah,  king  of  Ethiopia,  and  doubtless  of  Egypt  at  tlie 
same  time,  made  war  upon  Asa,  king  of  Judah.  §  His  army 
consisted  of  a  million  of  men,  and  three  hundred  chariots 
of  war.  Asa  marched  against  him,  and  drawing  up  his  army 
in  order  of  battle,  in  full  reliance  on  the  God  whom  he 
served,  "  Lord,"  says  he,  "  it  is  nothing  for  thee  to  help, 
whether  with  many,  or  with  tliem  that  have  no  poAver. 
Help  us,  O  Lord  our  God,  for  we  rest  ou  thee,  and  in  thy 
name  we  go  against  this  multitude ;  O  Lord  thou  art  our 
God,  let  not  man  j)i-evail  against  thee."  A  i)rayer  offered 
u])  with  such  strong  faith  was  heard.  God  struck  the  Ethi- 
opians with  terror;  they  fled,  and  all  were  irrecoverably  de- 
feated, being  destroyed  before  the  Lord,  and  before  his  host. 

Anysis.  )|  He  was  blind,  and  under  his  reign  Saba- 
chus,  king  of  Ethiopia,  being  encouraged  by  an  oracle, 
entered  Egypt  with  a  numerous  army,  and  possessed 
himself  of  it.  He  reigned  with  great  clemency  and  justice. 
Instead  of  putting  to  death  such  criminals  as  had  been  sen- 
tenced to  die  by  the  judges,  lie  made  them  repair  the 
causeys,  on  which  the  respective  cities  to  which  they  be- 
longed were  situated.  He  built  several  magnificent  tem- 
ples, and  among  the  rest,  one  in  the  city  of  Bubastus,  of 
which  Herodotus  gives  a  long  and  elegant  description.  Af- 
ter a  reign  of  fifty  years,  which  was  the  time  appointed  by 

•A.M.  SOSn.    Ant.  J.  C.  971.    2  Chron.  xli.  1-9. 

"t  The  English  version  of  the  Bible  says,  the  Liibims,  the  Sukkiins,  and  the 
Ethiopians.  %  Or,  of  the  kingdoma  of  the  earth. 

§  A.  M.  30&3.    Ant.  J,  C.  741.    II.  Chron.  xiv.  9-13. 
II  Herod.  1.  iii  c.  137.     Died.  1.  i.  p.  59. 


220  AXCIEMT   HISTORY. 

tlie  oracle,  he  retii'ed  voluntarily  to  his  old  kingdom  of  Ethi- 
opia, and  left  the  throne  of  Egypt  to  Anysis,  who  during 
this  time  had  concealed  himself  in  the  fens.  It  is  believed 
that  this  Sabachns  was  the  same  with  So,  whose  aid  was 
implored  by  Hosea,  king  of  Israel,  against  Salmanaser,  king 
of  Assyria,* 

Sethon.     He  reigned  fourteen  years. 

He  is  the  same  with  Sevechus,  the  son  of  Sabacon,  or 
Sual  the  Ethiopian,  who  reigned  so  long  over  Egypt. f 
This  prince,  so  far  from  discharging  the  functions  of  a  king, 
was  ambitious  of  those  of  a  priest ;  causing  himself  to  be 
consecrated  high-priest  of  Vulcan.  Abandoning  himself  en- 
tirely to  superstition,  he  neglected  to  defend  his  kingdom 
by  force  of  arms ;  paying  no  regard  to  military  men,  from 
a  fii'm  ])ei*suasion  that  he  should  never  have  occasion  for 
their  assistance  ;  he  therefore  was  so  far  from  endeavoring 
to  gain  their  affections,  that  he  deprived  them  of  their  priv- 
ileges, and  even  dispossessed  them  of  such  lands  as  his  pre- 
decessors had  given  them. 

He  was  soon  made  sensible  of  their  resentment  in  a  war 
that  broke  out  suddenly,  and  from  which  he  delivered  him- 
self solely  by  a  miraculous  protection,  if  Herodotus  may  be 
credited,  who  intermixes  his  account  of  this  wai'  with  a 
great  many  fabulous  particulars.  Sennacherib  (so  Herodo- 
tus calls  this  prince),  king  of  the  Arabians  and  Assyrians, 
haA^ing  entered  Egypt  with  a  numerous  army,  the  Egyptian 
officers  and  soldiers  refused  to  march  against  him.  The 
high-priest  of  Vulcan,  being  thus  rediiced  to  the  greatest 
extremity,  had  recourse  to  his  god,  who  bid  him  not  de- 
spond, but  march  courageously  against  the  enemy  with  the 
few  soldiers  he  could  raise.  Sethon  obeyed.  A  small  num- 
ber of  merchants,  artificers,  and  others,  who  were  the  dregs 
of  the  popvdace,  joined  him  ;  and  with  this  handful  of  men 
he  marched  to  Felusium,  Avhere  Sennacherib  had  ])itched 
his  camp.  The  night  following,  a  prodigious  number  of 
rats  entered  the  enemy's  camp,  and  gnawing  to  pieces  all 
their  bow-strings  and  the  thongs  of  their  shields,  rendered 
them  incapable  of  making  the  least  defence.  Being  dis- 
armed in  this  manner,  they  were  obliged  to  fly ;  and  they 
retreated  with  the  loss  of  a  great  part  of  their  forces.  Se- 
thon, when  he  returned  home,  ordered  a  statue  of  himself 
to  be  set  up  in  the  temple  of  Vulcan,  holding  in  his  riglit 
hand     a    rat,    and    these  words    inscribed    thereon :    Let 

*  A.  M.  3279.     Ant.  J.  C.  725.    II.  Kings,  xvii.  4.  t  A.  M.  2Ziio.    Aut.  J.  C.  719. 


KINGS    OF   EGYPT.  221 

THE     MAN"    WHO     BEHOLDS     ME     LEARN     TO     REVERENCE     THE 
GODS.* 

It  is  A'ery  obvioiis  that  this  story,  as  related  here  from 
Herodotus,  is  an  alteration  of  that  which  is  told  in  the  sec- 
ond book  of  Kings.f  We  there  see  that  Sennacherib,  king 
of  the  Ass^-rinns,  having  subdued  all  the  neighboring  na- 
tions, and  seized  upon  all  the  cities  of  Judah,  resolved  to 
besiege  Hezekiah  in  Jerusalem,  his  capital  city.  The  min- 
isters of  this  holy  king,  in  spite  of  this  opposition  and  the 
remonstrances  of  the  prophet  Isaiah,  who  promised  them,  in 
God's  n;mie,  a  sure  and  certain  protection,  provided  they 
would  trust  in  liim  only,  sent  secretly  to  the  Egy]itians  and 
Ethiopians  for  succor.  Their  armies,  being  united,  marched 
to  the  relief  of  Jerusalem  at  the  time  appointed,  and  were 
met  and  vanquished  by  the  Assyrians  m  a  pitched  battle. 
He  pursued  them  into  Egypt,  and  entirely  laid  waste  the 
country.  At  his  return  from  thence,  the  very  niglit  before 
he  was  to  have  given  a  general  assault  to  Jerusalem,  Avhich 
then  seemed  lost  to  all  hopes,  the  destroying  angel  made 
dreadful  havoc  in  the  camp  of  the  Assyrians,  destroyed  a 
hundred  fourscore  and  five  thousand  men  by  fire  and  sword, 
and  proved  evidently  that  they  had  great  reason  to  rely,  as 
Hezekiah  had  done,  on  the  promise  of  the  God  of  Israel. 

This  is  the  real  fact.  But  as  it  was  no  ways  lionorable 
to  the  Egyptians,  they  endeavored  to  turn  it  to  their  own  ad- 
vantage, by  disguising  and  corrupting  the  circumstances  of 
it.  Nevertheless,  the  account  of  this  history,  though  so  much 
defaced,  ought  yet  to  be  highly  valued,  as  coming  from  a 
historian  of  so  great  antiquity  and  authority  as  Herodotus. 

The  prophet  Isaiah  had  foretold,  at  several  times,  that 
this  expedition  of  the  Egyptians,  which  had  been  concerted 
seemingly  with  much  prudence,  conducted  with  the  greatest 
skill,  and  in  which  the  forces  of  two  powerful  empires  were 
united,  in  order  to  relicA-e  the  Jcavs,  would  not  only  be  of 
no  service  to  Jerusalem,  but  even  destructive  to  Egypt  it- 
self, Avhose  strongest  cities  would  be  taken,  its  territories 
plundered,  and  its  inhabitants  of  all  ages  and  sexes  led  into 
captivity.  (See  the  ISth,  19th,  20th,  SOtli,  31st,  etc.,  chap- 
ters of  the  second  book  of  Kings.)  Archbishop  Usher  and 
Deau  Prideaux  suppose  that  it  was  at  this  period  that  tlie 
ruin  of  the  famous  city  No-Amon,t  spoken  of  by  the  prophet 

*  'E9  c/ie  Ti?  opetav,  eixre/Sijs  i<TTia.  t  Chap.  xvii. 

X  The  Vulgate  calls  that  city  Alexandria,  to  which  the  Hebrew  gives  the 
?iame  of  No-Anion  ;  because  Alexandria  was  afterwards  built  in  the  place  where 
ibis  stood.    Dean  Prideaux,  after  Bochart,  thinks  that  it  was  Thebes,  surnamed 


222  ANCIENT    HISTORY. 

Nahum,  happened.  That  pro])het  says,  that  she  ^cas  car- 
ried away — that  her  young  children  vere  dashed  in  pieces 
at  the  to])  of  all  the  streets — that  the  enemy  cast  lots  for  ]u:r 
honorable  men^  and  that  all  her  yreat  men  tnere  bound  in 
chains.*  He  observes  that  all  these  misfortunes  befell  that 
city  when  Egypt  and  Ethioi)ia  icere  her  strength  ;  which 
seems  to  refer  clearly  enough  to  the  time  of  Avhich  Vvc  are 
here  speaking,  when  Tharaca  and  Sethon  had  united  their 
forces.  However,  this  opinion  is  not  without  some  difficul- 
ties, and  is  contradicted  by  some  learned  men.  It  is  suffi- 
cient for  me  to  have  liinted  it  to  the  reader. 

Till  the  reign  of  Sethon,  the  Egyptian  priests  computed 
three  hundred  and  forty-one  generations  of  men  ;  which 
make  eleven  thousand  three  hundred  and  forty  years,  allow- 
ing three  generations  to  a  hundred  years. f  They  counted 
the  like  number  of  priests  and  kings.  The  latter,  whether 
gods  or  men,  had  succeeded  one  another  without  interrup- 
tion, under  the  name  of  piromis,  an  Egyptian  Avord  signifying 
good  and  virtuous.  The  Egyptian  priests  shoAved  Herodotus 
three  hundred  and  forty-one  Avooden  colossal  statues  of  these 
piromis,  all  ranged  in  order  in  a  great  hall.  Such  Avas  the 
folly  of  the  Eg\'ptians,  to  lose  themsehes,  as  it  Avere,  in  a 
remote  antiquity,  to  which  no  other  people  pretended. 

Tharaca. J  He  it  AA'as  Avho  joined  Sethon,  Avith  an 
Ethiopian  army,  to  relicA-e  Jerusalem.  After  the  death  of 
Sethon,  Avho  had  sat  fourteen  years  on  the  throne,  Tharaca 
ascended  it,  and  reigned  eighteen  years.  He  Avas  the  last 
Ethiopian  king  Avho  reigned  in  Egypt. 

After  his  death,  the  E^ptians,  not  being  able  to  agree 
about  the  succession,  Avere  two  years  in  a  state  of  anarchy, 
during  which  there  were  great  disorders  and  confusions 
among  them. 

TAVELVE    KINGS. 

At  last,  twelve  of  the  principal  noblemen,  conspiring 
together,  seized  upon  his  kingdom,  and  divided  it  among 
themselves  into  so  many  parts.  §  It  was  agreed  by  them, 
that  each  should  govern  his  OAvn  district  Avith  equal  poAver 
and  authority,  and  that  no  one  should  attem])t  to  invade  or 
seize  the  dominions  of  another.     They  thought  it  necessary 

l>io8polis.  Indeed,  *he  Eiiyptian  Anion  is  the  same  with  Jupiter.  But  Thebes  la 
not  the  place  where  Alexandria  was  euice  built.  Perliaps  there  was  another  city 
there,  which  also  was  called  No-Amon.  *  Chap.  iii.  8,  10. 

t  Herod.  1.  ii.  cap.  142.      X  A.  M.  3299.  Art.  .J.  C.  705.  Afrio.  apud  Syncel.  p.  74. 

§  A.  M.  3319.    Ant.  J.  C.  6*o.    Herod.  1.  ii.  cap.  147,  152.     Dioil.  1.  i.  p.  69. 


KINGS   OP   EGYPT.  223 

to  make  tliis  agreement,  and  to  bind  it  with  the  most  dread- 
ful oaths,  to  elude  the  j>rediction  of  an  oracle,  which  had 
foretold,  that  he  among  them  who  should  offer  his  libation 
to  Vulcan  out  of  a  brazen  bowl,  should  gain  the  sovereignty 
of  Egypt,  They  reigned  together  for  fifteen  years  in  the 
utmost  harmony ;  and  to  leave  a  famous  monument  of  their 
concord  to  posterity,  they  jointly,  and  at  a  common  ex- 
pense, built  the  famous  labyrinth,  which  was  a  i)ile  of 
building  consisting  of  twelve  large  palaces,  with  as  many 
edifices  tinder  ground  as  appeared  above  it.  I  have  spoken 
elsewhere  of  tliis  labyrinth. 

One  day,  as  the  twelve  kings  were  assisting  at  a  solemn 
and  periodical  sacrifice  offered  in  the  temple  of  Vulcan,  the 
priests,  having  presented  each  of  them  a  golden  bowl  for  the 
libation,  one  was  wanting ;  when  Psammetichus,*  Avithout 
any  design,  supj)lied  the  want  of  this  bowl  with  his  brazea 
hehnet,  for  each  wore  one,  and  with  it  performed  the  cere- 
mony of  the  libation.  This  accident  struck  the  rest  of  the 
kings,  and  recalled  to  their  memory  the  prediction  of  the 
oracle  above  mentioned.  They  thought  it  therefore  neces- 
sary to  secure  themselves  from  his  attempts,  and  therefor^; 
with  one  consent  banished  him  into  the  fenny  parts  of 
Egypt. 

After  Psammetichus  had  passed  some  years  there,  waiting 
a  favorable  opjiortunity  to  revenge  himself  for  the  affront 
which  had  been  jmt  upon  him,  a  courier  brought  him  advice, 
that  brazen  men  were  landed  in  Egypt.  These  were  Grecian 
soldiers,  Carians  and  lonians,  who  had  been  cast  upon  thw 
coasts  of  Egypt  by  a  storm,  and  were  completely  covered 
Avith  helmets,  cuirasses,  and  other  arms  of  brass.  Psam- 
metichus immediately  called  to  mind  the  oracle,  Avhich  had 
answered  him,  that  he  should  be  succored  by  brazen  men 
from  the  sea-coast.  lie  did  not  doubt  that  the  prediction 
was  now  fulfilled.  He  tlierefore  made  a  league  with  these 
strangers ;  engaged  them  wdth  great  promises  to  stay  with 
him  ;  })rivately  levied  other  forces,  and  put  these  Greeks  at 
their  head ;  when,  givuig  battle  to  the  eleven  kings,  he 
defeated  them,  and  remained  sole  possessor  of  Egypt. 

Psammetichus.  As  this  prince  owed  his  preservation 
to  the  lonians  and  Carians,  he  settled  them  in  Egypt,  from 
which  all  foreigners  had  hitherto  been  excluded ;  and,  by 
assigning  them  sufticient  lands  and  fixed  revenues,  he  made 
them  forget  their  native  country.!     By  his  order,  Egyptian 

•  He  was  one  of  the  twelve,    t  A.  M.  3334.  Ant.  J.  C.  670.  Herod.  1.  ii.  c.  153,  154. 


224  ANCIENT   HISTORY. 

cliilclren  were  put  under  their  care  to  learn  the  Greek  tongtie ; 
and  on  this  occasion,  and  by  tlais  means,  tlie  Egyptians  began 
to  have  a  correspondence  with  the  Greeks ;  and  from  that 
era,  the  Egyptian  history,  which  till  then  had  been  inter- 
mixed with  pompous  fables,  by  the  artifice  of  the  priests, 
begins,  according  to  Herodotus,  to  speak  with  greater  truth 
and  certainty. 

As  soon  as  Psammetichus  was  settled  on  the  throne,  he 
engaged  in  a  war  against  tlie  king  of  Assyria,  on  account  of 
the  liniits  of  the  two  empires.  This  war  was  of  long  con- 
tinuance. Ever  since  Syria  had  been  conquered  by  the 
Assyrians,  Palestine,  being  the  only  country  that  separated 
the  two  kingdoms,  was  the  subject  of  continu:d  discord  :  as 
afterwards  it  was  between  the  Ptolemies  and  the  Seleucidse. 
They  Avere  perj)etually  contending  for  it,  and  it  Avas  alter- 
nately Avon  by  the  stronger.  Psammetichus,  seeing  himself 
the  peaceable  possessor  of  all  Egypt,  and  having  restored 
the  ancient  form  of  government,*  thought  it  high  time  for 
him  to  look  to  his  frontiers,  and  to  secure  them  against  the 
Assyrian,  his  neighbor,  Avhose  poAver  increased  daily.  For 
this  ])urpose  he  entered  Palestine  at  the  head  of  an  army. 

Perhaps  we  are  to  refer  to  the  beginning  of  this  Avar,  an 
incident  related  by  Diodorus  ;  f  that  the  Egyptians,  proA'oked 
to  see  the  Greeks  posted  on  the  right  wing  by  the  king  him- 
self in  preference  to  them,  quitted  the  service,  being  upAvards 
of  two  hundred  thousand  men,  and  retired  into  Ethiopia, 
where  they  met  with  an  advantageous  settlement. 

Be  this  as  it  A\'ill,  Psammetichus  entered  Palestine,  where 
his  career  Avas  stopped  by  Azotus,  one  of  the  principal  cities 
of  the  country,  which  gave  him  so  much  trouble,  that  he  Avas 
forced  to  besiege  it  tAventy-nine  years  before  he  could  take 
it.  t     This  is  the  longest  siege  mentioned  in  ancient  history. 

This  Avas  anciently  one  of  the  five  capital  cities  of  the 
Philistines.  The  Egyptians,  having  seized  it  some  time 
before,  had  fortified  it  Avith  such  care,  that  it  Avas  their 
strongest  buhvai'k  on  that  side.  Nor  could  Sennacherib 
enter  Egypt,  till  he  had  first  made  himself  master  of  this 
city,  Avhich  was  taken  by  Tartan,  one  of  his  generals.  The 
Assyrians  had  ]>ossessed  it  hitlierto  ;  and  it  Avas  not  till 
after  the  long  siege,  just  noAv  mentioned,  that  Egypt  recoA- 
ered  it.  § 

In  this  period,  the  Scythians,  leaving  the  banks  of  the 

•  This  revolution  happened  about  seven  years  after  the  captivity  of  ManaB- 
•eh,  king  of  Judah.  t  Lib.  i.  p.  61.        J  Diod.  c.  157.        §  Isa.  xx.  1. 


KIXGS    VV    EdYPT.  225 

Palus  Maeotis,  made  an  inroad  into  Media,  defeated  Cyaxeies, 
the  king  of  that  country,  and  l.-ild  Avaste  all  U])per  Asia,  of 
which  they  kept  possession  during  twenty-eight  }ears.* 
They  pushed  their  conquests  in  Syria,  even  to  the  frontiers 
of  Egy])t ;  but  Psammetichus  marching  out  to  meet  them, 
prevailed  so  far,  by  liis  ])resents  and  entreaties,  that  they 
advanced  no  farther  ;  and  by  that  means  delivered  his  king- 
dom from  these  dangerous  enemies. 

Till  his  reign  the  Egyptians  had  imagined  themselves  to 
be  the  most  ancient  nation  xipon  earth,  f  Psammetichus 
was  desirous  to  ])rove  this  liimself,  and  he  employed  a  very 
extraordinary  exjieriment  for  this  ]iur})ose.  He  commanded, 
if  we  may  credit  the  relation,  two  children,  newly  born  of 
poor  parents,  to  be  brought  up  in  the  country,  in  a  hovel, 
that  was  to  be  kept  continually  shut.  They  were  committed 
to  the  cai"e  of  a  shepherd,  others  say  of  nurses  Avhose  tongues 
were  cut  out,  who  was  to  feed  them  with  the  milk  of  goats, 
and  was  commanded  not  to  suffer  any  person  to  enter  this  hut, 
nor  liimself  to  speak  even  a  single  word  in  the  hearing  of 
these  children.  At  the  expiration  of  two  years,  as  the  sheplierd 
was  one  day  coming  into  the  hut,  to  feed  the  children,  they 
botli  cried  out,  witli  hands  extended  towards  their  foster- 
father,  becTcos,  bee/cos.  The  shej>herd,  surjirised  to  hear  a  lan- 
guage that  Avas  quite  new  to  him,  biit  Avhich  they  repeated  fre- 
quently afterwards,  sent  advice  of  this  to  the  king,  Avho 
ordered  the  children  to  be  brought  before  him,  in  order  that 
he  might  be  witness  to  the  truth  of  what  was  told  him  ;  and 
accordingly  both  of  them  began  in  his  ])resence  to  stammer 
out  the  sounds  aboA'e  mentioned.  Nothing  now  was  Avanting 
but  to  inquire  AA'hat  nation  it  was  that  used  tliis  Avord,  and 
it  was  found  that  the  Phrygians  called  bread  by  this  name. 
From  this  time  they  Avere  alloAved  the  honor  of  antiquity,  or 
rather  of  priority,  Avhich  the  Egyptians  themseh'es,  notAvitli- 
standing  their  jealotisy  of  it,  and  the  many  ages  they  had 
possessed  this  glory,  AA'ere  obliged  to  resign  to  them.  As 
goats  Avere  brought  to  these  children,  in  order  that  they 
might  feed  xipon  their  milk,  and  historians  do  not  say  that 
they  were  deaf,  some  are  of  opinion,  that  they  might  haA'e 
learned  the  word  bek  or  bekkos,  by  mimicking  the  cry  of 
those  creatures. 

Psammetichus  died  in  the  24th  year  of  Josias  king  of 
Judah,  and  Avas  succeeded  by  his  son  Nechao. 

*  Herod.  1.  i.  c.  105.  t  Herod.  1.  ii.  c.  2,  3. 

15 


226  AXCIEXT    HISTOKY. 

Xechao.*  This  prince  is  often  called  in  Scripture,  Phft 
raoh-Xecho.f 

He  attempted  to  join  the  Xile  to  the  Red  Sea,  by  cut- 
ting a  canal  from  one  to  the  other.  They  are  separated  at 
the  distance  of  at  least  a  thousand  stadia. t  -^Vfter  a  liun- 
dred  and  twenty  thousand  workmen  had  lost  their  lives  in 
this  attempt,  Xecho  was  obliged  to  desist,  —  the  oracle, 
which  had  been  consulted  by  him,  having  answered,  that 
this  new  canal  Avould  open  a  passage  to  the  biirl>arians  (for 
so  the  Egyptians  called  all  other  nations),  to  invade  Egy[)t. 

Nechao  was  more  successful  in  anotlier  enterprise. § 
Skilful  Phoenician  mariners,  whom  he  had  taken  into  his 
service,  having  sailed  from  the  Red  Sea  in  order  to  discover 
the  coast  of  Africa,  went  successfully  round  it ;  and  the 
third  year  after  their  setting  out,  returned  to  Egypt  through 
the  Strait  of  Gibraltar.  This  was  a  very  extraordinary 
voyage,  in  an  age  when  the  compass  was  not  known.  It 
was  made  twenty-one  centuries  before  Vasco  de  Gama,  a 
Portuguese,  by  discovering  the  Ca])e  of  Good  Hope  in  the 
year  1497,  found  out  the  very  same  way  to  sail  to  the  In- 
dies, by  which  these  Phoenicians  had  come  from  thence  to 
the  Mediterranean. 

The  Babylonians  and  Medes  having  destroyed  Nineveh, 
and  with  it  tlie  empire  of  the  Assyrians,  were  thereby  be- 
come so  formidable,  that  they  drew  upon  themselves  the 
jealousy  of  all  their  neighbors.!  Nechao,  alarmed  at  the 
danger,  advanced  to  the  Euphrates,  at  the  head  of  a  power- 
ful army,  in  order  to  check  their  progress.  Josiah,  king  of 
Judah,  so  famous  for  his  uncommon  piety,  observing  that 
he  took  his  route  through  Judea,  resolved  to  oppose  his 
passage.  With  this  view  ho  raised  all  the  forces  of  his 
kingdom,  and  posted  himself  in  the  valley  of  Megiddo  (a 
city  on  this  side  of  Jordan,  belonging  to  the  tribe  ^)f  Manas- 
seh,  and  called  Magdolus  by  Herodotus).  Nechao  informed 
him  by  a  herald,  that  his  enterprise  was  not  designed 
against  him ;  that  he  had  other  enemies  in  view,  and  that 
he  had  undertaken  this  war  in  the  nanie  of  God,  who  was 
with  him  ;  that  for  this  reason  he  advised  Josiah  not  to  con- 
cern himself  with  this  war  for  fear  it  otherwise  should  turn 

♦  He  is  called  Kecbo  in  the  English  version  of  tlie  Scriptures. 

t  A.  >r.  3388.    Ant.  J.  C.  616.    Herod.  1.  ii.  c.  158. 

t  Allowing  625  feet,  or  125  geometrical  paces,  to  each  stadium,  the  distance 
will  be  118  English  miles,  and  a  little  above  one-third  of  a  mile.  Herodotus 
says,  that  this  design  was  afterwards  put  in  execution  by  Darius  the  Persian,  1. 
ii.c.  158.  §  llerod.  1.  iv.  c.  42. 

II  Joseph.  Antiq.  1.  x.  c.  6.     II.  Kings,  sxJii.  29,  30.     II.  Chron.  xxxv.  20-25. 


KIXGS    OF    EGYPT.  227 

to  his  disadvantage.  However,  Josiah  was  not  moved  by 
these  reasons ;  he  was  sensible  that  the  bare  march  of  so 
powerful  an  army  through  Judea  would  entirely  ruin  it. 
And  besides,  he  feared  that  the  victor,  after  the  defeat  of 
the  Babylonians,  would  fall  upon  him  and  dispossess  him  of 
part  of  his  dominions.  He  therefore  marched  to  engage 
Nechao ;  and  was  not  only  overthrown  by  him,  but  unfor- 
tunately received  a  Avound  of  which  he  died  at  Jerusalem, 
whither  he  had  ordered  himself  to  be  carried. 

Xechao,  animated  by  this  victory,  continued  his  march, 
and  advanced  towards  the  Eui:>hrates.  He  dc  eated  the 
Babylonians  ;  took  Carchemish,  a  large  city  in  that  country; 
and  securing  to  himself  the  possession  of  it  by  a  strong 
garrison,  returned  to  his  own  kingdom,  after  having  been 
absent  three  months. 

Being  informed  in  his  march  homeward,  that  Jehoaz 
had  caused  himself  to  be  proclaimed  king  at  Jerusalem, 
without  first  asking  his  consent,  he  commanded  him  to  meet 
him  at  Riblah  in  Syria.*  The  unhappy  prince  was  no 
sooner  arrived  there  than  he  was  put  in  chains  by  Xechao's 
order,  and  sent  prisoner  to  Egypt,  where  he  died.  From 
thence,  pursuing  his  march,  he  came  to  Jerusalem,  where  he 
gave  the  sceptre  to  Eliakim  (called  by  him  Jehoiakim),  an- 
other of  Josiah's  sons,  in  the  room  of  his  brother ;  and  im- 
posed an  annual  tribute  on  the  land,  of  a  hundred  talents  of 
silver,  and  one  talent  of  gold.f  This  being  done,  he  returned 
in  triumph  to  Egypt. 

Herodotus,  $  mentioning  this  king's  expedition,  and  the 
victory  gained  by  him  at  Magdolus  §  (as  he  calls  it),  says 
that  he  afterwards  took  the  city  Cadytis,  which  he  repre- 
sents as  situated  in  the  moimtains  of  Palestine,  and  equal 
in  extent  to  Sardis,  the  capital  at  that  time  not  only  of 
Lydia,  but  of  all  Asia  Minor.  This  description  can  suit 
only  Jerusalem,  which  was  situated  in  the  manner  above 
described,  and  was  then  the  only  city  in  those  ])arts  that 
could  be  compared  to  Sardis.  It  appears  besides,  from 
Scripture,  that  Xechao,  after  his  victory,  made  himself  mas- 
ter of  this  capital  of  Judea  ;    for  he  was  thei'e  in  person, 

•  II.  Kings  xxiii.  33.  .35.     IT.  Chron.  xxxvi.  1,  4. 

t  The  Hebrew  silver  talem,  according  to  Dr.  Cumberland,  is  equivnleiit  t<i 
II.  353/.  Us.  \oy2(l.  BO  that  100  talents 

English  money .  inake      -        -        -  35,359/.    7s.    6rf. 

The  gold  talent,  according  fo  the  same  5,075    15      T% 

The  amount  of  the  whole  tribute,     -    L.  40,435      3      1%    About  $179,532; 
t  Lib.  ii.  c.  159.  §  MegiddO. 


2*28  AXCIEXT    IIISTOKV. 

wlieii  he  gave  the  crown  to  Johoiakim.  The  very  name  Ca- 
dytis,  which,  in  Hebrew,  signifies  the  holy,  points  clearly  to 
the  city  of  Jerusalem,  as  is  jn-ovecl  by  tlie  learned  dean  Pri- 
deaux.* 

Xabopolassar,  king  of  Babylon,  obsor^-ing,  that  since  the 
taking  of  Carchemish  by  Nechao,  all  Syria  and  Palestine 
had  shaken  off  their  allegiance  to  him,  and  tliiit  his  ye;;rs 
and  infirmities  would  not  permit  hhn  to  march  against  the 
rebels  in  person,  associated  his  son  Xebuchodonosor,  or 
Kebuchadnezzar  with  hhn  in  the  em])ire,  and  sent  him  at  the 
head  of  rn  army  into  those  countries.!  This  young  prince 
vanquished  the  army  of  Nechao  near  the  river  Eu})hrates, 
recovered  Carchemish,  and  reduced  the  revolted  jirovinces 
to  their  allegiance,  as  Jeremiah  had  foretold,  t  '  Thus  he 
dispossessed  the  Egy])tians  of  all  that  belonged  to  them,  § 
from  the  little  river  ||  of  Egy|)t  to  the  Euphrates,  Avhich 
comprehended  all  Syria  and  Palestine. 

Xcchao  dying,  after  he  had  reigned  sixteen  years,  left 
the  kingdom  to  his  son. 

Psammis.  ^  His  reign  was  but  of  six  years'  duration, 
and  liistory  has  left  us  nothing  memorable  concerning  him, 
excei)t  that  he  made  an  expedition  into  Ethiopia. 

It  Avns  to  this  jrince  that  the  Eleans  sent  a  s];lendid  em- 
bassy, after  having  instituted  the  Olympic  games.  They 
had  established  the  whole  with  such  care,  and  made  such 
excellent  regulations,  that  in  their  opinion,  nothing  seemed 
wanting  to  their  j^erfection,  and  en^y  itself  could  not  find 
any  fault  with  them.  However,  they  did  not  desire  so 
much  to  have  the  opinion  as  to  gain  the  approbation  of  the 
Egyptians,  who  were  looked  ujwn  as  the  Avisest  and  m.ost 
judicious  peo})le  in  the  world.**  Accordingly  the  king  rs- 
sembled  the  sages  of  the  nation,  and  after  all  things  had 

*  From  tlio  time  that  Solcnioii,  by  means  of  Lis  temple,  liatl  made  Jerusalem 
the  common  place  of  worship  to  jiU  Israel,  it  v.  a.s  (listiDguislied  fv<  m  the  re. -'„  of 
the  cities  by  tlie  epithet  holy,  ami  in  the  Oltl  'J'estameiit,  ivas  called  Air  Haliko- 
desh,  (.  t.,  ilic  city  of  holiiie.-s,  or  thehi^ly  lily.  It  bore  iliis  title  upon  the  coins, 
and  the  shekel  was  iiiserii.ed  Jerusalem  Kedusha,  *.  e.,  JerugaUiu  the  holy.  At 
length  Jeni><alem,  for  brevity's  sake,  wns  omitted,  and  only  Kedusha  reserved. 
The  Syiiiic  being  the  prevailing  hinguage  in  Ilerodotus's  time.  Kcdnslia.  by  a 
change  in  th;il  dialect  of  sh  into  th,  was  made  Kediitha  ;  ;md  Hero<loti:s,  gi\ing 
it  a  Greek  termination,  it  was  written  Kabvrt?.  orC;ulyti8.  Piideai!x"s  Coiniection 
of  the  CM  and  Xew  Testament,  A'ol.  I.  Part.  I.  p.  80,  si.    8vo.  edit. 

t  A.  M.  asOT.    Ant.  J.  C.  607.  t  Jer.  xlvi.  2,&c.  §  IT.  Kings  xxiv.  7. 

II  A  livoiEgypti.  This  little  river  of  Egypt,  so  often  mentioned  in  Scrip- 
ture, as  the  boundary  of  Palestine  towards  Kgypt,  was  not  the  Isile.  but  a  small 
river,  which  running  throughout  the  desevt  that  lay  between  tlu)se  nations,  was 
anciently  the  common  boundary  of  both.  So  far  the  land,  v.hiih  had  been  prom- 
ised to  the  posterity  of  Abrahaiii.  and  divided  among  them  by  lot,  extended- 

^  A.  M.  »«!4.    Ant.  J .  C.  6U0.    Herod.  1.  ii.  c.  160.  **  Herod.  1.  i.  c.  ICO 


KIN-GS    OF    EGYPT.  229 

been  heard,  "which  could  be  said  in  favor  of  tliis  institution, 
the  Eleans  Avere  asked,  if  the  citizens  and  o  x'iguers  wvvii 
admitted  indifferently  to  these  games  ;  to  wiiicli  answer 
Avas  made  that  they  were  oi)en  to  every  one.  To  this  the 
Egyptians  replied,  that  the  rules  of  justice  Avould  luive  been 
most  strictly  observed,  h.id  foreigners  oidy  l)een  admitted 
to  these  combats ;  because  it  was  very  difficult  for  the 
judges  in  their  award  of  tlie  victory  and  the  prize,  not  to 
be  })rejudiced  in  favor  of  their  fellow-citizens. 

Apries.  In  Scripture  he  is  called  Pharaoh-Hoplira  ;  and 
succeeding  his  father  Psammis,  i-eigned  twenty-five  years.* 
During  the  first  years  of  his  reign,  lie  Avas  as  hap'py  as  any  of 
his  predecessors.!  He  carried  his  arms  into  Cy]>rus  ;  be- 
,sieged  the  city  of  Sidon  by  sea  and  land;  took  it,  and  made 
himself  master  of  all  Phcenicia  and  Palestine. 

So  rapid  a  success  elated  his  heart  to  a  prodigious  de- 
gree, and  as  Herodotus  informs  us,  swelled  him  Avith  so 
much  pride  and  infatuation,  that  he  boasted  it  Avas  not  in 
the  poAver  of  the  gods  themselves  to  dethrone  him  ;  so  great 
Avas  the  idea  he  had  formed  to  himself  of  the  firn\  establish- 
ment of  his  OAvn  poAver.  It  Avas  Avith  a  \'iew  to  these  arro- 
gant conceits,  that  Ezekiel  put  the  A'ain  and  impious  Avords 
folloAving  into  his  mouth  :  3fi/  river  is  mine  otcn,  and  1 
have  made  it  for  myself.  X  But  the  true  God  ju'OA-ed  to 
him  afterAvards  that  he  had  a  master,  and  th:;t  he  was  a 
mere  man  ;  and  he  had  threatened  him  long  before  by  his 
prophets,  Avith  all  the  calamities  he  Avas  resolved  to  bring 
upon  him,  in  order  to  punish  him  for  his  pride. 

Shortly  after  Ilophra  had  ascended  the  throne,  Zede- 
kiah,  §  king  of  Judah,  sent  an  embassy,  and  concluded  a 
mutual  alliance  with  liim ;  and  the  year  folloAving,  breaking 
the  oath  of  fidelity  Avhich  he  had  taken  to  the  king  of  Baby- 
lon, he  rebelled  openly  against  him. 

XotAvithstanding  God  had  so  often  forbid  his  people  to 
liave  recourse  to  Egypt,  or  to  put  any  confidence  in  the 
people  of  it,  notwithstanding  the  repeated  calamities  in 
Ayhieh  they  had  been  involved  for  their  liaA'ing  relied  on  the 
ICgyptians,  they  still  thought  this  nation  their  most  sure 
refuge  in  danger,  and  accordingly  could  not  forbear  apply- 
ing to  it.  This  they  had  already  done  in  the  reign  of  the 
holy  king  Hezekiah  ;  and  Avhich  gaA'e  occasion  to  God's  mes- 
sage to   his  people,  by  the  mouth  of  his  prophet  Isaiah :  |j 

*  A.  jM.  3410.     Ant.  J.  C.  534.     Jer  xlif.  30. 

t  lieroil.  1.  ii.  c.  IC.    Diod.  1.  i.  p.  G2.  t  Ezek.  xxix.  3. 

§  Kzek.  xvi.  15.  II  Chap.  xxxi.  1,  3. 


230  AXCIEXT   HISTORY. 

"  Wo  to  them  that  go  down  to  Egypt  for  help,  and  stay  on 
horses,  and  trust  in  chariots,  because  they  are  many;  but 
they  look  not  unto  the  Holy  One  of  Israel,  neither  seek  the 
Lord.  The  Egyptians  are  men,  and  not  God  ;  and  their 
horses  flesh,  not  s})irit :  Ayhen  the  Lord  sh:;ll  stretch  out  his 
hand,  both  he  that  lielpeth  shall  fall,  and  he  thrt  is  holpen 
shall  fall  down,  and  they  shall  fall  together."  But  neither 
the  prophet  nor  the  king  were  heard  ;  and  nothing  but  the 
most  fatal  experience  could  open  their  eyes,  and  make  them 
see  eyidently  the  truth  of  God's  threatenings. 

The  Jews  behayed  in  the  yery  same  manner  on  this  oc- 
casion. Zedekiah,  notwithstanding  all  the  remonstrances  of 
Jeremiah  to  the  contrary,  resolyed  to  conclude  an  alliance 
with  the  Egyptian  monarch,  who,  puffed  up  vrith  the  suc- 
cess of  his  arms,  and  confident  that  nothing  could  resist  his 
power,  declared  himself  the  protector  of  Israel,  and  prom- 
ised to  deliyer  it  from  the  t^-ranny  of  Nebuchodonosor. 
But  God,  offended  that  a  mortal  had  thus  dared  to  intrude 
himself  into  his  place,  expressed  his  mind  to  another  ])roph- 
et,  as  follows  :  "  Son  of  man,  set  thy  face  against  Pharaoh 
king  of  Egypt,  and  prophesy  against  him,  and  against  all 
Egypt.  Speak  and  say.  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God,  Behold, 
I  am  against  thee,  Pharaoh  king  of  Egypt,  the  great  dragon 
that  lieth  in  the  midst  of  his  risers,  which  hath  said.  My 
riyer  is  mine  own,  and  I  haye  made  it  for  myself.  But  I 
will  piit  hooks  in  thy  jaws,"  etc.  *  God,  after  comparing 
him  to  a  reed,  which  breaks  under  the  man  who  leans  upon 
it,  and  wounds  his  hand,  adds,  f  "  Behold,  I  will  bring  a 
sword  uj^on  thee,  and  cut  off  man  and  beast  out  of  thee : 
and  the  land  of  Egypt  shall  be  desolate,  and  they  shall  know 
that  I  am  the  Lord ;  because  he  hath  said.  The  riyer  is 
mine,  and  I  haye  made  it."  The  same  prophet,  in  seyeral 
succeeding  chapters,  continues  to  foretell  the  calamities  with 
which  Egypt  was  going  to  be  overwhelmed,  t 

Zedekiah  was  far  from  giving  credit  to  these  ])redictions. 
When  he  heard  of  the  approach  of  the  Egyptian  army,  and 
saw  Nebuchodonosor  raise  the  siege  of  Jerusalem,  he  fancied 
that  his  deliverance  Avas  completed,  and  anticipated  a  tri- 
umph. His  joy,  however,  was  but  of  short  duration,  for  the 
Egyptians,  seeing  the  Chaldeans  advancing,  did  not  dare  to 
encounter  so  numerous  and  well-disciplined  an  army.  They 
therefore  marched  back  into  their  own  country,  and  left  the 
unfortunate  Zedekiah  exposed  to  all  the  dangers  of  a  Avar  in 

•  Ezek.  xxix.  2,  3,  4.         t  Ezek.  xxix.  3,  9.         t  Cliap.  xxix,  xx-\,  xxxi.  xxxii. 


KINGS    OF    EGYPT.  231 

wliicli  they  themselves  had  involved  him.*  Xebuchodonosev 
again  sat  dovrn  before  Jerusalem,  took  and  burnt  it,  as  Jere- 
miah had  prophesied. 

Many  years  after,  the  chastisements  with  which  God  had 
threatened  Apries  (Pharaoh-Hophra)  began  to  fall  upon 
him  ;  t  for  the  Cyrenians,  a  Greek  colony  which  h;id  settled 
in  Africa,  between  Libya  and  Egypt,  having  seized  upon, 
and  divided  among  themselves,  a  great  part  of  tlie  country 
belonging  to  the  Libyans,  forced  these  nations,  v>dio  wer& 
thus  dispossessed  by  violence,  to  throw  themselves  into  the 
arms  of  this  j)rince,  and  implore  his  protection.  Lnmedi- 
ately  Apries  sent  a  mighty  army  into  Libya,  to  oppose  the 
Cyrcnian  Greeks ;  but  this  army  being  entirely  defeated  and 
almost  cut  to  pieces,  the  Egyptians  imagined  that  Apries 
had  sent  it  into  Libya  only  to  get  it  destroyed,  and  by  that 
means  to  attain  the  power  of  governing  his  subjects  with- 
out check  or  control.  This  reflection  jjrompted  the  Egy]> 
tians  to  throw  off  the  yoke  Avhich  had  been  laid  on  them  by 
their  prince,  whom  they  now  considered  as  their  enemy. 
Apries,  hearing  of  the  rebellion,  despatched  Amasis,  one  of 
his  officers,  to  suppress  it,  and  force  the  rebels  to  return  to 
their  allegiance  ;  but  the  moment  Amasis  began  to  address 
them,  they  fixed  a  lielmet  upon  his  head,  in  token  of  the  ex- 
alted dignity  to  which  they  intended  to  raise  him,  and  pro- 
claimed him  king.  Amasis,  having  accented  the  crown, 
staid  with  the  mutineers,  and  confirmed  them  in  their 
rebellion. 

Apries,  more  exasperated  than  ever  at  this  news,  sent 
Paterbemis,  another  of  his  great  officers,  and  one  of  the  prin- 
cipal lords  of  his  court,  to  put  Amasis  under  an  arrest,  and 
bring  him  before  him ;  but  Paterbemis,  not  being  able  to 
execute  his  commands,  and  bring  away  the  rebel,  as  he  was 
surrounded  by  the  instruments  of  his  treachery,  was  treated 
by  Apries  at  his  return  in  the  most  ignominious  and  inhuman 
manner;  for  his  nose  and  cars  were  cut  off  by  the  command 
of  that  prince,  who  nev  r  considered,  that  only  his  want  of 
power  had  prevented  his  executing  his  commission.  So 
barbarous  an  outrage,  committed  upon  a  person  of  such  high 
distinction,  exasperated  the  Egyptians  so  much,  that  the 
greatest  part  of  them  joined  the  rebels,  and  the  insurrection 
became  general.  Apries  was  now  forced  to  retire  into 
Upper  Egypt,  where  he  supported  liimself  some  years,  dur- 
ing which  Amasis  enjoyed  the  rest  of  his  dominions. 

*■  A.  M.  .3416.    Ant.  J.  C.  588.     Jer.  xxxvii.  C,  V. 

t  A.  M.  3430.    Ant.  J.  C.  C74.    Herod.  1.  ii.  c.  ICl,  &c.    Diod.  1.  i.  p.  C2.      . 


232  AXCIEXT    riTSTOKY. 

The  troubles  Avliicli  thus  distracted  Egypt  afforded  Xebu- 
chodonosor  a  favorable  opportunity  to  invade  tli:it  kingdom ; 
and  it  Avas  God  himself  who  ins|)ired  him  with  tlie  resolu- 
tion. This  ])rince,  who  Avas  the  instrument  of  God's  wrath 
(thaug"]i  he  did  not  know  himself  to  be  so)  against  a  i)eople 
whom  he  li:id  resoh^ed  to  chastise,  had  just  before  taken 
Tyre,  Avhero  himself  and  his  army  had  labored  under  in- 
credible dillieulties.  To  recompense  their  toils,  God  al)an- 
doned  Egypt  to  their  anns.  It  is  Avon  lerful  to  liear  the 
creator  himself-revealing  his  designs  on  this  subject.  Tlicre 
are  fcAV  passages  in  Scripture  more  remai-kable  than  tliis,  or 
Avhich  give  a  clearer  idea  of  the  supreme  :mthorily  Avhich 
God  exercises  over  all  tlie  princes  and  kingdoms  of  the  earth. 
"Son  of  man  (says  the  Almighty  to  Ins  prophet  Ezekiel), 
Nebuchadnezzar,  king  of  Babylon,  caused  his  anny  to  serAe 
a  great  service  against  Tyrus :  *  every  head  was  made  bald, 
and  every  shoulder  Avas  peeled  :  f  yet  he  had  no  A\ages,  nor 
his  army,  for  the  serA'ice  he  had  served  against  it.  t  There- 
fore, thus  saith  the  Lord  God,  behold  I  will  glAc  t!ie  land  of 
Egypt  unto  Xebuchadnezzar,  king  of  Babylon,  and  he  shall 
take  her  multitude,  and  take  her  spoil,  and  take  her  prey, 
and  it  shall  be  the  Avages  of  his  army.  I  have  given  him  the 
land  of  Egypt  for  his  labor,  Avherewith  he  served  against  it, 
because  they  Avrought  for  me,  saith  the  Lord  God."  Says, 
another  prophet,  §  "  he  shall  array  himself  Avith  the  land  of 
Egypt,  as  a  she})herd  putteth  on  his  gannent,  and  he  shall 
go  forth  from  thence  in  ])eace."  Thus  shall  lie  load  him- 
self Avith  booty,  and  thus  cover  his  OAvn  shoulders,  and  those 
of  his  fold,  Avith  all  the  s])oils  of  Egvj)t.  Noble  expressions  ! 
which  shoAv  the  ease  Avith  which  all  the  power  and  riches  of 
a  kingdom  are  carried  aAvay,  Avhen  God  appoints  the  rcA'o- 
lution ;  and  shift,  like  a  g:irineut  to  a  new  owner,  Avho  has 
no  more  to  do  but  to  take  it,  and  clothe  himself  Avith  it. 

The  king  of  Babylon,  taking  adA'antage  therefore  of  the 
intestine  divisions  Avhich  the  rebellion  of  Amasis  had  oc- 
casioned in  that  kingdoiu,  marched  thither  at  the  head  of 

»  Ezok.  xxix.  18,  19.  20. 

t  Th.3  b;ildiies3  of  the  he^ds  of  tlio  BibvlOMians  wis  owing  to  the  pressnre  ov 
t'i3ir helmets  :  aiu!  their  pool >i*l  shoulders  to  tlieircarryino;  Uiiskets  nf  earth,  and 


lar^e  pieces  of  timber,  to  join  Tyre  t/)  the  eoiitijient..     Baldite^s  wsu' itself  a  In 

of  slavery  ;  and,  joined  to  Ih^-  poQhid  sljouhjei's,  shows  that  tlie  comiueror's  army 

sustaiitoil  even  ihe  mo^l  servilo  lahor*  in  tuU  mssmo.a'alo  yleije. 

J  For  tho  better  uudji-slatidinjoE  this  i^assajje.  vroar.>  to  know,  that  Nebu- 
choiionoso;- sua  alned  incred'Wo  h.ar-dships  at  thesiesoof  T're  ;  and  lh:it  when 
tho  TyriatK  saw  t]ien)selve8  oloaelv  .•ittaeked,  the  nobles  fohve'ed  themselves, 
and  their  ricliest  etfei't-*,  on  ship  hoard,  a  id  retire<l  into  otl^-r  islands.  So  that 
when  Nebuchodonosor  t(H'k  the  city. he  found  nothiiijjfo  lefomix-nse  his  loijses, 
and  the  troubles  he  had  undergone  iu  this  siege. — S.  llierou.      §  Jerem.  xliiL  12 


KIXOS    OF    EGYPT.  233 

his  nrmy.  He  subdued  Esrypt  from  Mijzdol  or  Maa'dol,  a 
towu  on  the  frontiers  of  the  kingdom,  as  far  as  Syent',  in 
the  opposite  extremity  wiiere  it  borders  on  Etliiopia.  He 
made  a  horrible  devastation  wherever  he  came  ;  killed  a 
great  number  of  the  inhabitants,  and  made  such  dreadful 
havoc  in  the  country,  that  the  damage  could  not  be  re|)aired 
in  forty  years.  Nebuchodonosor,  having  loaded  liis  army 
with  sjioils,  and  conquered  the  whole  kingdom,  came  to  an 
accommodation  Avith  Amasis  ;  and  leaving  him  as  his  a  ice- 
roy  there,  returned  to  Babylon. 

Apries  (Pharaoh-Ilo])hra),  *  now  leaving  the  place 
where  he  had  concealed  liimself,  advanced  tov^ards  the  se;;- 
coast,  probably  on  the  side  of  Libya  ;  and,  hiring  an  army  of 
Garians,  lonians,  and  other  foreigners,  he  marched  against 
Amasis,  v.'hom  he  fought  near  Memphis ;  but  being  over- 
come, A})ries  Av:,s  taken  prisoner,  carried  to  the  city  of  Sais, 
and  there  strangled  in  his  own  palace. 

The  Almighty  had  given,  by  the  mouth  of  his  pro])hets^ 
an  astonishing  relation  of  the  several  circumstances  of  this 
mighty  event.  It  was  lie  who  had  broken  the  power  of 
Apris,  Avhich  was  once  so  formidable ;  and  put  the  sword 
into  tlie  hand  of  Xebuciiodonosor,  in  order  that  he  might 
chastise  and  humble  that  haughty  prince.  "  I  am  (said  lie) 
against  Phar;ioh  king  of  Egy})t,  and  will  break  liis  arms 
which  were  strong,  but  now  are  broken  ;  and  I  will  cause 
the  sword  to  fall  out  of  his  hand.f — But  I  will  strengthen 
the  arms  of  the  king  of  Babylon,  and  put  my  sword  into 
his  hand,  t — And  they  shall  know  that  I  am  the  Lord."  § 

He  enumerates  the  towns  which  were  to  fall  a  ])rey  to 
the  victors  :  Pathros,  ||  Zoan,  Xo,  called  in  the  Vulgate, 
Alexandria,  Sin,  Aven,  Phibescth,  etc.  1[ 

He  takes  notice  particularly  of  the  unhappy  id  to 
which  the  captive  king  should  come.  "  Thus  saith  the  Lord, 
behold  I  will  give  Pharaoh-Hophra,  the  king  of  Il^gypt,  into 
the  hand  of  his  enemies,  and  into  the  hand  of  them  that 
seek  his  life."  ** 

Lastly,  He  declares,  that  during  forty  years,  the  Egyp- 
tians shall  be  oppressed  with  every  species  of  calamity,  and 
be  reduced  to  so  deplorable  a  state,  "  that  there  shall  be  no 

*  HeioJ.  1.  ii.  e.  168,  169.       Diod.  1.  i.  p.  72.  t  Ezek.  xxx.  22. 

i  Ezek.  xxx.  24.  §  Ezek.  xxx.  25.  ||  Ezek.  xxx.  1-1,  17. 

ir  I  have  given  tlie  names  of  these  towns  as  tliey  stand  in  our  English  ver- 
sion. In  the  margin  are  jjrinted  against  Zoan.  Tanis ;  against  Sin,  Peliisium ; 
against  Aven,  Heliopolis  ;  against  Phibeseth,  Pnbastuni  (Bubaste,)  and  by  these 
last  names  Ibey  are  mentioned  in  tlie  original  French  of  M.  Rolliiu 

*•  Jerem.  xliv.  3<). 


234  AXCIEXT    HISTORY. 

more  a  prince  of  the  land  of  Egypt."  *  The  event  verified 
this  prophecy.  Soon  after  the  expiration  of  these  forty 
years,  Egypt  was  made  a  ])rovince  of  the  Persian  empire, 
and  has  been  governed  ever  since  by  foreigners.  For,  since 
the  ruin  of  the  Persian  monarchy,  it  has  been  subject  suc- 
cessively to  the  Macedonians,  the  Romans,  the  Saracens,  the 
Mamelukes,  and   lastly  to  the  Turks,  wiio  i)ossess  it  at  this 

God  was  not  less  punctual  in  the  accomplishment  of  his 
pi'ophecies,  with  regard  to  such  of  liis  own  peo})le  as  had 
retired,  contrary  to  his  prohibition,  into  Egyi)t,  after  the 
taking  of  Jerusalem,  and  forced  Jeremiah  along  with  them.t 
The  instant  they  had  reached  Egypt,  and  were  arrived  at 
Taphnis,  or  Tanis,  the  prophet,  after  haA'ing  hid,  in  their 
])resence,  by  God's  command,  stones  in  a  grotto,  which  was 
near  the  king's  palace  ;  he  declared  to  them,  that  Nebu- 
chodonosor  should  soon  arrive  in  Egyj^t,  rnd  that  God 
would  establish  his  throne  in  that  very  place ;  tliat  this 
prince  would  lay  waste  the  Avhole  kingdom,  and  carry  fire 
and  sword  into  all  places  ;  that  themselves  should  fall  into 
the  hand  of  these  cruel  enemies,  when  one  part  of  them 
would  be  massacred,  and  the  rest  led  captive  to  Babylon  ; 
that  only  a  very  small  number  should  escape  the  common 
desolation,  and  be  at  last  restored  to  their  country.  All 
these  prophecies  had  their  accomplishment  in  the  appointed 
time. 

Amasis.  t  After  the  death  of  Apries,  Amasis  became 
peaceable  possessor  of  Egypt,  and  reigned  over  it  forty 
years.  He  was,  according  to  Plato,  §  a  native  of  the  city  of 
Sais. 

As  he  Avas  but  of  mean  extraction,  he  met  Avith  no  re- 
spect, and  was  contemned  by  his  subjects  in  the  beginning 
of  his  reign.  ||  He  was  not  insensible  of  this  ;  but  never- 
theless thought  it  his  interest  to  subdue  their  temjjers  by  an 
artful  carriage,  and  to  win  their  affection  by  gentleness  and 
reason.  He  had  a  golden  cistern,  in  which  himself,  and 
those  persons  who  Avere  admitted  to  his  table,  used  to  Avash 
their  feet ;  he  melted  it  doAvn,  and  had  it  cast  into  a  statue, 
and  then  exposed  the  ucav  god  to  ]niblic  Avorship.  The  peo- 
ple hastened  in  croAvds  to  pay  their  adoration  to  the  statue. 
The  king,  having  assembled  the  people,  informed  them  of 
the  vile  uses  to  which  this  statue  had  once  been  put,  Avhich 

•  Ezek.  XXX.  13.         t  Jerem.  xliii.  xliv.  t  A.  M.  .3435.    Ant.  J.  C.  559 

§  In  Tim.  ||  Herod.  1.  ii.  c.  172. 


KINGS    OF    EGYPT.  235 

nevertheless  Avas  now  the  object  of  their  religious  ]^rostra- 
tions:  the  application  was  easy,  and  had  the  desired  suc- 
ces  ;  the  people  thenceforward  paid  the  king  all  the  respect 
that  is  due  to  majesty. 

He  always  used  to  dcA-ote  the  whole  mornhig  to  ])ublic 
affairs,  in  order  to  receive  {petitions,  give  audience,  ])ro- 
nounce  sentence,  and  Iiold  his  councils :  *  the  rest  of  the 
day  was  given  to  pleasure;  and  as  Aniasis,  in  liours  of 
diversion,  Avas  extremely  gay,  and  seemed  to  carry  liis  mirth 
beyond  due  bounds,  his  courtiers  took  the  liberty  to  rein-e- 
sent  to  him  the  unsuitableness  of  such  a  behaA'ior  ;  Avhen  he 
ansAvered,  that  it  was  as  impossible  for  the  mind  to  be 
always  serious  and  intent  upon  business,  as  for  a  bow  to 
continue  always  bent. 

It  was  this  king  Avho  obliged  the  inhabitants  of  eA'ery 
tOAvn  to  enter  their  names  in  a  book  kept  by  the  magistrates 
for  that  purjiose,  Avith  their  profession,  and  manner  of  liv- 
ing.    Solon  inserted  this  custom  among  liis  laws. 

He  built  many  magnificent  temples,  especially  at  Sais, 
the  place  of  his  birth.  Herodotus  admired  es])ecially  a 
chapel  there,  formed  of  one  single  stone,  and  Avliich  Avas 
twenty-one  cubits  f  in  front,  fourteen  in  depth,  and  eight 
in  height ;  its  dimensions  Avithin  Avere  not  quite  so  large  ;  it 
had  been  brought  from  Elephantina,  and  tAvo  thc^usand 
men  were  employed  three  years  in  conveying  it  along  the 
Nile. 

Amasis  had  a  great  esteem  for  the  Greeks.  He  granted 
them  large  privileges  ;  and  permitted  such  of  them  as  were 
desirous  of  settling  in  Egypt  to  live  in  the  city  of  Naucratis, 
so  famous  for  its  harbor.  When  the  rebuilding  of  the 
temple  of  Delphi,  Avhich  had  been  burnt,  was  debated  on, 
and  the  expense  Avas  computed  at  three  hundred  talents,  t 
Amasis  furnished  the  Delphians  with  a  very  considerable 
sum  towards  discharging  their  quota,  which  was  the  fourth 
part  of  the  Avhole  charge. 

He  made  an  alliance  Avith  the  Cyrenians,  and  married  a 
wife  from  among  them. 

He  is  the  only  king  of  Egypt  Avho  conquered  the  island 
of  Cyprus,  and  made  it  tributary. 

Under  his  reign  Pythagoras  came  into  Egypt,  being 
recommended  to  that  monarch  by  the  famous  Polycrates, 
tyrant   of  Samos,  who   had  contracted   a   friendship  Avith 

*  Herod.  1.  ii.  p.  72. 

t  Tho  cubit  in  one  foot  and  almost  ten  iiicbe;;. — Vide  supra,    t  Oi"  §258,075. 


236  ANCIEXT    HISTORY. 

Amasis,  and  will  be  mentioned  hereafter.  Pythagoras, 
during  his  stay  in  Egypt,  was  initiated  in  all  the  mysteries 
of  the  country,  and  instructed  by  the  priests  in  whatever 
was  most  abstruse  and  important  in  their  religion.  It  was 
here  he  imbibed  his  doctrine  of  the  metempsychosis,  or  trans- 
migration of  souls. 

In  the  exjiedition  in  which  Cyrus  conquered  so  great  a 
part  of  the  world,  Egypt  doubtless  was  subdued,  like  the 
rest  of  the  provinces  ;  andXenophon  positively  declares  this 
in  the  beginning  of  his  Cyropadia,  or  institution  of  that 
prince.*  Probably,  after  that  the  forty  years  of  desola- 
tion, which  had  been  foretold  by  the  ])rophet,  were  expired, 
Egypt  beginning  gradually  to  recover  itself,  Amasis  shook 
off  the  yoke,  and  recovered  his  liberty. 

Accordingly  we  find,  that  one  of  the  first  cares  of  Cam- 
byses,  the  son  of  Cyrus,  after  he  had  ascended  tlie  throne, 
was  to  carry  his  arms  into  Egypt.  On  his  arrival  there, 
Amasis  was  just  dead,  and  succeeded  by  his  son  Psam- 
menitus. 

Psammenitus.t  Cambyses,  after  having  gained  a  battle, 
pursued  the  enemy  to  Memphis  ;  besieged  the  city  and  soon 
took  it  :  however,  he  treated  the  king  with  clemency,  grant- 
ed him  his  life,  an  assigned  him  an  honorable  pension  ;  but 
being  informed  that  he  was  secretly  concerting  measures  to 
reascend  his  throne,  he  ])ut  him  to  death.  Psammenitus 
reigned  but  six  months,  all  Egypt  submitted  immediately  to 
the  victor.  The  particulars  of  the  history  will  be  related 
more  at  large  when  I  come  to  that  of  Cambyses. 

Here  ends  the  succession  of  the  Egyptian  kings.  From 
this  era  the  history  of  this  nation,  as  was  before  observed, 
will  be  blended  with  that  of  the  Persians  and  Greeks,  till 
the  death  of  Alexander.  At  that  period,  a  new  monarchy 
will  arise  in  Egypt,  founded  by  Ptolemy  the  son  of  Lagus, 
which  will  continue  to  Cleopatra,  that  is,  for  about  three 
hundred  years.  I  shall  treat  each  of  these  subjects  in  the 
several  periods  to  which  they  belong. 


icaX  \lyv 


'Ew^pfe  5e  KOL  ''KKXriptov  Ttof  ev   ttj  Atria,   KaTa^a?   eSe    irt  ,i^AaTTai',  koX   KvTrpt'toif 

.lyvni'i.ioy — J.  6  £dlt.  lIutcMnsoui.    '  t  A.  M.  3179.    Am.  J.  C  .  &2o. 


BOOK     SECOND. 


TIIK 

ANCIENT    HISTORY 

OF     Tl 


CAETHAaiNIANS 


PLAN. 

The  following  history  of  the  Carthaginians  is  divided  into  two  parts.  In  the  first 
is  given  a  general  idea  of  the  manners  of  *hat  people,  flioir  character,  govern- 
ment, religion,  power,  :Mid  riches.  In  the  second  after  relating,  in  few  words, 
by  what  stejis  Carthage  established  and  enlarged  its  power,  there  is  an  account 
of  the  wars  by  which  it  became  so  fanions. 


PAET   FIRST. 

CHARACTER,    MANNERS,    RELIGION,    AND     GOVERN- 
MENT, OF  THE  CARTHAGINIANS. 


SECTION  I. 

CARTHAGE  FORMED   AFTRR  THE  MODEL   OF  TYRE,   OF   WHICH 
THAT  CITY   WAS   A   COLONY. 

The  Carthaginians  were  indebted  to  the  Tyrians,  not 
only  for  their  origin,  but  their  manners,  language,  customs, 
laws,  religion,  and  the  great  application  to  commerce,  as  will 
appear  from  every  part  of  the  sequel.  They  sjtoke  the  same 
language  with  tbe  Tyrians,  and  these  the  same  with  the  Ca- 
naanites  and  Israelites,  that  is  the  Hebrew  tongue,  or  at 
least  a  language  which  was  entirely  derived  from  it.  Their 
names  had  commonly  some  pai'ticular  meaning  :  tints  H;mno 
signified  r/racious^  honntiful ;  Dido  amiable,  or  vjell  beloved; 
Sophonisba,  one  v)ho  heeps  faith fulhj  her  husband's  secrets* 
From  a  spirit  of  religion,  they  likewise  joined  tlie  name  of 
God  to  their  oM'n,  conformably  to  the  genius  of  the  Hebi'cws. 
Hannibal,  which  answers  to  Ananias,  signifies  Baal  (or  tJi« 

*  Bochart.  Part.  II.  1.  ii.  c.  16. 


238  ANCIENT    HISTORY. 

Lord)  has  been  gracious  to  me.  Asdrubal,  answering  to 
Azarias,  implies  the  Lord  will  he  our  succor.  It  is  the 
same  Avith  other  names,  Adherbal,  Maharbal,  Mastanabal, 
etc.  The  word  Poeni,  from  Avhich  Punic  is  derived,  is  the 
same  with  Phoeni  or  Phoenicians,  because  tliey  came  origi- 
nally from  Phoenica.  In  the  Poenulus  of  Plautus  is  a  scene 
Avritten  in  the  Punic  tongue,  which  has  very  much  exercised 
the  learned.* 

But  the  strict  union  which  always  subsisted  between  the 
Phoenicians  and  Carthaginians  is  still  more  remarkable. 

When  Cambyscs  had  resolved  to  make  war  u])on  the 
latter,  the  Plioenicians,  who  formed  the  chief  strength  of  his 
fleet,  told  him  plainly,  that  they  could  not  serve  him  against 
their  countrymen  ;  and  this  declaration  obliged  that  prince 
to  lay  aside  his  design. f  The  Carthaginians,  on  their  side, 
were  never  forgetful  of  the  country  from  whence  they  came, 
and  to  which  they  owed  their  origin.  They  sent  regularly 
every  year  to  Tyre  a  ship  freighted  with  ])resents,  as  a  quit- 
rent  or  acknowledgment  paid  to  their  ancient  country  ;  and 
its  tuteliir  gods  had  an  annual  sacrifice  offered  to  them  by 
the  Carthaginians,  Avho  considered  them  as  their  protectors. | 
They  never  failed  to  send  thither  the  first  fruits  of  their 
revenues,  nor  the  tithe  of  the  spoils  taken  from  their  ene- 
mies, as  offerings  to  Hercules,  one  of  the  principal  gods  of 
Tyre  and  Cai'thage.  The  Tyrians,  to  secure  from  Alexander, 
who  was  then  besieging  their  city,  what  they  valued  above 
all  things,  I  mean  their  wives  and  children,  sent  them  to 
Carthage,  where,  at  a  time  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  latter 
were  involved  in  a  fiirious  war,  they  were  received  and  en- 
tertained with  such  a  kindness  and  generosity  as  might  be 
expected  from  the  most  tender  and  opulent  parents.  Such 
uninterrupted  testimonies  of  a  warm  and  sincere  gratitude 
do  a  nation  more  honor  than  the  greatest  conquests  and  the 
most  srlorious  victories. 


SECTION  IL 

THE   RELIGION    OF   THE    CARTHAGINIANS. 

It  appears  from  several  passages  of  the  history  of  Car- 
thage, that  its  generals  looked  upon  it  as  an  indispensable 
duty  to  begin  and  end  all  their  enterprises  with  the  worship 

*  The  fii-st  scene  of  the  lifth  act  translated  into  Latin  by  Petit,  in  ihe  second 
book  of  his  Miscellanies  t  Herod.  1.  iii.  c.  17-19. 

%  Polyb.  044.    Q.  Curt.  1.  iv.  c.  2,  3. 


THE    CAKTHAGIXIAXS.  2o9 

of  the  gacTp.  Hamilcar,  father  of  the  great  Hannibal,  before 
he  entered  Spain  in  a  hostile  manner,  offered  up  a  sacrifice 
to  the  gods.  And  his  son,  treading  in  his  steps,  before  he  left 
Spain,  and  marched  against  Rome,  went  to  Cadiz  in  order 
to  pay  the  vows  he  made  to  Hercules,  and  to  offer  up  new 
ones,  in  case  that  god  should  be  propitious  to  him.*  After 
the  battle  of  Cannse,  when  lie  acquainted  the  Carthaginians 
with  the  joyful  news,  he  recommended  to  them,  above  all 
things,  the  offering  u])  a  solemn  thanksgiving  to  the  im- 
mortal gods,  for  the  several  victories  he  had  obtained.  Pro 
his  tantis  tiAiue  victoriis  verum  esse  gratis  diis  immortali- 
bus  agi  haherlque.^ 

Xor  was  this  religious  honoring  of  the  deity  on  all  occa- 
sions the  ambition  of  particular  persons  only,  but  it  was  the 
genius  and  disposition  of  the  whole  nation. 

Polybius  X  has  transmitted  to  us  a  treaty  of  peace  con- 
cluded between  Philip,  son  of  Demetrius  king  of  Macedon, 
and  the  Carthagenians,  in  Avhich  the  great  respect  and 
veneration  of  the  latter  for  the  deity,  and  their  inherent 
persuasion  that  the  gods  assist  and  preside  over  human  affairs 
and  particularly  over  the  solemn  treaties  mr.de  in  their  name 
and  presence,  are  strongly  d!si)layed.  JNlention  is  therein 
made  of  five  or  six  different  orders  of  deities ;  and  this 
enumeration  appears  very  extraordinary  in  a  public  instru- 
ment, such  as  a  treaty  of  peace  concluded  between  two 
nations.  I  will  here  present  my  readers  with  the  very 
words  of  the  historian,  as  it  will  giA'e  some  idea  of  the  Car- 
thaginian theology.  This  treatg  icas  concluded  in  the  jyres- 
ence  of  Jupiter^  Juno  and  Apollo  /  in  the  presence  of  the 
demon  or  genius  (dai/xoyoq)  of  the  Carthaginians,  of  Hercules 
and  lolatis  ;  in  the  p>resence  of  Mars,  Triton,  and  ]Sfeptu7xe; 
in  the  presence  of  all  the  confederate  gods  of  the  Cartha- 
ginians, and  of  the  sun,  the  moon,  and  the  earth;  in  the 
presence  of  the  rivers,  meads,  and  tcaters  ;  in  the  presence 
of  all  those  gods  vjho  2^ossess  Carthage.  What  would  we 
now  say  to  an  instrument  of  this  kind,  in  which  the  tutelar 
angels  and  saints  of  a  kingdom  should  be  introduced ! 

The  Carthaginians  had  two  deities,  to  whom  they  paid  a 
more  particular  worship,  and  who  deserve  to  have  some  men- 
tion made  of  them  in  this  place. 

The  first  was  the  goddess  Coelestis,  called  likewise  Ui-ania, 
or  the  moon,  who  was  invoked  in  great  calamities,  and  par- 

*  Liv.  1.  xxi.  n.  1.    Ibid.  n.  21.  t  Liv.  1.  xxiii.  u.  11. 

%  Lib.  vii.  I).  C39  edit.  Gronov. 


240  AXCIKXT    HISTOKV. 

ticularly  va  droughts,  in  order  to  obtain  rain  :  tiiat  very  A'ir- 
gin  Ca?lestis,  says  Tertullian,  tho  promiscr  of  rain, — If<to 
ij)sa  virgo  Coelestis,  pluaiarani  pollicitatri.r.^'  Tertullian, 
speaking  of  this  goddess,  and  of  u^^Eseulapius,  gives  tlie  lier- 
thens  of  that  age  a  challenge,  which  is  bold  indeed,  but  :'l 
the  same  time  very  glcri(;r.s  to  tie  cr.ure  cf  Cliristianity  : 
and  declares,  that  any  Christian,  Avho  first  conies,  shall  oblige 
these  false  gjds  to  confess  publicly  that  they  arc  l)ut  devils  ; 
and  consents  that  this  Christian  shall  be  immediately  killed, 
if  he  does  not  extort  such  a  confession  from  the  mouth  of 
these  gods.  N'isi  se  dmmones  confessi  fuerint  Christiano 
mentiri  iion  audsntes^  ibidem  illius  C/iristiani procacissimi 
sanfjuineni  fundite.  St.  Austin  likewise  makes  frequent 
mention  of  this  deity.  What  is  now,  says  he,t  become  of 
Conlestis,  rchose  empire  was  once  so  great  in  CartJiage  / 
This  teas  doubtless  the  same  deitij  icJtom  Jeremiah  calls  tJie 
queen  of  heaven ,'  %  and  v.ho  Avas  held  in  so  much  reverence 
by  the  Jewish  women,  that  they  addressed  their  vows,  burnt 
incense,  ])0ured  out  drink-offerings,  and  made  c;ikes  for  her 
with  their  own  liands,  ut  faciant  placenta:,  rcjince  cadi  : 
and  from  whom  they  boasted  their  liaving  received  all  man- 
ner of  blessings,  Avliile  they  ])aid  her  a  regular  worslii]) ; 
whereas,  since  they  had  failed  in  it,  they  had  been  oppressed 
with  misfortunes  of  every  kind. 

The  second  deity  ]")articularly  adored  by  the  Carthagin- 
ians, and  in  whose  honor  human  sacrifices  were  offered,  Avas 
Saturn,  knovv^n  in  Scripture  by  the  name  of  ]\[oloch  ;  and 
this  worship  passed  from  Tyre  to  Carthage.  Philo  quotes  a 
passage  from  Sanchoniathon,  which  shows,  that  the  kings  of 
Tyre,  in  great  dangers,  used  to  saci-ifico  their  sons  to  appease 
the  anger  of  the  gods  ;  and  that  one  of  them,  by  this  action, 
procured  liimself  divine  lionors,  and  was  Avorshipped  as  a 
god,  under  the  name  of  the  planet  Saturn  :  to  this  doubtless 
was  owing  the  fable  of  Saturn  dcA'ouring  his  OAvn  children. 
PriA'ate  persons,  Avhen  they  Avere  desirous  of  aA'crtin.g  any 
great  calamity,  took  the  same  method ;  and,  in  imit:ition  of 
their  princes,  Avcre  so  A'cry  superstitious,  that  such  as  had  no 
children  purchased  those  of  the  poor,  in  order  tliat  tl.ey 
might  not  be  deprived  of  the  merit  of  such  a  sacrifice.  Tliis 
custom  ])revailed  long  among  the  Pha-nicians  and  Canaan- 
ites,  from  AA'hom  the  Israelites  borrowed  it,  though  forbid- 
den expressly  by  HeaAcn.  At  first  children  Avere  inhumanly 
burned,  either  iu  a  fiery  furnace,  like  those  in  tlie  vallf y  of 

*  Apolog.  e.  xxiii  t  In  Psalm,  xcviii.  t  Jer.  vii.  18,  xliv.  IT  25. 


THE    CARTIIxVGIXIAXS.  24i 

Hinnom,  so  often  mentioned  in  Scripture,  or  enclosed  in  a 
flaming  stiituo  of  Saturn.  The  cries  of  these  unhappy  "vic- 
tims  were  drowned  by  the  uninterrupted  noise  of  drums  and 
trumpets.*  Motliers  made  it  a  merit,  and  a  part  of  their 
religion,  to  view  this  barbarous  spectacle  with  dry  eyes,  and 
without  so  much  as  a  groan  ;  and  if  a  tear  or  a  sigh  stole 
from  them,  the  sacrifice  was  less  acceptable  to  the  deity,  and 
all  tlie  effects  of  it  were  entirely  lost,  f  This  strength  of 
mind,  or  rather  savage  barbarity  was  carried  to  such  excess, 
that  even  mothers  would  endeavor,  with  embraces  and  kiss- 
es, to  hush  the  cries  of  their  children;  lest,  had  the  victim 
been  offered  with  an  unbecoming  grace,  and  in  the  midst  of 
tears,  is  should  anger  the  god  ;  t  blandltils  et  osculis  com- 
primebcuii  vaf/itum,  nejlebilis  hostia  immolarctur.  §  Tliey 
afterwards  contented  themselves  with  making  tlieir  cliildren 
pass  through  the  fire,  in  which  they  frequently  perished,  as 
appears  from  several  ])assages  of  Scripture.  |j 

The  Carthaghiian^  retahied  the  barbarous  custom  of  of- 
fering human  sacrifices  to  their  gods,  till  the  ruin  of  their 
city  :  IT  ^n  action  which  ought  to  have  been  called  a  sacri- 
lege rather  than  a  sacrifice, — ^acrilegium  verius  qxiani  sa- 
crum. It  was  suspended  only  for  some  years,  from  the  fear 
they  were  under  of  drawing  upon  themselves  the  indigna- 
tion and  arms  of  Darius  I.  king  of  Persi'i,  who  forbade  them 
the  offering  up  of  human  sacrifices,  and  1.  e  eating  the  fiesli 
of  dogs;  but  they  soon  resumed  this  horrid  practice,  since, 
in  the  reign  of  Xerxes,  the  successor  to  Darius,  Gelon,  the 
tyrant  of  Syracuse,  ha^'ing  gained  a  considerable  victory 
over  the  Carthaginians  in  Sicily,  ordered,  among  other  con- 
ditions of  j)eace,  That  no  9nore  human  sacrifices  should  be 

*  Plut.  cl3  Siiperstit.  p.  171. 

t  llapct  T  ft  I  8;  li  AiiJT/p  KTjyijTo? /cat  aa-TcVjirjTi?,  &e.  The  Cruel  and  pitiless 
mntiiiT  stood  by  as  a!\  iiiu'oncenmd  spectator ;  n,  gruan  ov;i  tear  falliii^  from  lier, 
would  liave  beou  punished  by  a  line  ;  aud  still  the  child  inuBt  have  Ceeii  sacri- 
ficed.—Plut.  di  Suparstitioue. 

X  Tertul.  i:i  At)olog.  §  Minut.  Felix.  |!  Q.  Curt.  1.  iv.  c.  5. 

if  it  appears  from  TurtuUian'.H  Apology,  that  this  barbarous  cii.stoui  prevailed 
in  Africa,  long  after  the  reign  of  Cartha'^e.  Infantes  pene  i  Af  ricam  .Saturuo  im- 
molabantur  paliini  usque  ad  proeonsulatum  Tiberii,  (jui  coodeni  saeerdotes  in 
eisdem  arlioribi'.s  tcnijdisui  obuuibralrieibus  scelerum  votivis  crucibus  exposuit, 
teste  militia  patrim  nostne,  qii.Tj  id  ip.-ium  niunurt  ilii  proeonsuli  fuiicta  est,  i.e., 
Children  were  puhlicly  sacriliced  to  Satur  i,  down  to  thj  procons;ilship  of  Tibe- 
rius, who  haiigyd  the  eavrifici-.ig  priests  themselves  on  the  trees  which  shatl -d 
their  temple,  -is  on  so  n\any  crosses,  raised  to  expiate  their  crimes,  of  which  the 
militia  i*  ourcountry  are  witna.-sea,  who  were  the  actors,  ofthis  execution,  attho 
command  of  this  proconsul. — Tertul.  Ar>olog.  c.  !),  Two  learned  m  mi  are  at  vari- 
ance aboutthe  proconsul,  aud  time  of  his  government.  Salmasiiis  confesses  his 
ignorance  of  both,  but  reyjcts  the  authority  of  Scaliger,  who,  for  proconsiiln'um, 
reads proar)ns>U em  Tiberii.  and  thinks  Tertullian,  when  ho  wrote  his  Apology, 
had  forgot  Ids  name.  However  this  be,  it  is  certain  that  the  memory  of  the  inci- 
dent here  related  bv  Tertullian  was  then  recent  and  probably  the  witncstjes  of  it 
bad  not  b«eu  loug  dead. 

16 


242  ANCIENT    IIISTOKV. 

offered  to  Saturn.*  And,  doubtless,  the  practice  of  the 
Carthaginians,  on  this  very  occasion,  made  Gelon  nse  this 
precaution.  For  during  the  whole  engagement,  wliicli  lasted 
from  morning  till  night,  Hamilcar,  tlie  son  of  Ilanno  their 
general,  was  ])erpetually  offering  up  to  the  gods  sacrifices  of 
livinsj  men,  who  were  thrown  in  sreat  numhers  on  a  flaminjx 
pile ;  and  seeing  liis  troops  routed  and  put  to  fliglit,  he  him- 
self rushed  into  it,  in  order  tliat  he  might  not  survive  his 
own  disgrace ;  f  and  to  extinguisli,  says  St.  Ambrose,  speak- 
ing of  this  action,  Avith  his  own  blood,  this  sacrilegious 
fire,  when  he  found  that  it  had  not  proved  of  service  to 
him.  X 

In  times  of  pestilence  they  used  to  sacrifice  a  great  num- 
ber of  children  to  their  gods,  unmoved  with  pity  for  a  ten- 
der age,  which  excites  compassion  in  the  most  cruel  ene- 
mies ;  thus  seeking  a  remedy  for  their  evils  in  guilt  itself, 
and  endeavoring  to  appease  the  gods  by  the  most  shocking 
barbarity.  § 

Diodorus  ||  relates  an  instance  of  this  cruelty,  which 
strikes  the  reader  with  horror.  At  the  time  that  Agathocles 
was  just  going  to  besiege  Cartilage,  its  inhabitants,  seeing 
the  extremity  to  which  they  Avere  reduced,  imputed  all  tlieir 
misfortunes  to  the  just  anger  of  Saturn,  because  that,  instead 
of  offering  up  children  nobly  born,  who  were  usually  sacri- 
ficed to  him,  he  had  been  fraudulently  put  off  Avith  the 
children  of  slaves  and  foreigners.  To  atone  for  this  crime, 
two  hundred  children  of  the  best  families  in  Carthage  Avere 
sacrificed  to  Saturn  ;  besides  Avhich,  ujJAvards  of  three  hundred 
citizens,  from  a  sense  of  their  guilt  of  this  pretended  crime, 
voluntarily  sacrificed  themselves.  Diodorus  adds,  that  there 
was  a  brazen  statue  of  Saturn,  the  hands  of  Avhich  Avere 
turned  downAvards,  so  that,  Avhen  a  child  Avas  laid  on  them, 
it  dropped  immediately  into  a  holloAV,  Avhere  was  a  fiery 
furnace. 

Can  this,  says  Plutarch,1[  be  called  Avorshipping  the  gods? 
Can  we  be  said  to  entei'tain  an  honorable  idea  of  them,  if 
we  supposed  that  they  are  pleased  Avith  slaughter,  thirsty  of 

*  Plut.  (le  Ser.  A^indic.  Deoruni,  p.  532.  t  Herod.  1.  vii.  c.  Vh. 

t  In  ipsos  quos  adolebat  seseprwcipitavit  igiies,  ut  eos  vel  cruore  suo  extiii- 
gueret,  qiios  sibi  iiihi]  profiiissocoguoverat. — St.  Anib. 

§  Cum  peste  laborarent,  ciueiita  sacrorum  religioae  et  seelere  pro remedio  usi 
Buiit.  Quippo  liomines  ut  victhna.s  imniolabaiit,  et  iiupuberea  (quie  <etas  etiaiu 
liostium  misericordiam  provocaf),  aris  ailmovebaiit.  paoem  deoriim  Bautriiine 
eonini  exposcentes.  pro  quoniin  vita  dii  maxinie  rogari  solent. — .Tustin.  1.  xviii.  e. 
C.  The  Gauls,  as  well  us  Germans,  used  to  sacrifice  men,  if  Dionysiiis  and  Taci- 
tus maybe  credited. 

II  Lib.  11.  p.  75.  t  r>e  Superstitione,  pp.  109-171. 


THE    CARTHAGIXIAXS.  243 

human  blood,  and  capable  of  requiring  or  accepting  such 
offerings?  Religion,  says  this  judicious  authoi*,  is  i)laced 
between  two  rocks,  that  are  equally  dangerous  to  man  and 
injurious  to  the  Deity,  I  mean  im])iety  and  su]>erstition. 
The  one,  from  an  affectation  of  free-tliinking,  believes  no- 
thing ;  and  the  other,  from  a  blind  weakness,  belie^■cs  all 
things.  Impiety,  to  rid  itself  of  a  terror  which  galls  it,  de- 
nies the  very  existence  of  the  gods  ;  Avhile  superstition,  to 
calm  its  fears,  caj:)riciously  forges  gods,  which  it  makes  not 
only  the  friends,  but  protectors  and  models  of  crimes.  * 
Had  it  not  been  better,  says  he  farther,  for  the  Carthagin- 
ians to  have  had  a  Critias,  a  Diagoras,  and  such  like  open 
and  undisguised  atheists  for  their  lawgivers,  than  to  liav« 
established  so  frantic  and  wicked  a  religion  ?  Could  the 
Typhous  and  the  giants  (the  avowed  enemies  of  the  gods), 
had  they  gained  a  victory  over  them,  have  established  more 
abominable  sacrifices  ?  t 

Such  Avere  the  sentiments  which  a  heathen  entertained  oi 
this  part  of  the  Carthaginian  worship.  But  one  would 
hardly  believe  that  mankind  were  capable  of  such  madness 
and  frenzy.  Men  do  not  generally  entertain  ideas  so  de- 
structive of  all  those  things  which  nature  considers  as  most 
sacred,  as  to  sacrifice,  to  murder  their  children  witli  their 
own  hands,  and  to  throw  them  in  cool  blood  into  fiery  fur- 
naces !  Sentiments,  so  unnatural  and  barbarous  and  yet 
adopted  by  whole  nations,  and  even  by  the  most  civilized, 
as  the  Pha3nicians,  Carthaginians,  Gauls,  Scythians,  and  even 
the  Greeks  and  Romans,  and  consecrated  by  custom  during 
a  long  series  of  ages,  can  have  been  inspired  by  him  only, 
who  was  a  murderer  from  the  beginning,  and  who  delights 
in  nothing  but  the  humiliation,  misery,  and  perdition  of 
man. 


SECTION  III. 

FORM    OF    THE    GOVPIRNMENT    OF    CARTHAGE. 

The  government  of  Cartilage  was  founded  upon  prin- 
ciples of  the  most  consummate  wisdom,  and  it  is  with  reason 
that  Aristotle  ranks  this  republic  in  the  number  of  those  that 
were  had  in  the  greatest  esteem  by  the  ancients,  and  which 
were  fit  to  serve  as  models  for  others,  t     He  gi'ounds  liis 

*  ldeu>.  ill  Camill.  p.  132.  t  De  Superstitioiie.  J  De  Kep.  ].  ii.  c.  11. 


244  ANCIENT    HISTORT, 

opinion  on  a  reflection  which  does  great  iionor  to  Curthage, 
by  remarking,  thr.t  from  its  fomidation  to  his  ti;n(\  tliat  is, 
upAvards  of  live  hundred  years,  no  considerable  sedition  had 
disturbed  tlie  peace,  nor  any  tyrant  oppressed  the  liberty,  of 
that  state.  Indeed,  mixed  governments,  such  as  th;it  of 
Carthage,  where  the  power  was  divided  betv.een  the  nobles 
and  the  people,  are  subject  to  two  inconveniences  ;  either  of 
degenerating  into  an  abuse  of  liberty  by  tlie  seditions  of  tlie 
populace,  as  frequently  happened  in  ^Vthens,  and  in  all  the 
Grecian  republics;  or  into  the  oppression  of  the  public  li!;- 
erty  by  the  t}Tanny  of  the  nobles,  as  in  Athens,  Syracuse, 
Corinth,  Thebes,  and  Rome  itself  under  Sylla  and  Cfesar. 
It  is  therefore  giving  Carthage  the  highest  joraise,  to  observe, 
that  it  had  found  out  the  art,  by  the  wisdom  of  its  laws,  and 
the  harmony  of  the  different  parts  of  its  government,  to  shun, 
during  so  long  a  series  of  years,  tvro  I'ocks  that  are  so 
dangerous,  and  on  which  others  so  often  split.  It  vrere  to 
be  wished,  that  some  ancient  author  had  left  us  an  accurate 
and  regular  description  of  the  customs  and  laws  of  this 
famoxis  republic.  For  want  of  such  assistance,  Ave  can  only 
give  our  readers  a  confused  and  imperfect  idea  of  them,  by 
collecting  the  several  passages  Avhich  lie  scattered  up  and 
down  in  authors.  Christopher  Hendrich  has  obliged  the 
learned  Avorld  in  this  particular;  and  his  work  has  been  of 
great  service  to  me.* 

The  government  of  Carthage,  like  that  of  Sparta  and 
Rome,  united  three  different  authorities,  which  countcrj)oised 
and  gaA'e  mutual  assistance  to  one  another,  t  These  au- 
thorities wei'c,  that  of  the  tAvo  supreme  magistrates  called 
sulfetes,t  that  of  the  senate,  and  that  of  tlie  people.  Thero 
afterwards  Avas  added  the  tribunal  of  one  hundred,  Avliich 
had  great  credit  and  influence  in  the  rejjublic. 

THE  SUFFETES. 

The  poAver  of  the  suffetes  was  only  annual,  and  their 
authority  in  Carthage  ansAvered  to  that  of  the  consuls  at 
Rome.  §  In  authors  they  are  frequently  called  kings,  dicta- 
tors, consuls;  because  they  exercised  the  functions  of  all 
three.     History  does  not  inform  us  of  the  manner  of  their 

*  It  is  eutlUed,  Carthago,  sive  Carthaghiensium  Respulilica,  Sec-. — "Francofurti 
ad  Oderani,  aun.  1664.  t  Polyb.  1.  iv.  ;•,  -ja;. 

t  Tbis  name  is  derived  from  a  word,  wliich  with  the  llebrews  and  Phccni- 
ciaiis,  signifies  judges,  lihopltethn. 

§  U t  Romte  ooiisnles,  sic  Cartliagine  quotannis  aiinui  bini  reges  creabaiitur. — 
Com.  Kep.  in  A^itA  Aiuiibalis,  c.  7.  The  great  Hannibal  was  ocice  one  of  the  suf« 
fetes.  ' 


THE    CAETIIAGIXIAXS.  245 

election.  Thoy  were  empowered  to  assemble  the  senate,* 
in  whicli  tliey  presided,  proposed  subjects  for  delibenition, 
and  collected  the  votes  ;  f  and  they  likewise  presided  in  all 
debates  on  matters  of  importance.  Tlieir  authority  was 
not  limited  to  the  city,  nor  confined  to  civil  affairs ;  they 
sometimes  had  the  command  of  the  armies.  We  find,  tliat 
when  their  em]:ljyraent  of  suffetes  expired,  they  Avcrc  made 
pi'Kjtors,  whose  office  was  considerable,  since  it  em})owered 
them  to  preside  in  some  causes;  as  also,  to  propose,  and 
enact  new  laws,  and  call  to  account  the  receivers  of  the  ])ub- 
lic  revenues,  as  appears  from  what  Livy  t  relates  concerning 
Hannibal  on  this  head,  and  which  I  shall  take  notice  of  in 
the  sequel. 

THE    SEX  ATE. 

The  senate,  composed  of  persons  who  were  venerable  on 
account  of  their  age,  their  experience,  their  birth,  their 
riches,  and  especially  their  merit,  formed  the  council  of 
state  ;  and  were,  if  I  may  use  that  expression,  the  soul  of 
the  public  deliberations.  Their  number  is  not  exactly  known, 
it  must,  however,  have  been  very  great,  since  a  hundred 
were  selected  from  it  to  form  a  sejiarate  assembly,  of  which 
I  shall  immediately  have  occasion  to  speak.  In  the  senate, 
all  affairs  of  consequence  were  redebated,  the  letters  from 
generals  read,  the  complaints  from  provinces  heard,  ambas- 
sadors admitted  to  audience,  and  peace  or  war  determined, 
as  is  seen  on  many  occasions. 

When  the  sentiments  and  votes  were  unanimous,  the 
senate  decided  supremely,  and  there  lay  no  aj^peal  from  it.§ 
When  there  was  a  division,  and  the  senate  could  not  be 
brought  to  an  agreement,  the  affair  was  then  brought 
before  the  people,  on  whom  the  power  of  deciding  thereby 
devolved.  The  reader  will  easily  perceive  the  great  wisdom 
of  this  regulation  ;  and  how  hapjjily  it  is  adapted,  to  crush 
factions,  to  produce  harmony,  and  to  enforce  and  corrob- 
orate good  counsel;  such  an  assembly  being  extremely 
jealous  of  its  authority,  and  not  easily  prevailed  upon  to  let 
it  pass  into  other  hands.  Of  this  we  have  a  memorable 
instance  in  Polybius.  ||  When,  after  the  loss  of  the  battle 
fought  in  Aii-ica  at  the  end  of  the  second  Punic  war,  the 
conditions  of  peace  offered  by  the  victor  w^ere  read  in  the 

*  Senatum  itaquo  suiTetes,  quod  velut  consularo  imperium  apud  eos  erat, 
Tocavenint. — Li  v.  1.  xxx.  p.  7. 

t  Oiin  suff  'tea  al  jus  dicendum  oonoedissant,— Idem.  1.  xxxlv.  n.  G2, 

i  Lib.  xxxiii.  u.  4C,  47.  §  Arist.  loc.  cit.  1|  Lib.  xv,  p.  70G,  707, 


246  ANCIENT    HISTORY. 

senate  ;  Hannibal,  observing  that  one  of  the  senators  opposed 
them,  represented  in  the  strongest  terms,  tliat  as  the  safety 
of  the  republic  lay  at  stake,  it  Avas  of  the  utmost  importance 
for  the  senators  to  be  unanimous  in  tlieir  resolutions,  to  pre- 
A'^ent  such  a  debate  from  coming  before  the  jteople,  and  he 
carried  his  point.  This  doubtless  laid  the  foundation,  in  the 
infancy  of  the  republic,  of  the  senate's  power,  and  raised  its 
authority  to  so  great  a  height.  And  the  same  author  ob- 
serves in  another  place,  that  while  the  senate  had  the  ad 
istration  of  affairs,  the  state  was  governed  with  great 
wisdom,  and  was  successful  in  all  its  enterprises.* 

THE    PEOPLE. 

It  appears  from  every  thing  related  hitherto,  that  even 
as  late  as  Aristotle's  time,  who  gives  so  beautiful  a  picture 
and  bestows  so  noble  an  eulogium  on  the  government  of 
Carthage,  the  people  spontaneously  left  the  care  of  public 
affairs,  and  the  chief  administration  of  them,  to  the  senate  ; 
and  this  it  was  which  made  the  republic  so  powerful.  But 
things  changed  afterwards  ;  for  tlie  people,  grown  insolent 
by  their  wealth  and  conquests,  and  forgetting  that  they  owed 
these  blessings  to  the  prudent  conduct  of  the  senate,  were 
desirous  of  having  a  share  in  the  government,  and  arrogated 
to  themselves  almost  the  whole  power.  From  that  period, 
the  public  affairs  were  transacted  Avholly  by  cabals  and 
factions  ;  and  this  Polybius  assigns  as  one  of  the  chief  causes 
of  the  ruin  of  Carthage. 

THE    TRIBUN^Vl    OF    THE    HUNDRED. 

This  was  a  body  composed  of  a  hundred  and  four  per- 
sons ;  though  often,  for  brevity's  sake,  they  are  called  only 
one  hundred.  These,  according  to  Aristotle,  were  the  same 
in  Carthage  as  the  ephori  in  Sparta ;  Avhence  it  appears  that 
they  were  instituted  to  balance  the  power  of  the  nobles  and 
the  senate  ;  but  with  this  difference,  that  tlie  ephori  were  but 
five  in  number,  and  elected  annually ;  whereas  these  were 
perpetual,  and  Avere  upwards  of  a  hundred.  It  is  believed 
that  these  centumvirs  are  the  same  Avith  the  hundred  judges 
mentioned  by  Justin,!  Avho  Avere  taken  out  of  tlie  senate, 
and  appointed  to  inquire  into  the  conduct  of  their  generals. 
The  exorbitant  power  of  Mago's  family,  Avhich,  by  its  en- 

*  Polyb.  1.  \i.  p.  494.    A.  Carth.  487. 

t  Lib",  xix.  c.  2.    A.  M.  306^.    A.  Carth.  48T. 


THE    CARTHAGIXIAXS.  247 

grossing  the  chief  employments  both  of  thts  state  and  the 
army,  had  thereby  the  sole  direction  and  management  of  all 
affairs,  gave  occasion  to  this  establishment.  It  was  intend- 
ed as  a  curb  to  the.  authority  of  their  generals,  which,  while 
the  armies  Avere  in  the  field,  was  almost  boundless  and  abso- 
lute ;  but,  by  this  institution,  it  became  subject  to  the  laws, 
by  the  obligation  their  generals  were  under  of  giving  an  ac- 
count of  their  actions  before  these  judges,  on  their  return 
from  the  campaign.  JJt  hoc  metu  ita  in  hello  imperia  cogi- 
tarent^  nt  doml  judicia  legesque  respicerent.  *  Of  these 
hundred  and  four  judges,  five  had  a  particular  jurisdiction 
superior  to  that  of  the  rest ;  but  it  is  not  known  how  long 
their  authority  lasted.  This  council  of  five  was  like  the 
coixncil  of  ten  in  the  Venetian  senate.  A  vacancy  in  their 
number  could  be  filled  by  none  but  themselves.  They  also 
had  the  power  of  choosing  those  who  composed  the  council 
of  the  hundred.  Their  authority  was  very  great,  and  for 
that  reason  none  were  elected  into  this  oflfice  but  persons  of 
uncommon  merit,  and  it  was  not  judged  proper  to  annex 
any  salary  or  reward  to  it,  the  single  motive  of  the  public 
good  being  thought  a  tie  sufficient  to  engage  honest  men  to 
a  conscientious  and  faithful  discharge  of  their  duty.  Po- 
lybius,t  in  his  account  of  the  taking  of  New  Carthage  by 
Scipio,  distinguishes  clearly  two  orders  of  magistrates  estab- 
lished in  Old  Carthage,  for  he  says,  that  among  the  prisoners 
taken  at  New  Carthage,  were  two  magistrates  belonging  to 
the  body  or  assembly  of  old  men  {l'.  r7,q  FspooTiac),  so  he 
calls  the  council  of  the  hundred  ;  and  fifteen  of  the  senate 
(i^f  r,)  Itjyy.kr'iTDo).  Livy  mentions  only  the  fifteen  of  the 
senators ;  but,  in  another  place,  he  names  the  old  men,  and 
tells  us,  that  they  formed  the  most  venerable  council  of 
the  government,  and  had  great  authority  in  the  senate.  % 
Carthagimensis — Oratores  ad  pacem  petendam  mittunt 
triginta  seniorum  principes.  Id  erat  sanctius  apiid  illos, 
concilium  maximique  ad  ipsum  senatum  regendum  vis.  § 

Establishments,  though  constituted  with  the  greatest  wis- 
dom and  the  justest  harmony  of  parts,  degenerate,  however, 

*  Justin.  1.  xix.  t  I^ib.  x.  p.  824,  edit.  Groiiov. 

t  Liv.  xxvi.  n.  51.     Lib.  xxx.  n.  1(5. 

§  Mr.  Rolliii  miglit  have  taken  iiotioe  of  Bome  civil  officers  who  were  estab- 
lished at  Carthage,  with  a  power  like  that  of  the  censors  of  Home,  to  inspect  the 
manners  of  the  citizens.  The  chief  of  these  officers  took  from  Hauiilcar,  the 
father  of  Hannibal,  a  byautiful  youth,  named  Asdrubal,  on  a  report  that  Ham- 
ilcar  was  more  familiar  with  this  youth  than  was  consistent  with  modesty.  Erat 
praeter'i  cnui  eo  [Amileare]  adolescens  illustris  et  fonnosus  Hasdrubal,  quern 
nonnulli  dillgi  turpius,  quiim  par  erat.  ab  Amileare,  loquebantur.  Quo  factum 
e^t  ut  k  praefecto  morum  Hasdrubal  cum  eo  vetamtur  esse. — Corn.  Nep.  in  Vita. 
Amilearia. 


248  ANCIEXT    HISTOKY. 

insensibly  Into  disorder  and  the  most  destructive  lieentinns- 
ncss.  These  judges,  who,  by  the  lawful  execution  of  their 
power,  were  a  terror  to  transgressors,  and  tlie  gi'cat  pillars 
of  justice,  abusing  their  almost  unlimited  authority,  became 
so  many  petty  tyrants.  We  shall  see  this  verified  in  the 
history  of  the  great  Hannibal,  who,  during  his  prietorsiup, 
after  his  return  to  Africa,  employed  all  Ins  influence  to  re- 
form so  horrid  an  abuse;  and  made  the  authority  of  these 
judges,  Avhich  before  was  |)erpetual,  only  annual,  about  two 
hundred  years  from  the  first  founding  the  tribunal  of  the 
one  hundred.  * 

DEFECTS    IX    THE    GOVER^*MEXT    OF    CARTHAGE. 

Aristotle,  among  other  reflections  made  by  him  on  the 
government  of  Carthage,  remarks  two  defects  in  it,  both 
Avhich,  in  his  opinion,  are  repugnant  to  the  views  of  a  wise 
lawgiver,  and  the  maxims  of  sound  policy. 

The  first  of  these  defects  Avas,  tlie  investing  the  same 
person  with  different  employments,  whicli  was  considered  at 
Carthage  as  a  ])roof  of  uncommon  merit.  But  Aristotle 
thinks  this  practice  highly  prejudicial  to  a  community.  For, 
says  this  author,  a  man  possessed  of  but  one  emiiloyment  is 
much  more  capable  of  acqiatting  himself  well  in  the  execu- 
tion of  it ;  because  affairs  are  then  examined  with  greater 
care,  and  sooner  despatched.  We  never  see,  continues  our 
author,  either  by  sea  or  land,  the  same  officer  commanding 
two  different  bodies,  or  the  same  pilot  steering  two  shijKS. 
Besides,  the  welfare  of  the  state  requires,  that  places  aiid 
preferments  should  be  divided,  in  order  to  excite  an  emu- 
lation among  men  of  merit ;  whereas  the  bestowing  of  them 
on  one  man  too  often  dazzles  him  by  so  distinguishing  a 
])reference,  and  always  fills  others  with  jealousy,  discontent, 
and  murmurs. 

The  second  defect  taken  notice  of  by  Aristotle  in  the 
government  of  Carthage,,  was,  that  in  order  for  a  man  to 
obtain  the  first  posts,  a  certain  estate  was  required,  besides 
merit  and  a  conspicuous  birth  ;  by  which  means  poverty 
might  exclude  persons  of  the  most  exalted  merit,  which  he 
considers  as  a  great  evil  in  a  government.  For  then,  says 
he,  as  virtue  is  wholly  disregarded,  and  money  is  all-power- 
ful, because  all  things  are  attained  by  it,  the  admiration  and 
desire  of  riches  seize  and  corrupt  the  whole  community. 

*  A.  M.  3062-     A.  Garth.  CS2. 


THE    CARTnAGIJTIANS.  249 

Add  to  tills,  that  when  magistrates  and  judges  are  obliged 
to  pay  large  sums  for  theii'  employments,  they  seem  to  have 
a  right  to  reimburse  themselves. 

There  is  not,  I  believe,  one  instance  in  all  antiquity,  to 
show  that  employments,  either  in  the  state  or  the  courts  of 
justice,  were  sold.  The  expense,  therefore,  which  Aristotle 
talks  of  here,  to  raise  men  to  preferments  in  Carthage, 
nnist  doubtless  be  understood  of  the  presents  that  Avere 
gi^en,  in  order  to  ])rocure  the  votes  of  the  electors  :  a  prac- 
tice, as  Polybius  observes,  very  common  at  Carthage,  where 
no  kind  of  ^a.in  was  considered  a  disgi-ace.  *  It  is  therefoi-e 
no  wonder  that  Aristotle  should  condenm  a  practice,  which 
it  is  very  ])lain,  may  in  its  consequences  prove  fatal  to  a 
government. 

But  in  case  he  pretended  that  the  chief  employments  of 
a  state  ought  to  be  equally  accessible  to  the  rich  and  the 
poor,  as  he  seems  to  insinuate,  his  opinion  is  refuted  by  the 
general  practice  of  the  wisest  rejiublics  ;  for  these,  without 
in  any  way  demeaning  or  asjiersing  poverty,  have  thought 
that  on  this  occasion  the  preference  ought  to  be  given  to 
riches ;  because  it  is  to  bo  presumed  that  the  wealthy  have 
received  a  better  education,  have  nobler  views,  are  more  out 
of  the  reach  of  corruption,  and  are  less  liable  to  commit 
base  actions ;  and  that  e^en  the  state  of  their  affairs  makes 
them  more  affectionate  to  the  government,  inclines  them  to 
maintain  peace  and  order  in  it,  and  suppress  whatever  may 
tend  to  sedition  and  rebellion. 

Aristotle,  in  concluding  his  reflections  on  the  republic  of 
Carthage,  is  much  pleased  with  a  custom  practised  in  it, 
viz. :  of  sending  from  time  to  time  colonies  into  different 
countries,  and  in  this  manner  procuring  its  citizens  com- 
modious settlements.  This  provided  for  the  necessities  of 
the  poor,  who,  equally  with  the  rich,  are  members  of  the 
state  ;  and  it  discharged  Carthage  of  multitudes  of  lazy, 
indolent  peoj)le,  who  were  its  disgrace,  and  often  proved 
dangerous  to  it ;  it  prevented  commotions  and  insurrections, 
by  thus  removing  such  })ersons  as  comm.only  occasion  them  ; 
and  Avho,  being  very  uneasy  under  their  present  circum- 
stances, are  always  ready  for  innovations  and  tumults. 

*  Uapa  KapxTlSofCoi-i  ovSev  aicrxp'oy  tu/v  ap'rj/cdi'Tiiui'  jrdpb;  KepSo9. — Polyb.  1.  vi,  p.  lOT. 


250  AXCIBNT   HISTOBX". 


SECTION  ly. 

TRADE    OF    CARTHAGE,  THE    FIRST    SOURCE    OF    ITS    WEALTH 
AXD    POWER. 

Commerce,  strictly  speaking,  was  the  occupation  of 
Carthage,  the  particular  object  of  its  industry,  and  its  pecu- 
liar and  predominant  characteristic.  It  formed  tlie  gi-eatest 
strength,  and  the  chief  support  of  that  commonwealth.  In 
a  word,  we  may  affirm  that  the  power,  the  conquests,  the 
credit,  and  the  glory  of  the  Carthaginians,  all  flowed  from 
their  commerce.  Situated  in  the  centre  of  the  Mediter- 
ranean, and  stretching  out  their  arms  eastward  ;m  1  westward, 
the  extent  of  their  commerce  took  in  all  the  known  Avorld  ; 
and  wafted  it  to  the  coast  of  Spain,  of  Mauritania,  of  Gaul, 
and  beyond  the  strait  and  pillars  of  Hercules.  They  sailed 
to  all  countries,  in  order  to  buy,  at  a  cheaj)  rate,  the  super- 
fluities of  every  nation,  Avhich,  by  the  wants  of  others,  be- 
came necessaries ;  and  these  they  sold  to  them  at  the  dearest 
rate.  From  Egypt  the  Carthaginians  brought  fine  flax, 
paper,  corn,  sails,  and  cables  for  ships ;  from  the  coast  of 
the  Red  Sea,  spices,  frankincense,  perfumes,  gold,  pearl,  and 
pi'ecious  stones ;  from  Tyre  and  Phoenicia,  purple  and  scar- 
let, rich  stuffs,  tapestry,  costly  furniture,  and  divers  curious 
and  exquisite  works  of  art ;  in  a  word,  they  brought  from 
various  countries,  all  things  that  can  supply  the  necessities, 
or  are  capable  of  contributing  to  the  comfort,  luxury,  and 
the  delights  of  life.  They  brought  back  from  the  western 
parts  of  the  world,  in  return  for  the  commodities  carried 
thither,  iron,  tin,  lead,  and  copper ;  by  the  sale  of  which 
articles  they  enriched  themselves  at  the  expense  of  all  na- 
tions ;  and  put  them  iinder  a  kind  of  contribution,  which 
was  so  much  the  surer,  as  it  was  spontaneous. 

In  thus  becoming  the  factors  and  agents  of  all  nations, 
they  had  made  themselves  lords  of  the  sea  ;  the  band  which 
held  the  east,  the  west,  and  south  together,  and  the  necessaiy 
channel  of  their  communication  ;  so  that  Carthage  rose  to 
be  the  common  city,  and  the  centre  of  the  trade  of  all  those 
nations  which  the  sea  separated  from  one  another. 

The  most  considerable  personages  of  the  city  were  not 
ashamed  of  engaghig  in  trade.     They  applied  themselves  to 


THE    CARTHAGINIANS  251 

it  as  industriously  as  the  meanest  citizens  ;  and  their  great 
wealtli  did  not  make  them  less  in  love  with  the  diligence, 
patience,  and  labor,  Avhich  are  necessary  for  the  acquisition 
of  it.  To  tliis  they  owed  their  empire  of  the  sea  ;  the  splen- 
dor of  their  republic  ;  their  being  able  to  dispute  for  superi- 
ority with  Rome  itself  ;  and  their  elevation  of  power,  which 
forced  the  Romans  to  carry  on  a  bloody  and  doubtful  war 
for  upwards  of  forty  years,  in  order  to  humble  and  subdue 
this  haughty  rival.  In  short,  Rome,  even  in  its  triumphant 
state,  thought  Carthage  was  not  to  be  entirely  reduced  any 
other  way  than  by  de])riving  that  city  of  the  benefits  of  its 
commerce,  by  which  it  had  been  so  long  enabled  to  resist 
the  Avhole  strength  of  that  niightj^  republic. 

However,  it  is  no  wonder  that,  as  Carthage  came  in  a 
manner  out  of  the  greatest  school  of  traffic  in  the  world,  I 
mean  Tyre,  she  should  have  been  crowned  with  such  rapid 
and  uninterrupted  success.  The  very  vessels  in  which  its 
founders  had  been  conveyed  into  Africa,  were  afterwards 
employed  by  them  in  their  trade.  They  began  to  make  set- 
tlements upon  the  coasts  of  Spain,  in  those  ports  where  they 
unloaded  their  goods.  The  ease  with  which  they  had 
founded  these  settlements,  and  the  conveniences  they  met 
with,  inspired  them  with  the  design  of  conquering  those 
vast  regions  ;  and  some  time  after,  JVova  Carthago,  or  'New 
Carthage,  gave  the  Carthaginians  an  empire  in  that  coimtry, 
almost  equal  to  that  which  they  enjoyed  in  Africa. 


SECTION  V. 

THE  MINES   OF   SPAIN,  THE    SECOND    SOURCE   OF   THE   RICHES 
AND    POWER    OF    CARTHAGE. 

DioDORUs  *  justly  remarks  that  the  gold  and  silver  mines 
found  by  the  Carthaginians  in  Spain,  were  an  inexhaustible 
fund  of  Avealth,  that  enabled  them  to  sustain  such  long  wars 
against  the  Romans.  The  natives  had  long  been  igno- 
rant of  these  treasures  that  lay  concealed  in  the  bowels 
of  the  earth,  at  least  of  their  use  and  value.  The  Phoe- 
nicians took  advantage  of  this  ignorance,  and  by  bar- 
tering some  wares  of  little  value  for  this  precious  metal, 
wliich  the  natives  suffered  them  to  dig  up,  they  amassed  in- 
finite wealth.      When  the  Carthaginians  had  made  them- 

*  Lib.  iv.  p.  01-,  &< . 


252  ANCIEKT    HISTORY. 

selves  masters  of  the  country,  tliey  dug  nuicli  deeper  into 
the  earth  than  the  old  inhabitants  of  Spain  had  done,  v  iio 
probably  were  content  with  ^^hat  they  could  collect  on  the 
surface  ;  and  the  Romans,  when  they  had  dispossessed  the 
Cai'-thaginians  of  Spain,  profited  by  their  c\':!n)])k',  and  drew 
an  immense  revenue  from  these  mines  of  gold  and  siher. 

The  labor  employed  to  come  at  t  lese  mines,  and  to  dig 
the  gold  and  silver  out  of  them,  was  incredible,  for  the 
veins  of  these  metals  rarely  appeared  on  the  surface ;  they 
were  to  be  sought  for  and  traced  through  frightful  depths, 
where  very  often  floods  of  water  stopped  the  miners,  and 
seemed  to  defeat  all  future  pursuits.*  But  avarice  is  as 
patient  in  undergoing  fatigues,  as  ingenious  in  finding  ex- 
pedients. By  pumps,  which  Archimedes  had  invented  when 
in  Egypt,  the  Romans  afterwards  threw  up  the  water  out  of 
these  pits,  and  quite  drained  them.  Xumbcrless  multitudes 
of  slaves  perished  in  these  mines,  which  were  dug  to  enrich 
their  masters,  who  treated  them  with  the  utmost  barbarity, 
forced  them  by  heavy  stripes  to  labor,  and  gixxo  them  no 
respite  either  day  or  night.  Polybius,t  as  quoted  by  Strabo, 
says,  that  in  his  time,  upwards  of  forty  thousand  men  Avere 
employed  in  the  mines  near  JVova  Cart/u/f/o^  and  furnished 
the  Romans  every  day  with  twenty-fi\e  thousand  drachms, 
or  three  tliousand  eight  hundred  and  fifteen  dollars  and 
sixty-three  cents,  t 

We  must  not  be  surprised  to  see  the  Carthaginians,  soon 
after  the  greatest  defeats,  sending  fresh  and  numerous  armies 
again  into  the  field  ;  fitting  out  mighty  fleets,  and  support- 
ing, at  a  great  expense,  for  many  years,  wars  carried  on  by 
them  in  far  distant  coimtries.  But  it  must  surj)rise  us  to 
hear  of  the  Romans  doing  the  same  ;  they  whose  revenues 
were  very  inconsiderable  before  those  great  conquests,  which 
subjected  to  them  the  most  powerful  nations;  and  who  had 
no  resources,  either  from  trade,  to  which  they  were  absolute 
strangers,  or  from  gold  or  silver  mines,  which  were  very 
rarely  found  in  Italy,  in  case  there  were  any  ;  and  conse- 
quently, the  expenses  of  Avhich  must  have  SAvallowcd  up  all 
the  profit.  The  Romans,  in  the  frugal  and  simple  life  they 
led,  in  their  aeal  for  the  public  welfare  and  love  for  their 
country,  possessed  funds  which  were  not  less  ready  or  secure 
than  those  of  Cartilage,  but  at  the  same  time  were  far  more 
honorable  to  their  nation. 

*  Lib.  iv.  p.  312.  &c.  t  Lib.  iii.  p.  147. 

t  Twenty-five  thonsand  drachms. — An  attic  drachm,  according  to  Dr.  Ber* 
a^d=8l^d.  Engliflh  money,  consequently,  25,000=859/.  7«.  Crf. 


THE    CARTIIAGIXIANB.  253 


SECTION  VI. 

WAR. 

Carthage  must  be  considered  as  a  trading,  and  at  the 
same  time  a  warlike  republic.  Its  genius,  and  the  nature  of 
its  government,  led  it  to  traffic  ;  and  from  the  necessity  the 
Carthaginians  were  under,  first  of  defending  tliemselves 
against  the  neighboring  nations,  and  afterwards  from  a 
desire  of  extending  their  commerce  and  empii-e,  they  be- 
came warlike.  This  double  idea  gives  us,  in  my  ojiinion, 
the  true  plan  and  character  of  the  Carthaginian  republic. 
We  have  already  spoken  of  its  commerce. 

The  military  ]x)\ver  of  the  Carthaginians  consisted  in 
their  alliances  with  kings  ;  in  tributary  nations,  from  wliich 
they  drew  both  men  and  money ;  in  some  troops  raised 
from  among  their  own  citizens  ;  and  in  mercenary  soldiers, 
purchased  of  neighboring  states,  without  their  being  obliged 
to  levy  or  exercise  them,  because  they  were  already  well 
disciplined  and  inured  to  the  fatigues  of  war ;  for  they 
made  choice,  in  every  country,  of  such  soldiers  as  had  tlie 
greatest  merit  and  rej^utation.  They  drew  from  Numidia  a 
nimble,  bold,  impetuous  and  indefatigable  cavalry,  which 
formed  the  princi})al  strength  of  their  armies ;  from  the 
Balearian  isles,  the  most  ex])ert  slingers  in  the  world  ;  from 
Spain,  a  steady  and  invincible  infantry  ;  from  the  coasts  of 
Genoa  and  Gaul,  troops  of  known  valor;  and  from  Greece 
itself,  soldiers  fit  for  all  the  various  operations  of  war,  for 
the  field  or  the  garrison,  for  besieging  or  defending  cities. 

In  this  manner,  the  Carthaginians  sent  out  at  once 
powerful  armies  composed  of  soldiers  which  were  the  flower 
of  all  the  armies  in  tlie  universe,  without  depopulating 
either  their  fields  or  cities  by  new  levies ;  without  suspend- 
ing their  manufactures,  or  disturbing  the  peaceful  artificer; 
Avithout  interrupting  their  commerce,  or  weakening  their 
navy.  By  A'enal  blood  they  possessed  themselves  of  prov- 
inces and  kingdoms ;  and  made  other  nations  the  instru- 
ments of  their  grandeur  and  glory,  with  no  other  ex])ense 
of  their  own  than  their  money,  and  even  this  furnished  from 
the  traffic  thev  carried  on  with  foreign  nations. 

If  the  Carthaginians,  in  the  course  of  the  war,  sustained 


254  ANCIENT   HISTORY. 

some  losses,  these  were  but  as  so  many  foreign  accidents, 
which  only  grazed,  as  it  Avere,  the  body  of  the  state,  V>ut  did 
not  make  a  deep  wound  in  the  bowels  or  heart  of  the  re- 
public. These  losses  Avere  speedily  rejjaired,  by  sums  aris- 
ing out  of  a  flourishing  commerce,  as  from  a  ])er])etual 
sinew  of  war,  by  which  the  government  was  furnislied  with 
new  supplies  for  the  purchase  of  mercenary  forces,  who 
were  ready  at  the  first  summons.  And,  from  the  vast  ex- 
tent of  the  coasts  which  the  Carthaginians  possessed,  it  was 
easy  for  them  to  levy,  in  a  very  little  time,  a  sufficient  num- 
ber of  sailors  and  rowers  for  the  working  of  their  fleets, 
and  to  procure  able  pilots  and  experienced  captains  to  con- 
duct them. 

Btit,  as  these  parta  were  fortuituously  brought  together, 
they  did  not  adhere  by  any  natural,  intimate,  or  necessary 
tie.  No  common  and  reciprocal  interest  united  them  in 
such  a  manner  as  to  form  a  solid  and  unalterable  body- 
Not  one  individual  in  these  mercenary  armies  Avished  sin- 
cerely the  prosperity  of  the  state.  They  did  not  act  Avith 
the  same  zeal,  nor  ex]>ose  themselves  to  dangers  Avith  equal 
resolution,  for  a  republic  which  they  considered  as  foi  eign, 
and  Avhich  consequently  Avas  indifferent  to  them,  as  they 
would  haA'e  done  for  their  native  country,  whose  happiness 
constitutes  that  of  the  scA'eral  members  who  compose  it. 

In  great  reverses  of  fortune,  the  kings  in  alliance  with 
the  Carthaginians  might  easily  be  detached  from  their 
interest,  either  by  that  jealousy  Avhich  the  grandeur  of  a 
more  powerful  neighbor  naturally  gives  ;  or  from  the  hopes 
of  reaping  greater  adA%antages  from  a  new  friend  ;  or  from 
the  fear  of  being  inA^olved  in  the  misfortunes  of  an  old 
ally.  * 

The  tributary  nations,  being  impatient  under  the  weight 
and  disgrace  of  a  yoke  Avhich  had  been  forced  uj^on  their 
necks,  greatly  flattered  themselves  Avith  the  hopes  of  flnding 
one  less  galling  in  changing  their  masters  ;  or,  in  case  ser\'i- 
tude  Avas  unavoidable,  the  choice  Avas  indifferent  to  them, 
as  Avill  appear  from  many  instances  in  the  course  of  this 
history. 

The  mercenary  forces,  accustomed  to  measure  their 
fidelity  by  the  largeness  or  continuance  of  their  pay,  were 
ever  ready,  on  the  least  discontent,  or  the  slightest  expecta- 
tion of  a  more  considerable  stipend,  to  desert  to  the  enemy 
with  Avhom  they  had  just  before  fought,  and  to  turn  their 

*  Ai  Syphax  ami  Masinissa. 


THE    CARTHAGIKIANS.  255 

arms  against  those  who  liad  invited  thein  to  their  assist- 
ance. 

Tims  the  grandeur  of  the  Carthaginians,  being  sustained 
only  by  these  foreign  supports,  was  shaken  to  the  very 
foundation  when  they  Avere  taken  away.  And  if,  to  this, 
there  happened  to  be  added  an  interruption  of  their  com- 
merce, by  which  only  they  subsisted,  arising  from  the  loss 
of  a  naval  engagement,  they  imagined  themselves  to  be  on 
the  brink  of  ruin,  and  abandoned  themselves  to  despondency 
and  despair,  as  was  evidently  seen  at  the  end  of  the  first 
Punic  war. 

Aristotle,  in  the  treatise  where  he  shows  the  advantages 
and  defects  of  the  government,  of  Carthnge,  finds  no  fault 
with  its  keeping  up  none  but  foreign  forces ;  it  is  therefore 
probable  that  the  Carthaginians  did  not  fall  into  this  prac- 
tice till  a  long  time  after.  But  the  rebellions  which  har- 
assed Carthage  in  its  later  years  ought  to  have  taught  its 
citizens,  that  no  miseries  are  comparable  to  those  of  a  gov- 
ernment which  is  supported  only  by  foreigners ;  since  nei- 
ther zeal,  security,  nor  obedience,  can  be  expected  from 
them. 

But  this  was  not  the  case  with  the  rep-ublic  of  Rome. 
As  the  Romans  had  neither  trade  nor  money,  they  Avere  not 
able  to  hire  forces,  in  order  to  push  on  their  conquests  with 
the  same  rapidity  as  the  Carthaginians:  but  then,  as  they 
procured  every  thing  from  within  themselves,  and  as  all 
the  parts  of  the  state  were  intimately  united,  they  had 
surer  resources  in  great  misfortunes  than  the  Carthaginians. 
And  for  this  reason,  they  never  once  thought  of  suing  for 
peace  after  the  battle  of  Cannae,  as  the  Carthaginians  had 
done  in  a  less  imminent  danger. 

The  Carthaginians  had,  besides,  a  body  of  troops,  which 
was  not  very  numerous,  levied  from  among  their  own  citi- 
zens ;  and  this  was  a  kind  of  school,  in  Avhich  the  flower  of 
their  nobility,  and  those  whose  talents  and  ambition 
prompted  them  to  aspire  to  the  first  dignities,  learned  the 
rudiments  of  the  art  of  Avar.  From  among  these  were 
selected  all  the  general  ofllicers,  Avho  Avere  put  at  the  head 
of  the  different  bodies  of  their  forces,  and  had  the  chief 
command  in  the  armies.  This  nation  was  too  jealous  and 
suspicious  to  employ  foreign  generals.  But  they  were  not 
so  distrustful  of  their  own  citizens  as  Rome  and  Athens  ; 
for  the  Carthaginians,  at  the  same  time  that  they  invested 
them  with  great  power,  did  not  guard  against  the  abuse 


256  ANCIENT   HISTORY. 

they  might  make  of  it,  in  order  to  oppress  their  country. 
The  command  of  armies  was  neither  annual,  nor  liniite*!  to 
any  time,  as  in  the  two  re])uhlics  above  nientioned.  M;iny 
generals  held  their  commissions  for  a  gieat  number  of  years, 
either  till  the  war  or  their  lives  ended;  thougli  tiiey  wove 
still  accountable  to  the  commonwealth  for  their  conduct, 
and  liable  to  be  recalled,  whenever  a  real  oversight,  a  mis- 
fortune, or  the  superior  interest  of  a  cabal,  furnished  an  op- 
portunity for  it. 


SECTION  VII. 


ARTS    AND    SCIEXCES. 


It  cannot  be  said  that  the  Carthaginians  renounced  exK 
tirely  the  glory  which  results  from  study  and  knowledge. 
The  sending  of  Masinissa,  son  of  a  powerful  king,*  thither 
for  education,  gives  us  room  to  believe,  that  Carthage  Avas 
provided  with  an  excellent  school.  The  great  Hannibal, 
who  in  all  respects  was  an  ornament  to  that  city,  was  not 
unacquainted  with  polite  literature,  as  Avill  be  seen  here- 
after, t  Mago,  another  very  celebrated  general,  did  as 
much  honor  to  Cartlu^ge  by  his  pen  as  by  his  victories,  t 
He  wrote  twenty-eight  volumes  u]>on  husbandry,  Avhich  the 
Roman  senate  had  in  such  esteem,  that  after  the  taking  of 
Carthage,  when  they  presented  the  African  ])rinces  Avitli  the 
libraries  founded  there,  another  proof  that  learning  was  not 
entirely  banished  from  Cai'thage,  they  gave  oi-ders  to  hawe 
these  books  translated  into  Latin,  §  though  Cato  had  before 
written  books  on  that  subject.  There  is  still  extant  a  Greek 
version  of  a  treatise,  drawn  up  by  Hanno  in  the  Punic 
tongue,  relating  to  a  voyage  he  made,  by  order  of  the 
senate,  with  a  considerable  ileet,  round  Africa,  for  the  set- 
tling of  different  colonies  in  that  part  of  the  Avorld.  || 

This  Hanno  is  believed  to  be  more  ancient  than  that 
person  of  the  same  name  who  lived  in  the  time  of  Agatho- 
cles. 

Clitomachus,  called  in  the  Punic  language  Asdrubal, 
was  a  greater  philosopher. H     He  succeeded  the  famous  Car- 

*  Kings  of  the  Ma-ssyliaiisiu  Africa. 

t  Nepos  ill  vita  Amiibalis.  t  Cie.  do  Orat.  1.  i.  ii.  2-jn.    Plin.  1.  xviii.  c.  3. 

§  Thes^i  books  were  written  by  Mago  in  tlie  Punic  lanjjuage,  and  translated 
intoGreek  bvCa;-siuri  Dionysius  of  Utica,  from  whose  version  we  may  jirobably 
Bupr)Ose  tlie  Latin  was  made.  I)  Voss.  de  Hist.  Gr.  1.  iv, 

H  Plut.  dc  Jj'ort.  Alex.  p.  'S'ZS.    Diog.  Laert.  in  Clitoiu. 


THE    CARTIIAGIXIAXS.  257 

neades,  whose  disciple  he  had  been  ;  and  maintained  in  Ath- 
ens the  honor  of  the  academic  sect.  Cicero  says,  that  lie 
was  a  more  sensible  man,  and  fonder  of  study  than  the 
Carthaginians  generally  are.*  He  composed  se^'cral  books, 
in  one  of  which  was  a  treatise  to  console  the  unhappy  cit- 
izens of  Cai'thage,  who,  by  the  ruin  of  their  city,  were 
reduced  to  slavery. f 

I  might  rank  anu)ng,  or  rather  place  at  the  head  of,  the 
writers  Avho  have  adorned  Aii-ica  with  their  compositions, 
the  celebrated  Terence  himself,  being  singly  capable  of  re- 
flecting infinite  honoi*  on  ins  country  by  the  fame  of  his  ])ro- 
ductions ;  if,  on  this  accfuuit,  Carthage,  the  place  of  his 
birth,  ought  not  to  be  less  considered  as  his  country  than 
Rome,  where  he  was  educated,  and  acquired  that  purity  of 
style,  that  delicacy  and  elegance,  which  have  gained  him 
the  admiration  of  all  succeeding  ages.  It  is  supposed  that 
he  was  carried  off  when  an  infant,  or  at  least  very  young, 
by  the  Numidians  in  their  incursions  into  the  Carthaginian 
territories,  during  the  war  carried  on  between  these  two 
nations,  from  the  conclusion  of  the  second  to  the  beginning 
of  the  third  Punic  war.  t  Pie  was  sold  for  a  slave  to  Teren- 
tius  Lucanus,  a  Roman  senator,  who,  after  giving  him  an 
excellent  education,  freed  him,  and  called  him  by  his  own 
name,  as  was  then  the  custom.  He  was  united  in  a  very 
strict  friendship  with  the  second  Scijjio  Africanus  and  La?- 
lius ;  and  it  was  a  common  rejjort  at  Rome,  that  he  had  the 
assistance  of  these  two  great  men  in  com])osing  his  pieces. 

The  poet  so  far  from  endeavoring  to  stifle  a  report  so 
advantageous  to  him,  made  a  merit  of  it.  Only  six  of  his 
comedies  are  extant.  Some  authors,  according  to  Sueto- 
nius (the  writer  of  his  life),  say,  that  in  his  i-eturn  from 
Greece,  whither  he  had  made  a  voyage,  he  lost  a  hundred 
and  eight  comedies  translated  from  Menander,  and  could  not 
survive  an  accident  which  must  naturally  afliict  him  in  a 
sensible  manner  ;  but  this  incident  is  not  very  well  founded. 
Be  this  as  it  may,  he  died  in  the  year  of  Rome  594,  under 
the  consulship  of  Cneius  Cornelius  Dolabella  and  M.  Fulvius, 
aged  thirty-five  years,  and  consequently  was  born  anno  560. 

It  must  yet  be  confessed,  notwithstanding  all  we  have 
said,  that  there  ever  was  a  great  scarcity  of  learned  men  in 
Carthage,  since  it  hardly  furnished  three  or  four  writers  of 
reputation  in  upwards  of  seven  hundred  years.     Although 

*  Clitomachus  iioiiio  et  aciitus  iit  Poeiius,  et  valde  studiosus  ac  diligeiis.— 
Academ.  Quest.  1.  iv.  ii.  08. 

t  TuBc.  QuiBst.  1.  iii.  n.  54.  t  Suet,  in  Vit.  Terent. 

17 


25"8  ANCIENT    HISTORY. 

the  Carthaginians  held  a  correspondence  with  Greece  and 
the  most  civilized  nations,  yet  this  did  not  excite  them  to 
borrow  their  learning,  as  being  foreign  to  their  vicAvs  of 
trade  and  commerce.  Eloquence,  poetry,  history,  seem  to 
have  been  little  known  among  them.  A  Carthagenian  i)lii- 
losopher  was  considered  as  a  sort  of  prodigy  by  the  learned. 
What,  tlien,  would  an  astronomer  or  a  geometrician  have 
been  thought  ?  I  know  not  in  Avhat  reputation  ])hysic, 
which  is  so  advantageous  to  life,  was  held  at  Carthage  ;  or 
jurisprudence,  so  necessary  to  society. 

As  Avorks  of  Avit  Avere  generally  had  in  so  much  disi-c- 
gard,  the  education  of  youth  must  necessarily  have  been 
A^ery  imperfect  and  unpolished.  In  Carthage,  the  study  and 
knoAvledge  of  youth  Avere  for  the  most  part  confined  to 
writing,  arithmetic,  book-keeping,  and  the  buying  and  sell- 
ing of  goods ;  in  a  Avord,  to  Avhatever  related  to  traffic.  But 
polite  learning,  history,  and  philosophy,  Avere  in  little  re- 
pute among  them.  These  Avere  in  later  years,  even  prohib- 
ited by  the  laws,  Avhich  expressly  forbade  any  Carthaginian 
to  learn  the  Greek  tongue,  lest  it  might  qualify  them  for 
carrying  on  a  dangerous  correspondence  Avith  the  enemy, 
either  by  letter  or  Avord  of  moutli.* 

NoAV,  Avhat  coidd  be  expected  from  such  a  cast  of  mind  ? 
Accordingly,  there  Avas  never  seen  among  them  that  ele- 
gance of  beliavior,  that  ease  and  com])lacency  of  manners, 
and  those  sentiments  of  a  irtue,  Avhich  are  genei-ally  the  fruits 
of  a  liberal  education  in  all  civilized  nations.  The  small 
number  of  great  men  Avliich  tliis  nation  has  produced,  must 
therefore  huve  oAved  their  merit  to  the  felicity  of  their  ge- 
nius, to  the  singularity  of  their  talents,  and  a  long  exjie- 
rience,  Avithout  any  great  assistance  from  instruction. 
Hence  it  was,  that  the  merit  of  the  greatest  men  of  Car- 
thage was  sullied  by  great  failings,  Ioav  A'ices,  and  cruel 
passions  ;  and  it  is  rare  to  meet  Avith  any  conspicuous  A'irtne 
among  them  without  some  blemish ;  Avith  any  A'irtne  of  a 
noble,  generous,  and  amiable  kind,  and  supported  by  clear 
and  lasting  principles,  such  as  is  CA'eryAvhere  found  among 
the  Greeks  and  Romans.     The  reader  Avill  perceive,  that  I 

*  Factum  senatus-consultiimnequis  posteaCarthaginiensisaut  Uteris  Graecis 
aut  sennoiii  stiuleiet,  ne  aiit  loqul  cum  lioste,  aut  soiibeie  sine  iiiteiprete  posset. 
— Justin.  1.  XX.  c.  5.  Justin  ascribes  tlie  reason  of  this  law  to  a  treasonable  cor- 
respondence between  one  Suniiitus,  a  powerful  Cartliacinian,  and  DionvMus  the 
tyrant  of  Sicily  :  the  fovni^r  by  letters  written  in  Greek,  which  aft(!r\vardB  ft  U 
into  tlie  hands  of  I  lie  Carthaginians,  having  informed  the  tyrant  of  the  war  de- 
signed against  him  by  his  country,  out  of  hatred  to  Haiiuo  the  general,  to  whom 
he  was  an  enemy. 


THE    CARTIIAGIXIANS.  259 

here  speak  only  of  the  heatlien  virtues,  and  agreeably  to  the 
idea  which  the  pagans  entertained  of  them. 

I  meet  with  as  few  monuments  of  their  skill  in  arts  of  a 
less  noble  and  necessary  kind,  as  ])amting  and  sculjiture.  I 
find,  indeed,  that  they  had  plundered  the  conquered  nations 
of  a  great  many  works  in  both  these  kinds,  but  it  docs  not 
appear  that  they  themselves  had  produced  many. 

From  what  has  been  said,  one  cannot  help  concluding, 
that  traffic  Avas  the  predominant  inclination,  and  the  pecu- 
liar characteristic,  of  the  Cai'thaginians ;  that  it  formed  in  a 
manner  the  basis  of  the  state,  the  soul  of  the  commonwealth, 
and  the  grand  spring  which  gave  motion  to  all  their  entoj-- 
prises.  The  Carthaginians  in  general  were  skilful  merchants; 
employed  w^holly  in  traffic  ;  excited  strongly  by  the  desire 
of  gain,  and  esteeming  nothing  but  riches;  directing  all 
their  talents,  and  placing  their  chief  glory,  in  amassing 
them,  though,  at  the  same  time,  they  scarce  knew  the  ]>ur- 
pose  for  which  they  were  designed,  or  how  to  use  them  in  a 
noble  or  worthy  manner. 


SECTION   VIII. 

THE  CHARACTER,  MANNERS.  AND  QUALITIES  OF  THE  CARTHA- 
GINIANS. 

Ix  the  enumeration  of  the  various  qualities  which  Cicero  * 
assigns  to  different  nations,  as  their  distinguishing  charac- 
teristics, he  declares  that  of  the  Carthaginians  to  be  craft, 
skill,  address,  industry,  cunning  calliditas  ;  which  doubtless 
appeared  in  war,  but  was  still  more  conspicuous  in  the  rest 
of  their  conduct ;  and  this  was  joined  to  another  quality, 
that  bears  a  very  near  relation  to  it,  and  is  still  less  reputa- 
ble. Craft  and  cunning  lead  naturally  to  lying,  hy])ocrisy, 
and  breach  of  faith ;  and  these,  by  accustoming  the  mind 
insensibly  to  be  less  scru]nilous  with  regard  to  the  choice  of 
the  means  for  compassing  its  designs,  prepare  it  for  the 
basest  frauds  and  the  most  perfidious  actions.  This  Avas 
aLso  one  of  the  characteristics  of  the  Carthaginians  ;  f  and  it 

*  Quart!  volumus  licet  ipsi  nos  amemus,  tamen  nee  iiuniero  Hispaiios.  iiec 
robore  Gallos,  iiec  calliditate  Pceiios,  sed  pletale  ac  religlone,  &c.,  oinue.s  geiites 
nationesque  superavimus — De  Arusp.  Kesp.  ii.  19. 

t  Cartliagiiiiensis  fraudiileiitif'trapiidafes— niultis  et  varus  mercatorum  ad- 
Teuaninique  seiinoiiibus  ad  stadium  I'alleudi  quasiitus  cupiditate  vocabantur,— 
Cic.  Orat.  ii.  iii.  Kull.  u.  W. 


260  .  ANCIENT    inSTORY. 

was  so  notorious,  that  to  signify  any  reniarkahle  dishonesty^ 
it  was  usual  to  call  it,  Punic  honor,  fides  Punica  ;  and  to 
denote  a  knavish  deceitful  mind,  no  expression  Avas  thoufi'ht 
more  proper  and  emjihatical  than  this,  a  Carthaginian 
mind,  Pxinicum  ingeniiim. 

An  excessive  thirst  for,  and  an  immoderate  love  of  profit, 
generally  gave  occasion,  in  Carthago,  to  the  committing  of 
base  and  unjust  actions.  A  single  exam})]e  \\W\  prove  this. 
In  the  time  of  a  truce,  granted  by  Scipio  to  the  earnest  en- 
treaties of  the  Carthagiirians,  some  Tioman  vessels,  being 
driven  by  a  storm  on  the  coast  of  Carthage,  Avere  seized  by 
order  of  the  senate  and  jieople,*  who  could  not  suffer  so 
tempting  a  ])rey  to  escape  them.  They  were  resolved  to 
get  money,  though  the  manner  of  acquiring  it  were  ever  so 
scandalous.  The  inhabitants  of  Carthage,  even  in  St.  Aus- 
tin's time,  as  that  father  informs  us,  showed,  on  a  particular 
occasion,  that  they  still  retained  part  of  this  characteristic. f 

But  these  were  not  the  only  blemishes  and  faults  of  the 
Carthaginians.  %  They  had  something  austere  and  savage  in 
their  disposition  and  genius,  a  haughty  and  imperious  air,  a 
sort  of  ferocity,  which  in  its  first  starts  was  deaf  to  either 
reason  or  remonstrances,  and  plunged  brutally  into  the  ut- 
most excesses  of  violence.  The  people,  cowardly  and  grovel- 
ling under  ap])rehensions,  were  ]u-oud  and  cruel  in  their 
transports  ;  at  the  same  time  that  they  trembled  under  their 
magistrates,  they  Avere  dreaded  in  their  turn  by  their  miser- 
able vassals.  In  this  we  see  the  difference  Avhich  education 
makes  betAveen  one  nation  and  another.  The  Athenians, 
whose  city  Avrs  ahvays  considered  as  the  centre  of  learning, 
were  naturally  jealous  of  their  authority,  and  difficult  to 
gOA'ern  ;  but  still  a  fund  of  good  nature  and  humanity  made 
them  compassionate  the  misfortiines  of  others,  and  be  indul- 
gent to  the  errors  of  their  leaders.  Cleon  one  day  desired 
the  assembly  in  which  he  ])resided,  to  break  up,  because, 
as  he  told  thorn,  he  had  a  sacrifice  to  ofTer,  and  friends  to 
entertain.     The   ])eople  only   laughed   at   the   request,  and 

*  Magistratiis  senatum  vocare,  populus  in  cuvijp  vestibulofremere,  ne  lanta 
ex  oculis  maiiibusque  ainitteretui- piieda.  Consensuin  estut,  &e. — Liv.  1.  xxx. 
II.  2-1. 

t  A  Tnonntebaiik  lia<l  promised  tlie  citizens  of  Carthage  to  (liarover  to  them 
their  mostsecret  thoughts,  in  case  they  would  come,  on  a  day  appointed,  to  hear 
him.  Being  all  met.  he  told  them  t  ey  were  desirous  to  buy  elieap  and  sell  dear. 
Every  man's  conscience  pleaded  guilty  to  the  charge  ;  iind  the  nmuntebanlc  was 
dismissed  with  applause  and  laughter. — A^ili  vultis  emere,  et  care  veiulere  ;  in 
quo  dicto  levissimi  scenici  omnes  tanien  conscieiitias  invenerunt  snas.  eique  vera 
et  tamen  improvisa  discenti  aduiiiabili  favore  plauserunt. — S.  August.  1.  xiii.  do 
Triuit.  c.  3.  t  Plat,  de  Gen.  Rep.  p.  739. 


TIIK    CARTHAGTlsriAXS.  261 

immediately  separated.     Sueli   a  liberty,  says  Phitarcli,  at 
Carthage,  Avoiild  have  cost  a  man  his  life. 

Livy  makes  a  like  reflection  with  regard  to  Terentius 
Varro.*  That  general,  on  his  return  to  Rome  after  the 
battle  of  Cannas,  which  had  been  lost  by  his  ill  conduct,  was 
met  by  persons  of  all  orders  of  the  state,  at  some  distance 
from  Rome,  and  thanked  by  them  for  his  not  having  de- 
spaired of  the  commonwealth  ;  who,  says  the  historian,  had 
he  been  a  general  of  the  Carthaginians,  must  have  expect- 
ed the  most  severe  ]>unishment :  Ciii,  si  Carthaginiensimn 
cluetor  fidsseti  nihil  reoAisandum  sxipplicii  foret.  Indeed,  a 
court  Avas  established  at  Carthage,  Avhere  the  generals  were 
obliged  to  give  an  account  of  their  conduct ;  and  they  were 
all  made  responsible  for  the  events  of  the  war.  Ill  success 
was  punished  there  as  a  crime  against  the  state;  and  when- 
ever a  general  lost  a  battle,  he  was  almost  sure  at  his  return 
of  ending  his  life  upon  a  gibbet.  Such  Avas  the  furious, 
cruel,  and  barbarous  disposition  of  the  Carthaginians,  who 
were  always  ready  to  shed  the  blood  of  their  citizens  as  Avell 
as  of  foreigners.  The  unheard-of  tortures  which  they  made 
Regulus  suffer,  are  a  manifest  ])roof  of  this  assertion  ;  and 
their  history  will  furnish  us  Avith  such  instances  of  it,  as  are 
not  to  be  read  Avithout  horror. 


PART  SECOND. 

THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  CARTHAGINIANS. 

The  inter\'al  of  time  between  the  foundation  of  Carthage 
and  its  niin,  included  scA'en  hundred  years,  and  may  be 
divided  into  two  chapters.  The  first,  which  is  much  the 
longest,  and  is  least  knoAA^i,  as  is  ordinary  with  the  beginnings 
of  all  states,  extends  to  the  first  Punic  Avar,  and  takes  up  five 
hundred  and  eighty-tAvo  years.  The  second,  Avhich  ends  at 
the  destruction  of  Carthage,  contains  but  a  hundred  and 
eighteen  years. 

*  Lib.  xxii.  n.  61. 


262  AXCIEXT    HISTORY. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  FOUNDATION  OF  CARTHAGE.  AND  ITS  PROGRESS  TILL 
THE  TIME  OF  THE  FIRST   PUNIC  WAR. 

'  Carthage,  in  Africa,  was  a  colony  from  Tyre,  the  most 
renowed  city  at  tliat  time  for  commerce  in  the  worhl.  Tyre 
had  long  before  transphinted  another  colony  into  that  country, 
which  built  Iltica,*  made  famous  by  the  death  of  the  second 
Cato,  who  for  this  reason  is  generally  called  Cato  Uticensis. 

Authors  disagree  very  much  with  regard  to  the  era  of 
the  foundation  of  Carthage.f  It  is  a  difficult  matter,  and 
not  very  material,  to  reconcile  them  ;  at  least  agreeably  to 
the  plan  laid  down  by  me,  it  is  sufficient  to  know,  within  a 
few  years,  the  time  in  which  that  city  was  built. 

Carthage  existed  a  little  above  seven  hundred  years,  t  It 
was  destroyed  under  the  consulate  of  Cn.  Lentulus  and  L. 
Mummius,  the  603d  year  of  Rome,  3859th  of  the  world,  and 
145  before  Christ.  The  foundation  of  it  may  therefore  be 
fixed  at  the  year  of  the  world  3158,  when  Joash  was  king 
of  Judah,  98  years  before  the  building  of  Rome,  and  846  be- 
fore our  Saviour. 

The  foundation  of  Carthage  is  ascribed  to  Elisa,  a  Tyrian 
princess,  better  known  by  the  name  of  Dido.  §  Ithobal,  king 
of  Tyre,  and  father  of  the  famous  Jezebel,  called  in  Scrip- 
ture, Ethbaal,  was  her  great-grandfather.  She  married  her 
near  relation  Acerbas,  called  otherwise,  Sicharbas  and  Sichae- 
us,  an  extremely  rich  prince,  and  Pygmalion,  king  of  Tyre, 
was  her  brother.  This  prince  having  ])ut  Sichseus  to  death, 
in  order  that  he  might  have  an  opportunity  of  seizing  his 
immense  treasures,   Dido  eluded  the  cruel  avarice  of  her 

*  Utica  et  Carthago  ambfe  iiielytre,  ambfe  a  Phoeuieibus  conditre  ;  ilia  fato 
Catonis  iusigiiis,  hascsuo — Pompon.  Mel.  c.  07.  Utioa  aiuHarJiagelwth  famous, 
and  both  built  by  Phoeuiciaiis ;  the  lirst  reuovvued  by  Cato's  fate,  tlie  last  by 
its  own. 

t  Our  countiyman  Howel  endeavored  to  reconcile  the  three  different  ac- 
counts of  the  foundation  of  Carthage  in  the  following  manner.  He  says,  that 
the  town  consisted  of  three  parts,  viz.  :  Cothon,  or  the  port  and  buildings  adjoin- 
ing to  it,  which  he  supposes  to  have  been  firs',  Vout  ;  Mepara,  built  next,  nnd  in 
respect  of  Cothon  called  tiie  New  Town,  or  Kartiiafla  ;  and  Byrsa,  or  the  citadel, 
built  last  of  all,  and  probably  by  Dido. 

Cothon,  to  agr^-e  with  .Appian,  was  built  fifty  years  before  (he  takingof  Troy; 
Mftgara.  to  correspond  with  Eiisebius,  was  bi>'C.,  n  hiindtftd  and  ninety -four  vicars 
later ;  Byrsa,  to  agree  with  .Menander,  citeU  by  Jogephus,  was  built  a  hundred 
and  sixty-six  years  after  Megara.  t  Wv.  Epit.  1.  li. 

§  -Justin.  1.  xviii.  c.  4,  5,  (S.  App.  de  BdUo  Pun.  p.  1.  Strab.  1.  xvii.  p.  83it> 
Paterc.  1.  i.  c.  6. 


THE    CARTIIAGIXIAXS.  263 

brother,  by  withdrawing  secretly  with  all  her  dead  husband's 
possessions.  After  having  long  Avandered,  she  at  last  landed 
on  the  coast  of  the  Mediterranean,  in  the  gulf  where  Utica 
stood,  and  in  the  country  of  Africa,  properly  so  called,  dis- 
tant almost  fifteen  miles  from  Tunis,*  so  famous,  at  this 
time,  for  its  corsairs ;  and  there  settled  with  her  few  follow- 
ei's,  after  having  purchased  some  lands  fi'ora  the  inhabitants 
of  the  country. t 

Many  of  the  neighboring  people,  invited  by  the  prospect 
of  lucre,  repaired  thither  to  sell  to  these  foreigners  the 
necessaries  of  life,  and  sliortly  after  incorporated  themselves 
with  them.  These  inhabitants,  Avhohad  been  thus  gathered 
from  different  places,  soon  grew  very  numerous.  The  citi- 
zens of  Utica,  considering  them  as  their  countrymen,  and  as 
descended  from  the  same  common  stock,  deputed  envoys 
with  very  considerable  })resents,  and  exhorted  them  to  build 
a  city  in  the  place  where  they  had  first  settled.  Tlie  natives 
of  tlie  coiuitry,  from  the  esteem  and  respect  frequently  shown 
to  strangers,  made  them  the  like  offers.  Thus  all  things 
conspiring  with  Dido's  views,  she  built  her  city,  which  was 
appointed  to  pay  an  annual  tribute  to  the  Africans  for  the 
ground  it  stood  upon,  and  called  it  Carthada,t  or  Carthage, 
a  name  that  in  the  Pha?nician  and  Hebrew  tongues,  which 
have  a  gi'eat  afiinity,  signifies  the  New  City.  It  is  said  that, 
when  the  foundations  were  dug,  a  horse's  head  was  found, 
which  was  thought  a  good  omen,  and  a  presage  of  the  future 
warlike  genius  of  that  peojile.  § 

This  princess  was  afterAvards  courted  by  larbas,  king  of 
Getulia,  and  threatened  Avith  a  Avar  in  case  of  refusal.  Dido, 
who  had  bound  himself  by  an  oath  not  to  consent  to  a  sec- 

*One  hundred  and  twenty  stadia.— Strab.  1.  xiv.  p.  6S7. 

t  Some  autliors  say,  tliat'Dido  put  a  tiick  on  tlie  natives,  by  desiring  to  pur- 
chase of  tliem,  for  her  intended  seltlenient.  only  so  nincli  land  as  an  ox's  hide 
would  eiiconipass.  The  re(iiiest  was  thought  too  moderate  to  be  denie<l-  She 
then  cut  the  hide  into  the  smallest  thoims  ;  and  with  them  encompassed  a  large 
tract  of  ground,  on  which  she  built  a  citadel,  called  Byrs.i,  from  the  hide.  But 
this  tale  of  the  liide  is  generally  exploited  by  the  learned  ;  who  observe,  that  the 
Hebrew  word  Bosra,  which  signilies  a  fortification,  gave  rise  to  the  Greek  word 
Byrsa,  which  is  the  name  of  the  cit-adel  of  Carthage. 
t  KarthaHadath.  or  Hadtha. 
§  Eolfdere  loco  signum.  quod  regia  .Juno 

MonstrArat,  caput  acris  equi ;  nam  sic  fore  bello 
Egregiam,  et  facilem  victu  per  secula,  gentem. 

— Virg.  ^n.  1.  i.  443. 

The  Tyrians  landing  near  this  holy  ground. 

And  digging  here,  a  prosperous  omen  found  . 

From  Jinder  earth  a  courser's  head  they  drew, 

Their  growth  and  future  fortune  to  foreahew  ; 

This  fated  sign  tlieir  foundress  .Tiino  gave, 

Of  a  soil  fruitful,  and  a  people  brave.  — Dryden. 


264  ANCIENT   HISTORY. 

ond  marriage,  being  incapable  of  violating  the  faith  she  had 
sworn  to  Sichffius,  desired  time  for  deliberation,  and  for 
appeasing  the  manes  of  her  first  husband  by  sacrifice.  Hav- 
ing, therefore,  ordered  a  pile  to  be  raised,  she  ascended  it ; 
and  drawing  out  a  dagger  she  had  concealed  under  her  robe, 
stabbed  herself  with  it.* 

Virgil  has  made  a  great  alteration  in  this  history,  by 
supposing  that  ^neas,  his  hero,  was  contemporary  with 
Dido,  though  there  was  an  interval  of  near  three  centuries 
between  the  one  and  the  other :  the  era  of  the  building  of 
Carthage  being  fixed  three  hundred  years  later  than  the 
destruction  of  Troy.  This  liberty  is  very  excusable  in  a 
poet,  Avho  is  not  tied  to  the  scrupulous  accuracy  of  a  histo- 
rian ;  we  admire,  with  great  reason,  the  judgment  he  has 
shown  in  his  plan,  when,  to  interest  the  Komans  for  whom 
he  wrote,  he  has  the  art  of  introducing  the  implacable 
hatred  which  subsisted  between  Carthage  and  Rome,  and 
ingeniously  deduces  the  original  of  it  from  the  very  remote 
foundation  of  those  two  rival  cities. 

Carthage,  whose  beginnings,  as  we  have  observed,  were 
very  Aveak,  grew  larger  by  insensible  degrees,  in  the  coun- 
try where  it  Avas  founded.  But  its  dominion  Avas  not  long 
confined  to  Africa.  The  inhabitants  of  this  ambitious  city 
extended  their  conquests  into  Eui'ope,  by  invading  Sardinia, 
seizing  a  great  part  of  Sicily,  and  reducing  almost  all  Spain  ; 
and  haA'ing  sent  poAverful  colonies  everywhere,  they  en- 
joyed the  empire  of  the  seas  for  more  than  six  hundred 
years  ;  and  formed  a  state  Avhich  Avas  able  to  dispute  ])re- 
eminence  Avith  the  greatest  empires  of  the  Avorld,  by  their 
wealth,  their  commerce,  their  numerous  armies,  their  for- 
midable fleets,  and  aboAX'  all,  by  the  courage  and  ability 
of  their  captains.  The  dates  and  circumstances  of  many 
of  these   conquests  are  little  knoAvn  ;  I  shall    take   but   a 

*  The  storj',  as  it  is  told  more  at  large  in  Justin.  1.  xviii.  e.  6.  is  this.— larbas, 
king  of  the  Alauritanians,  sending  for  ten  of  the  principal  Carthaghiians,  de- 
manded Dido  in  marriage,  threatening  to  declare  war  against  her  in  case  of  a  re. 
fusal.  The  ambassadors  being  afraid  to  deliver  the  message  of  larbHS,  told  ber, 
with  Punic  honesty,  that  he  wanted  to  have  some  person  sent  him,  wlio  was  capa- 
ble of  civiliMng  and  polishing  himself  and  his  Africans  :  but  that  there  wag  no 
possibility  of  iinding  any  Carthaginian,  who  would  be  willing  to  quit  his  native 
place  and  kindred,  for  the  conversation  of  barbarians,  who  were  a-i  savasre  as  the 
wildest  beasts.  Here  the  queen,  withindicrnation,  interruptincr  them,  and  asking 
if  they  were  not  ashamed  to  rcfi-.sf  li"  inor  iu  anv  TTianner  whidi  mip-ht  be  benefi- 
cial to  their  conntrv.  to  which  thev  owed  even  their  livfs  ?  tbev  tlien  delivered 
the  king's  mpssase,  and  hade  her  set  them  a  natteni.  and  sacri^'ce  h ->rRelf  to  her 
country's  welfare.  JMdn  beine  thus  ensnared,  called  on  Sichnr^iis  vi'h  tears  .'md 
lamentations,  and  answered  that  she  woTild  sro  where  the  fn^p  of  her  city  called 
her.  At  the  exni'  ation  of  three  mo'it),s.  she  ascended  the  fatal  pile  :  and  with 
her  last  br'^ath  told  the  spectators,  that  she  was  going  to  her  husband,  as  they 
bad  ordered  her. 


THE    CARTHAGI>riA>J"S.  '205 

transient  notice  of  them,  in  order  to  enable  my  readers  to 
form  some  idea  of  the  countries,  which  will  be  often  men- 
tioned in  the  course  of  this  history. 

CONQUESTS  OF    THE    CARTHAGIJflANS    IX    AFRICA, 

The  first  wars  made  by  the  Carthaginians,  were  to  free 
themselves  from  the  annual  tribute  which  they  had  engaged 
to  pay  the  Africans,  for  the  territory  which  had  been  ceded 
to  them.*  This  conduct  does  them  no  honor  as  the  settlement 
Avas  granted  them  upon  condition  of  their  paying  a  tribute. 
One  would  be  apt  to  imagine,  that  they  were  desirous  of 
covering  the  obscurity  of  their  original  by  abolishing  this 
proof  of  it.  But  they  were  not  successful  on  this  occasion. 
The  Africans  had  justice  on  their  side,  and  they  prospered 
accordingly,  the  war  being  terminated  by  the  payment  of 
the  tribute. 

The  Carthaginians  afterwards  carried  their  arms  against 
the  Moors  and  Numidians,  and  gained  many  conquests  over 
both.f  Being  now  emboldened  by  these  happy  successes, 
they  shook  off  entirely  the  tribute  which  gave  them  so  much 
uneasiness,  and  possessed  themselves  of  a  great  part  of  Af- 
rica, t 

About  this  time  there  arose  a  great  dispute  between 
Carthage  and  Cyrene,  on  account  of  their  respective  limits.  § 
Cyrene  Avas  a  very  pov/erful  city,  situated  on  the  Mediter- 
ranean, towards  the  greater  Syrtis,  and  had  been  built  by 
Battus  the  Lacediemonian. 

It  was  agreed  on  each  side,  that  two  young  men  should 
set  out  at  the  same  time  from  each  city  ;  and  that  the  place 
of  their  meeting  should  be  the  common  boundary  of  both 
states.  The  Carthaginians  (these  were  two  brothers  named 
Philaeni)  made  the  most  haste  ;  and  their  antagonists,  pre- 
tending that  foul  play  had  been  used,  and  that  the  two 
brothers  above  mentioned  had  set  out  before  the  time  ap- 
pointed, refused  to  stand  to  the  agreement,  unless  the  two 
brothers,  to  remove  all  suspicion  of  unfair  dealing,  would 
consent  to  be  buried  aliA'e  in  the  place  where  they  had  met. 
They  acquiesced  in  the  proposal,  and  the  Carthaginians 
erected,  on  that  spot,  tM'o  altars  to  their  memories,  and 
paid  them  divine  honors  in  their  city,  and  from  that  time, 

*  .Justin.  ].  xlx.  c.  t.  t  Idem.  c.  2. 

+  Afi  i  compulBi  stipendium  urbis  condltie  Carthaginiensibus  reniitterce. — Ju»" 
Uu.  1.  xix.  c.  2. 

§  Sallust.  de  Bello  Jugurth.  ii.  77.     Valer,  Max.  I.  v.  c.  6. 


266  ANCIEXT    HISTORY. 

the  place  was  called  the  Altars  of  the  Philaeni,  Arae  Philae- 
norum,*  and  sei'ved  as  the  boundary  of  the  Carthaginian 
empire,  which  extended  from  thence  to  the  pillars  of  Her- 
cules. 

CONQITESTS    OF    THE    CABTHAGIXIA>'S    IX    SARDINIA,  ETC. 

History  does  not  inform  us  exactly,  either  of  the  time 
when  the  Carthaginians  entered  Sardinia,  or  of  the  manner 
they  got  possession  of  it.  This  island  was  of  great  use  to 
them,  and  during  all  their  wars  supplied  them  abundantly 
v/ith  provisions. t  It  is  separated  from  Corsica  by  a  strait 
of  about  three  leagues  over.  The  metropolis  of  the  south- 
ern and  most  fertile  pa^t  of  it,  was  Caralis,  or  Calaris,  now 
called  Cagliari.  On  the  arrival  of  the  Carthaginians,  the 
natives  withdrew  to  the  mountains  in  the  northern  jiarts  of 
the  island,  which  are  almost  inaccessible,  and  whence  the 
enemy  could  not  dislodge  them. 

The  Carthaginians  seized  likewise  on  the  Baleares,  now 
called  Majorca  and  Minorca.  Port  Magon,  in  the  latter 
island,  was  so  called  from  Mago,  a  Carthaginian  general, 
who  first  made  use  of,  and  fortified  it.  It  is  not  known  who 
this  Mago  was  ;  but  it  is  very  probable  that  he  was  Hanni- 
bal's brother,  t  This  harbor  is,  at  this  day,  one  of  the 
most  considerable  in  the  Mediterranean. 

These  isles  furnished  the  Carthaginians  with  the  most 
expert  slingers  in  the  world,  who  did  them  gi-eat  service  in 
battles  and  sieges.  §  They  slung  large  stones  of  above  a 
pound  weight ;  and  sometimes  threw  leaden  bullets  ||  with 
so  much  violence,  that  they  would  ])ierce  even  the  strongest 
helmets,  shields,  and  cuirasses  ;  and  Avere  so  dexterous  in 
their  aim,  that  they  scarce  ever  missed  the  mark.  The  in- 
habitants of  these  islands  were  accustomed  from  their  in- 
fancy to  handle  the  sling ;  for  Avhich  ])urpose  their  mothers 
placed,  on  the  bough  of  a  high  tree,  the  piece  of  bread  de- 
signed for  their  children's  breakfast,  who  were  not  allowed 
a  morsel,  till  they  had  brought  it  down  with  their  slings. 
From  this  practice  these  islands  were  called  Baleares  and 

*  These  pillars  were  not  standing  in  Strabo's  time.  Some  geographera  think 
Arcadia  to  h.'.  the  city  whith  was  anciently  called  Philfenorum  Aiaj  ;  but  others 
believe  it  was  Nainaor  Tain,  situated  a  little  west  of  Arcadia,  in  the  gulf  of 
Sidra. 

t  Strab.  1.  V.  p.  224.    Diod.  1.  v.  p.  296.  +  Liv.  1.  xxviii.  n.  37. 

§  Diod.  1.  V.  n.  298,  and  1.  xix.  p.  742,      Liv.  loco  citato. 

II  I.iii'ueseit  excusso  gla;is  fund;l.  et  attritu  aoris  velut  igne,  distillat ;  i.  e., 
Tlio  bal'.  when  thrown  from  the  sling,  dissolves  ;  and,  by  the  friction  of  the  air, 
runs  as  if  it  was  melted  by  Hi'e.— Seuec,  Xat.  Qu^est. 


THE    CARTHAGINIAXS.  267 

Gyrnnasiae  by  the  Greeks ;  *  l)eeause  tlie  inhabitants  used 
to  exercise  themselves  so  early  in  slinging  of  stones,  f 

CONQUESTS     OF    THE    CARTHAGIXIAXS    IX    SPAIX. 

Before  I  enter  on  the  relation  of  these  conquests,  I  think 
it  proper  to  give  my  readers  some  idea  of  Spam. 

Spain  is  divided  into  three  parts,  Boetica,  Lusitania,  Tar- 
raconia.  t 

Boetica,  so  called  from  the  river  Boetis,  §  was  the  south- 
ern division  of  it,  and  comprehended  the  present  kingdom  of 
Granada,  Andalusia,  part  of  New  Castile,  and  Estremadura. 
Cadiz,  called  by  the  ancients  Gades  and  Gadira,  is  a  town 
situated  in  a  small  island  of  the  same  name,  on  the  western 
coast  of  Andalusia,  about  nine  leagues  from  Gibraltar.  It  is 
well  known  that  Hercules,  having  extended  his  conquests  to 
this  place,  halted  from  the  supposition  that  he  was  come  to 
the  extremity  of  the  world.  ||  He  here  erected  two  i)illars 
as  monuments  of  his  victories,  pursuant  to  the  custom  of 
that  age.  The  ])lace  has  always  retained  the  name,  though 
time  has  quite  destroyed  these  pillars.  Authors  are  divided 
in  o])inion,  with  regard  to  the  ])lace  where  these  jullars  were 
erected.  Boetica  was  the  most  fruitful,  the  wealthiest,  and 
the  most  populous  part  of  Spain. *|[  It  contained  two  hundred 
cities,  and  Avas  inhabited  by  the  Turdetani,  or  Turduli.  On 
the  banks  of  the  Boetis  stood  three  large  cities ;  Castulo 
towards  the  source  ;  Corduba  lower  doAvn,  the  native  place 
of  Lucan  and  the  two  Senecas ;  lastly,  Hispaiis.  **  Lusi- 
tania is  bounded  on  the  west  by  the  ocean,  on  thq  north  by 
the  river  Durius,  ft  and  on  the  south  by  the  river  Anas.  1:t 

*  Strab.  1.  iii.  p.  lf.7. 

t  Bochart  dei-ives  the  name  of  these  islands  from  two  Phoenician  words, 
Baai-jare,  or  iiiHster  ill  the  art  of  slinging.  This  strengthens  the  authority  of 
Strabo,  viz.  :  that  th-j  inhabitants  learnt  their  art  from  the  I'hwnicians,  who  were 

once  tlloir  masters.  i'|jti'6uf^Ta<.  a.)i.jToi  \tynvTai. — ..^otou  it>LOViK€i  KuTccrxoi'  Tas 
viiTou';.  And  this  is  slill  more  probable,  when  we  consider  that  1  oth  the  llebrews 
and  i*htt^niciaiis  excelled  in  this  art.  The  Balearian  slings  would  annoy  an 
enemy,  either  near  at  hand,  or  at  a  distance.  Every  sliiiger  carried  three  of 
them  in  v.ar.  One  hung  from  the  neck,  a  second  from  the  waist,  and  a  third  was 
carried  in  the  hand.  To  this  give  rne  leave  to  add  t-.vo  more  observations  (for- 
eign indeed  to  the  jirescnt  purpose,  but  relating  to  these  island  ),  which  1  hope 
will  not  be  unent  rtaining  to  the  reader.  The  first  i.'s,  that  those  islands  were 
once  so  infested  with  rabbits,  (hat  the  i  hnbitaius  applied  to  Ifome,  either  for  aid 
against  them,  or  o'he- wise  desired  new  habitations,  fT^o'/iArireai  yap  inrh  twv  fuxoi' 
rovTou.  those  creatures  having  eieoted  them  out  of  their  old  ones. — Vide  Strab. 
Plin.  l.\iii.  c.  r>'>.  The  second  observation  is,  that  these  islanders  were  not  only 
expert  slinger.-*,  but  likewise  excellent  swimmers  ;  .which  they  are  to  this  day,  by 
the  testimony  of  our  countryman  Bidduliih,  who.  In  his  travels,  informs  ns.  that 
being  becalnied  near  these  islands,  a  woman  swam  to  him  out  of  one  of  theii% 
with  a  basket  of  fruit  to  sell. 

t  Olaver.  1.  ii.  c.  2.  §  Gnjidalquivir.  ||  Strab.  1.  iii.  p.  171. 

Hlbid.  p,  139— 142.  *♦  Sevill«.  ft  Duero.  tt  Guadiana. 


268  AXCIENT    IIISTORT. 

Between  these  two  rivers  is  the  Tagus.  Lnsitania  was  what 
is  now  called  Portugal,  with  part  of  Old  and  New  Castile. 

Tarraconia  comprehended  the  rest  of  Spain,  that  is,  the 
kingdoms  of  Murcia  and  Valentia,  Catalonia,  Arragon,  Na- 
varre, Biscay,  the  Asturias,  Gallicia,  the  kingdom  of  Leon, 
and  the  greatest  part  of  the  two  Castiles.  Tarraco,*  a 
very  considerable  city,  gave  its  name  to  that  part  of  Spain. 
Pretty  near  it  lay  Barcino.f  Its  name  gave  rise  to  the  con- 
jecture that  it  was  built  by  Hamilcar,  surnamed  Barcha, 
father  of  the  great  Hannibal.  The  most  renowned  nations 
of  Tarraconia,  were  the  Celtiberi,  beyond  the  river  Iberus  ;  t 
the  Cantabri,  where  Biscay  now  lies  ;  the  Carpetani,  whose 
capital  was  Toledo  ;  the  Ovitani,  etc. 

Spain,  abounding  with  mines  of  gold  and  silver,  and  peo- 
pled with  a  martial  race  of  men,  had  sufficient  to  excite  both 
the  avarice  and  ambition  of  the  Carthaginians,  who  M'ere 
more  of  a  mercantile  than  of  a  warlike  disposition,  from  the 
very  genius  and  constitution  of  their  republic  Tliey  doubt- 
less knew  that  their  Phoenician  ancestors,  as  Diodorus  re- 
lates, §  taking  advantage  of  the  happy  ignorance  of  the 
Spaniards  with  regard  to  the  immense  riches  which  were  hid 
in  the  bowels  of  their  land,  first  took  from  them  these  pre- 
cious treasures  in  exchange  for  commodities  of  little  value. 
They  likewise  foresaw,  that  if  they  could  once  subdue  this 
country,  it  would  furnish  them  abundantly  with  well-discip- 
lined troops  for  the  conquests  of  other  nations,  as  actually 
happened. 

Tlie  occasion  of  the  Carthaginians  first  landing  in  Spain, 
was  to  assist  the  inhabitants  of  Cadiz,  who  were  invaded  by 
the  Spaniards.  ||  That  city,  as  well  as  Utica  and  Carthage,  was 
a  colony  of  Tyre,  and  even  more  ancient  than  either  of  them. 
The  Tyrians  having  built  it,  established  there  the  worship  of 
Hercules ;  and  erected  in  his  honor  a  magnificent  temple, 
Avhich  became  famous  in  after  ages.  The  success  of  this 
first  expedition  of  the  Carthaginians,  made  them  desirous  of 
carrying  their  arms  into  Spain. 

It  is  not  exactly  known  in  what  period  they  entered 
Spain,  nor  how  far  they  extended  their  first  conquests.  It 
is  probable  that  these  were  slow  in  the  beginning,  as  the 
Carthaginians  had  to  do  with  very  w^arlike  nations,  who  de- 
fended themselves  with  great  resolution  and  courage.  Nor 
could  they  ever  have  accomplished  their  design,  as  Strabo 
observes,  1[  had  the  Spaniards,  united  in  a  body,  formed  bjit 

•Tarragona.  t  rsarceloiia.  J  Ebro.  §  lib.  v.  )>.  r.l2. 

U  Justin.  1.  xliv.  c.  5.    Diod.  1.  v.  p.  300.  f  Lib.  iii.  p.  158. 


THE    CARTHaGIXIAXS.  260 

one  state,  and  mutually  assisted  one  another.  But  as  every 
district,  every  people,  were  entirely  detached  from  their 
neighbors,  and  had  not  the  least  correspondence  nor  con- 
nection Avith  them,  the  Carthaginians  were  forced  to  subdue 
them  one  after  another.  This  circumstance  occasioned,  on 
one  hand,  the  loss  of  Spain  ;  but  on  the  other,  jjrotracted 
the  war,  and  made  the  conquest  of  the  country  much  more 
difficult ;  *  accordingly,  it  has  been  observed,  that  though 
Si)ain  was  the  first  province  which  the  Romans  invaded  on 
the  continent,  it  was  the  hist  they  subdued  ;  f  and  Avas  not 
entirely  subjected  to  their  power,  till  after  having  made  a 
vigorous  ojiposition  for  upAvards  of  two  hundred  years. 

It  appears  from  the  accounts  given  by  Polybius  and  Livy, 
of  the  Avars  of  Hamilcar,  Asdrubal,  and  Hannibal  in  Spain, 
which  Avill  soon  be  mentioned,  that  the  arms  of  the  Cartha- 
ginians had  not  made  any  considerable  progress  in  that  coun- 
try before  that  period,  and  that  the  greatest  part  of  Spain 
Avas  then  unconquered.  But  in  twenty  years'  time  they  com- 
pleted the  conquest  of  almost  the  Avhole  country. 

At  the  time  that  Hannibal  set  out  for  Italy,  all  the  coast 
of  Africa,  from  the  Philaenorura  Aras,  by  the  gre^t  Syrtis,  to 
the  pillars  of  Hercules,  Avas  subject  to  the  Cartliaginians.  t 
Passing  through  the  strait,  they  had  conquered  all  the  Avest- 
ern  coast  of  Spain,  along  the  ocean,  as  far  as  the  Pyrenean 
hills.  The  coast  Avhich  lies  on  the  Mediterranerm  had  been 
almost  Avholly  subdued  by  them  ;  and  it  Avas  there  they  had 
built  Carthagena,  and  they  Avere  masters  of  all  the  coimtry, 
as  far  as  the  river  Iberus,  Avhich  bounded  their  dominions. 
Such  Avas  at  that  time  the  extent  of  their  empire.  In  the 
centre  of  the  country,  some  nations  had  indeed  held  out 
against  all  their  efforts,  and  could  not  be  subdued  by  them, 

CONQUESTS    OF    THE    CARTHAGINIANS    IN    SICILY. 

The  wars  which  the  Carthaginians  carried  on  in  Sicily 
are  more  knoAAm.  I  shall  here  relate  those  which  Avere 
Avaged  from  the  reign  of  Xerxes,  Avho  first  prompted  the 
Carthaginians  to  carry  their  arms  into  Sicily,  till  the  first 
Punic  war.  This  period  includes  near  tAvo  hundred  and 
twenty  years,  A'iz. :  from  the  year  of  the  Avorld  3520  to  3738. 
At  the  breaking  out  of  these  wars,  Syracuse,  the  most  con- 

*  Such  a  division  of  Britain  retarded,  and  at  tlie  same  time  facilitated  the  eon- 
quest  of  it  to  the  Kouians.    Diim  singuli  pugnant,  universi  viiicuntur. — Tacit. 

t  Hispania  prima  Komanis  inita  J'rovinciarum  quje  quidem  coiitinentis  slut, 
postrema  otnniuni  pertenta  est.— Liv.  1.  xxviii.  u.  12. 

i  Polyb.  1.  iii.  p.  192, 1.  i.  p.  9. 


'2"^  ANCTBIfT   HISTORY. 

Biderable  as  well  as  most  powerful  city  of  Sicily,  had  invested 
Gelon,  Hiero,  and  Thrasybulus,  three  brothers  who  succeeded 
one  another,  with  a  sovereign  power.  After  their  deaths,  a 
democracy,  or  ])opular  government  was  established  in  that 
city,  and  subsisted  above  sixty  years.  From  this  time  the 
two  Dionysiuses,  Timoleon  and  Agathocles,  bore  the  sway 
in  Syracuse.  Pyrrhus  Avas  afterwards  invited  into  Sicily, 
but  he  kept  possession  of  it  only  a  few  years.  Such  was  the 
government  of  Sicily  during  the  wars  of  which  I  am  about 
to  treat.  They  Mall  give  us  great  light  Avith  regard  to  the 
power  of  the  Carthaginians  at  the  time  that  they  began  to  be 
emxao'ed  in  war  with  the  Romans. 

Sicily  is  the  largest  and  most  considerable  island  in  the 
Mediterranean.  It  is  of  a  triangular  form,  and  for  that 
reason  was  called  Trinacria  and  Triquetra.  The  eastern 
side,  which  faces  the  Ionian  or  Grecian  sea,  extends  from 
Cape  Pachynum  *  to  Pelorum.f  The  most  celebrated  cities 
on  this  coast  are  Syracuse,  Tauromenium,  and  Messana. 
The  northern  coast,  which  looks  towards  Italy,  reaches  from 
Cape  Pelorum  to  Cape  Lilybaeum.  t  The  most  noted  cities 
on  this  coast  are  Mylae,  Hymera,  Panormus,  Eryx,  Motya, 
Lilybasum.  The  southern  coast,  which  lies  opposite  to  Af- 
rica, extends  from  Caj^e  Lilybasum  to  Pachynum.  The  most 
remarkable  cities  on  this  coast  are  Selinus,  Agrigentum, 
Gela,  and  Camarina.  This  island  is  separated  from  Italy 
by  a  strait,  which  is  not  more  than  a  mile  and  a  half  over, 
and  called  the  Faro,  or  Strait  of  Messina,  from  its  con- 
tiguity to  that  city.  The  passage  from  Lilybaium  to  Af- 
rica §  is  about  1500  furlongs,  that  is  about  seventy-fne 
leagues.  || 

The  period  in  which  the  Carthaginians  first  carried  their 
arms  into  Sicily  is  not  exactly  known.  IF  All  Ave  are  certain 
of  is,  that  they  Avere  already  possessed  of  some  part  of  it  at 
the  time  that  they  entered  into  a  treaty  Avith  the  Romans  ; 
the  same  year  that  the  kings  Avere  expelled,  and  consuls  ap- 
pointed in  their  room,  viz. :  twenty-eight  years  before  Xerxes 
invaded  Greece.  This  treaty,  which  is  the  first  Ave  find 
mentioned  to  have  been  made  betAveen  these  tAvo  nations, 

*  Passaro.  t  II  Faro.  t  Cape  Bo^o.  §  Strabo,  1.  vi. p.  2Cu. 

II  This  is  Strain's  calculation  ;  but  there  must  be  a  mistake  in  the  iuin>eral 
characters,  and  what  he  immediately  Bubjoiiis,  is  a  proof  of  this  mistake.  He  nays, 
that  a  man,  whoso  eyesight  was  godd.  might,  from  the  coast  of  Sicily,  count  the 
vessels  that  came  out  of  the  port  of  Carthage-  Is  it  possible  that  the  eye  can  carry- 
so  far  as  60  or  75  leagues?  This  passage  of  Stiabo,  therefore,  must  be  thus  cor- 
rected.   The  passage  from  Lilvb^ei'm  to  Africa,  is  only  25  leagues. 

f  A.  M.  3501.  A.  Carth.  343.  Kome,  1145.  Aut,  J.  C,  503.  Polyb,  1.  ii.  p.  'i^S, 
et  seq.    Edit.  Gronov. 


THE    CAKTHAcnXIAXS.  271 

Speaks  of  Africa  and  Sardinia  as  possessed  by  the  Curthngin- 
ians  ;  Avherens  the  conventions,  with  recrar'd  to  Sicily,  relate 
only  to  those  parts  of  the  island  which  were  subject  to 
them.  By  this  treaty  it  is  ex])ressly  sti])ulated,  that  neither 
the  Romans  nor  their  allies  shall  S'lil  beyond  the  Fair  Pro- 
montory,* which  was  very  near  Carthage ;  and  that  such 
merchants  as  shall  resort  to  this  city  for  traffic,  shall  pay 
only  certain  duties,  as  are  settled  in  it.f 

It  appears  by  the  same  treaty,  that  the  Carthaginians 
were  jiarticularly  careful  to  exclude,  the  Romans  from  all 
the  countries  subject  to  them,  as  well  as  from  the  knowledge 
of  what  was  transacting  in  them  ;  as  though  the  Carthagin- 
ians, even  at  that  time,  had  taken  umbrage  at  the  rising 
power  of  the  Romans,  and  already  harbored  in  their  breasts 
the  secret  seeds  of  jealousy  and  distrust,  th.at  wei'c  one  day 
to  burst  out  in  long  and  cruel  wars,  and  a  mutual  hatred  and 
animosity,  Avhich  nothing  could  extinguish  but  the  ruin  of 
one  of  the  contending  powers. 

Some  years  after  the  conclusion  of  this  first  treaty,  the 
Carthaginians  made  an  alliance  with  Xerxes  king  of  Per- 
sia, t  This  prince,  who  aimed  at  nothing  less  than  the 
total  extir]:)ation  of  the  Greeks,  whom  he  considered  as  h.is 
irreconcilable  enemies,  thought  it  would  be  impossible  for 
him  to  succeed  in  his  enterprise  without  the  assistance  of 
Carthage,  whose  power  was  formidable  even  at  that  time. 
The  Carthaginians,  who  always  kept  in  view  the  design 
they  entertained  of  seizing  upon  the  remainder  of  Sicily 
eagerly  embraced  the  favoi'able  opportimity  which  noAv  ])re- 
sented  itself  for  com])leting  the  reduction  of  it.  A  treaty 
was  therefore  concluded,  wherein  it  was  agreed  that  the 
Carthaginians  were  to  invade,  Avith  all  their  forces,  those 
Greeks  who  were  settled  in  Sicily  and  Italy,  while  Xerxes 
should  march  in  jierson  against  Greece  itself. 

The  pre])arations  for  this  war  lasted  three  years.  The 
land  anny  amounted  to  no  less  than  three  h.undred  thousand 
men.  The  fleet  consisted  of  two  thousand  ships  of  war,  fuid 
Tipwards  of  three  thousand  small  vessels  of  burden.  Ha- 
milcar,  the  most  experienced  captain  of  liis  age,  sailed 
from  Carthage  with  this  formidable  army.  He  landed  at 
Palermo,  §  and,    after   refreshing   his   troops,   he   marched 

•  The  reason  of  this  restraint,  according  to  Polybius,  was,  the  unwillingness 
of  the  Carthaginians  to  let  the  Romans  have  any  knowledge  of  the  eountiiea 
which  lay  more  to  the  soiuli,  in  order  that  this  enterprising  j)eople  might  nothtar 
of  their  rertilitv.— Polvb.  1.  iii.  p.  247.     Edit.  Gronov. 

+  Polyb.  1.  iii.  p.  246.       tA.M..352n.    Ant.  J.  C.  484.    Diod.  I.  xi.  pp.  1 ,  16,  22. 

§  This  city  is  called  in  Laiiu  Pauormus 


272  ATirCIENT    HISTORY. 

against  Hymera,  a  city  not  far  distant  from  Palermo,  and 
laid  siege  to  it.  Theron,  who  commanded  in  it,  seeing  liim- 
self  very  much  straitened,  sent  to  Gelon,  who  liad  jjossessed 
himself  of  Syracui-e.  He  flew  immediately  to  his  relief  with 
fifty  thousand  foot  and  five  thousand  horse.  His  arrivid  in- 
fused new  courage  into  the  besieged,  who,  from  that  time, 
made  a  very  vigorous  defence. 

Gelon  Mas  an  able  warrior,  and  excelled  in  stratagems. 
A  courier  was  brought  to  him,  who  had  been  despatched 
from  Selinuntum,  a  cyty  of  Sicily,  with  a  letter  for  Hamil- 
car,  to  inform  him  of  the  day  when  he  might  expect  the 
cavalry,  which  he  had  requested.  Gelon  drew  out  an  equal 
number  of  his  OAvn  troops,  and  sent  them  from  his  camp 
about  the  time  agreed  on.  These  being  admitted  into  the 
enemy's  cam]),  as  coming  from  Selinuntum,  rushed  upon 
Hamilc<^a*,  killed  him,  and  set  fire  to  his  ships.  In  this  crit- 
ical conjuncture,  Gelon  attacked  with  all  his  forces  the 
Carthaginians,  who  at  first  made  a  gallant  resistance.  But 
when  the  news  of  their  general's  death  was  brought  them, 
and  they  saw  all  their  fleet  in  a  blaze,  their  courage  failed 
them,  and  they  fled.  And  now  a  dreadful  slaughter  en- 
sued ;  upwards  of  a  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  being  slain. 
The  rest  of  the  army,  liaving  retired  to  a  place  where  they 
were  in  want  of  every  thing,  could  not  make  a  long  defence, 
and  were  forced  to  surrender  at  discretion.  This  battle  was 
fought  on  the  very  day  of  the  famous  action  of  Thermoj)ylse, 
in  which  three  hundred  Spartans,*  with  the  sacrifice  of  their 
lives,  disputed  Xerxes's  entrance  into  Greece. 

When  the  sad  neAvs  was  brought  to  Carthage  of  the  en- 
tire defeat  of  the  army,  consternation,  grief,  and  despair, 
threw  the  whole  city  into  such  a  confusion  and  alarm  as  are 
not  to  be  expressed.  It  was  imagined  that  the  enemy  M'as 
already  at  the  gates.  The  Carthaginians,  in  great  reverses 
of  fortune,  always  lost  their  courage,  and  sunk  into  the  op- 
posite extreme.  Immediately  they  sent  a  de])utation  to 
-Gelon,  by  which  they  desired  peace  upon  any  terms.  He 
heard  their  envoys  with  great  humanity.  The  complete  vic- 
tory he  had  gained,  so  far  from  making  him  haughty  and 
untractable,  had  only  increased  his  modesty  and  clemency 
even  towards  the  enemy.  He  therefore  granted  them  a 
peace  without  any  other  condition  than  their  paying  two 

*  Besides  the  300  Spai  tans,  the  Thessians,  a  people  of  Bci^otia,  to  the  number 
of  700,  fought  and  died  with  Leoiiidas  in  this  memorable  battle.— Herod.  1.  vii.  c. 
202-222. 


THE    CARTIIAGINIANS.  273 

thousand  talents  *  towards  the  expense  of  the  ■war.  He 
likewise  required  them  to  build  two  temi)les,  where  the 
treaty  of  tliis  peace  should  be  deposited,  and  exposed  at  all 
times  to  public  Anew.  The  Carthaginians  did  not  think  this 
a  dear  purchase  of  a  peace,  tliat  was  so  absolutely  necessary 
to  their  affairs,  and  whicli  they  hardly  durst  hojie  for. 
Gisco,  the  son  of  Ilamilcar,  ])ursuant  to  the  Viujust  oustoju 
of  the  Carthaginians,  of  ascribing  to  the  general  the  ill  suc- 
cess of  a  Avar,  and  niaking  hiiu  bear  the  bl:imc  of  it,  Avas 
punished  for  his  father's  misfortune,  and  sent  into  banish- 
ment, lie.  passed  the  remainder  of  his  days  at  Selinuntum, 
a  city  of  Sicily. 

Gelon,  on  his  return  to  Syracuse,  conA'ened  the  ])eople, 
and  invited  all  the  citizens  to  appear  under  arms.  lie  him- 
self entered  the  assembly,  unanned,  and  Avithout  liis  guards, 
and  there  ga\'e  an  account  of  the  Avhole  conduct  of  his  life. 
His  speech  met  Avith  no  other  interru]>tion  than  the  ])ublic 
testimonies  Avhich  Avere  giA-en  liim  of  gratitude  and  admira- 
tion. So  far  from  being  treated  as  a  tyrant,  and  tlie  op- 
pressor of  his  counti-y's  liberty,  he  Avas  considered  as  its 
benefactor  and  deliverer  ;  all,  Avith  a  unanimous  voice,  ])ro- 
claimed  him  king ;  and  tlie  croAA'u  Avas  bestoAved,  after  his 
death,  on  his  tAvo  brothers. 

After  the  memorable  defeat  of  the  Athenians  before 
Syracuse,!  where  Xicias  perished  Avith  his  Avhole  fleet,  the 
Segestans,  Avho  had  declared  in  favor  of  the  Atheni;ms 
against  the  Syracusans,  fearing  the  resentment  of  their 
enemies,  and  being  attacked  by  the  inhabitants  of  Selinun- 
tum, implored  the  aid  of  the  Carthaginians,  and  put  them- 
selves and  city  under  theii-  protection.  At  Carthage,  the 
peo])le  debated  some  time  Avhat  course  Avould  be  proper  for 
them  to  take,  the  affair  meeting  Avith  great  difficulties.  On 
one  hand,  the  Carthaginians  Avere  very  desirous  to  possess 
themselves  of  a  city,  Avhich  lay  so  couA^enient  for  them  ;  on 
the  other,  they  dreaded  the  poAvers  and  forces  of  Syracuse, 
whicii  had  so  lately  cut  to  pieces  a  numerous  army  of  the 
Athenians,  and  become,  by  so  splendid  a  victory,  more  for- 
midable than  ever.  At  last  the  lust  of  empire  preA\ailed,  and 
the  Scgestr.ns  Avere  jiromised  succors. 

The  conduct  of  this  Avar  wns  ccmimitted  to  Hannibal, 
who  at  that  time  Avas  invested  with  the  highest  dignity  of 

*  All  Attic  silver  talent,  according  to  Dr.  Bernard,  is  20C/.  5s.  consequently 
2000  talenis  is  412,500/.,  or  .Sl,a"l,.500. 

t  A.  M.  35;)2.  A.  Cartli.  434.  A.  Rome, 336.  Ant.  J.  C.  412.  Diod.  1.  xiii.  p, 
169-171,  173-186. 

18 


274  ANCIENT    HISTORY 

the  state,  being  one  of  the  suffetes.  He  was  grandson  of 
Hamilcar,  who  had  been  defeated  by  Gelon,  and  killed  be- 
fore Hymera,  and  son  of  Gisco,  who  liad  been  conih-^nmed 
to  exile.  He  left  Carthage,  animated  with  an  ardent  de- 
sire of  revenging  his  family  and  counti-y,  and  of  wi})ing 
away  the  disgrace  of  the  hist  defeat.  He  had  a  very  great 
army,  as  well  as  fleet,  under  his  command.  He  landed  at  n 
place  called  the  Well  of  Z,ili/bceum,  Avhich  gave  its  name  to 
a  city,  afterwards  built  on  the  same  spot.  His  first  enter- 
prise was  the  siege  of  Selinuntum.  The  attack  and  defence 
were  eqiially  vigorous,  the  very  women  showing  a  resolu- 
tion and  bravery  above  their  sex.  The  city,  alter  making 
a  long  resistance,  AA'as  taken  by  storm,  and  the  plunder  of 
it  abandoned  to  the  soldiers.  The  victor  exercised  the  most 
horrid  cruelties,  without  showing  the  least  regard  either  to 
age  or  sex.  He  permitted  such  inhabitants  as  had  fled,  to 
return  to  the  city  after  it  had  been  dismantled,  and  to  till 
the  lands,  on  condition  of  their  ])aying  a  tribute  to  the 
Carthaginians.  This  city  had  been  built  two  hundred  and 
forty-two  years. 

Hymera,  Avhich  he  next  besieged  and  took  likewise  by 
stoi-m,  after  being  more  cruelly  treated  than  Selimintum, 
was  entirely  razed,  two  hundred  and  forty  years  from  its 
foundation.  He  forced  three  thousand  prisoners  to  undergo 
every  kind  of  ignominious  punishment,  and  at  last  murdered 
them  on  the  very  spot,  where  his  grandfather  had  been 
killed  by  Gelon's  cavalry,  to  appease  and  satisfy  his  manes 
by  the  blood  of  these  unhappy  victims. 

These  expeditions  being  ended,  Hannibal  returned  to 
Carthage,  on  which  occasion  the  whole  city  came  out  to 
him,  and  received  him  with  the  most  joyful  acclamations. 

These  successes  re-inflamed  the  desire,  and  revived  the 
design  which  the  Carthaginians  had  ever  entertained,  of 
making  themselves  masters  of  all  Sicily.*  Three  years 
after,  they  appointed  Hannibal  their  general  a  second  time, 
and  on  his  pleading  his  gi-eat  age,  and  refusing  the  command 
of  this  war,  they  gave  him  for  lieutenant,  Imilcon,  son  of 
Hanno,  of  the  same  family.  The  preparations  for  this  war 
.were  proportioned  to  the  great  design  which  the  Cartha- 
ginians had  formed.  The  fleet  and  ai"my  were  soon  ready, 
and  set  "out  for  Sicily.  The  number  of  their  forces,  accord- 
ing to  Timoeus,  amounted  to  above  one  hundred  and  twen- 
ty thousand,  and  according  to  Ephorus,  to   three  hundi-ed 

♦Diod.  L  xiii.  p.  201-203,  206-211,  226-231. 


THE    CAKTIIAGIXIAXS.  275 

thousand  men.  The  enemy,  on  their  side,  Avei'e  ])repured  to 
give  the  Carthaginians  a  warm  reee])tion.  Tlie  Syracusans 
had  sent  to  all  their  allies,  in  order  to  levy  forces  among 
them,  and  to  all  the  cities  of  Sicily  to  exhort  them  to  exert 
themselves  vigorously  in  defence  of  their  liberties. 

Agrigentiim  expected  to  feel  the  first  fury  of  the  enemy. 
This  city  "was  immensely  rich,*  and  strongly  fortified.  It 
was  situated,  as  were  Hymera,  and  Selinuntum,  on  that 
coast  of  Sicily  which  faces  Africa.  Accordingly,  Hannibal 
opened  the  campaign  with  the  siege  of  this  city.  Imagin- 
ing that  it  was  impregnable  except  on  one  side,  he  directed 
his  wliole  force  to  that  quarter.  He  threw  up  banks  and 
terraces  as  high  as  the  walls,  and  made  use,  on  this  occasion, 
of  the  rubbish  and  fragments  of  the  tombs  standing  round 
the  city,  which  he  had  demolished  for  that  purpose.  Soon 
after,  the  ])lague  infected  the  army,  and  swept  away  a  great 
number  of  the  soldiers,  and  the  general  himself.  The  Car- 
thaginians interpreted  this  disaster  as  a  punishment  inflicted 
by  the  gods,  who  revenged  in  this  manner  the  injuries  done 
to  the  dead,  whose  ghosts  many  fancied  they  had  seen  stalk- 
ing before  them  in  the  night.  No  more  tombs  Avere  there- 
fore demolished  ;  prayers  were  ordered  to  be  made,  accord- 
ing to  the  practice  of  Carthage  ;  a  child  was  sacrificed  to 
Saturn,  in  compliance  with  a  most  inhumanly  superstitious 
custom ;  and  many  victims  were  thrown  into  the  sea  in 
honor  of  Neptune. 

The  besieged,  who  at  fii-st  had  gained  several  advan- 
tages, were  at  last  so  pressed  by  famine,  that  all  hopes  of 
relief  seeming  desperate,  they  resolved  to  abandon  the  city. 
The  following  night  was  fixed  on  for  this  pur})ose.  The 
reader  will  naturally  imagine  to  himself  the  grief  Avith  which 
these  miser;ible  people  must  be  seized,  on  their  being  forced 
to  leave  their  houses,  their  rich  possessions,  and  their  coun- 
try ;  but  life  was  still  dearer  to  them  than  all  these.  Never 
was  a  more  melancholy  spectacle  seen.     To  omit  the  rest, 

*  The  very  sepulchral  mouunieiits  showed  the  magnificence  and  luxury  of  this 
city,  they  beinj;  adorned  with  statues  of  Liirds  and  horses.  But  the  wealth  and 
bouniUess  generosity  of  Gelliar,  one  of  itrf  inhabitants,  is  almost  incredible.  Ho 
entertained  the  people  with  spectacles  and  feasts;  and,  during  a  famine,  pre- 
vented tneci-.izens  from  dying  wilii  hunger  ;  he  gave  portions  t<i  poor  maidens, 
and  rescued  the  unfortun:ite  from  want  and  despair  ;  ho  had  built  houses  in  Ilia 
city  ajid  country,  purposely  for  Ihe  accommodation  of  stranger.-,  whom  he  usually 
dismissed  with  handsome  presents.  Five  liundred  shipwrecked  t  itizens  of 
Gela,  applying  to  him.  were  bounUfully  relieved,  and  every  man  supplied  with  a 
cloak  and  coat  ontof  his  wanlrobe. — r>io<I.  1.  xiii.  Valer.  Max.  1.  iv.  <•.  nit.  Fm- 
pedocles,  the  philosopher,  born  in  Agrigontuin,  lias  a  memorable  saying  concern- 
ing his  feUow-citizens.  that  Ihe  Agrigentines  squandered  their  money  so  exce?8- 
ively  evwry  day,  as  if  thev  expected  it  could  never  be  exhausted  ;  and  built  with 
buch  solidity  and  magniflcence,  as  if  they  thought  they  should  live  for  ever. 


276  ANCIENT   HISTORY. 

a  crowd  of  women,  bathed  in  tears,  were  seen  dragging 
after  them  their  lielpless  infants,  in  order  to  secure  them 
from  the  brutal  fury  of  tlie  victor.  But  the  most  grievous 
circumstance,  was  the  necessity  tliey  were  under  of  leaving 
behind  them  the  aged  and  sick,  who  were  unable  either  to 
fly  or  to  make  the  least  resistance.  The  unhappy  exiles 
arrived  at  Gela,  which  was  the  nearest  city  in  their  way, 
and  there  received  all  the  comforts  they  could  expect  in  the 
deplorable  condition  to  which  they  were  reduced. 

In  the  mean  time  Imilcon  entered  the  city,  and  murdered 
all  Avho  were  found  in  it.  The  phmder  was  immense,  and 
such  as  might  be  ex])ected  from  one  of  the  most  opulent 
cities  of  Sicily,  which  contained  two  hiindred  thousand 
inhabitants,  and  had  never  been  besieged,  nor  consequently 
plundered  before.  A  numberless  multitude  of  pictures, 
vases  and  statues  of  all  kinds  were  found  here,  the  citizens 
having  an  exquisite  taste  for  the  polite  arts.  Among  other 
curiosities,  was  the  famous  bull  *  of  Phalaris,  which  was 
sent  to  Cai'thage. 

The  siege  of  Agrigentum  liad  lasted  eight  months. 
Imilcon  made  his  forces  take  up  their  wintei-cjuarters  in  it, 
to  give  them  the  necessary  refreshment ;  and  left  this  city, 
after  laying  it  entirely  in  ruins,  in  the  beginning  of  the 
spring.  lie  afterwards  besieged  Gela,  and  took  it,  notwith- 
standing the  succors  which  were  bi'ought  by  Dionysius  the 
Tyrant,  who  had  seized  upon  the  government  of  Syracuse. 
Imilcou  ended  the  war  by  a  treaty  with  Dionysius.  The 
conditions  of  it  were,  that  the  Carthaginians,  besides  their 
ancient  acquisitions  in  Sicily,  should  still  possess  the  country 
of  the  Sicanians,t  Selinuntum,  Agrigentimi,  and  Hymera ; 
as  likcAvise  tliat  of  Gela  and  Cainarina,  with  leave  for  the 
inhabitants  to  reside  in  their  respective  dismantled  cities, 
on  condition  of  their  paying  a  ti'ibute  to  Carthage  :  that  the 
Leontines,  the  Messenians,  and  all  the  Sicilians  should  re- 
tain their  own  laws,  and  preserve  their  liberty  and  inde- 
pendence ;  lastly,  that  the  Syracusans  should  still  continue 
subject  to  Dionysius.  After  this  treaty  was  concluded, 
Imilcon  returned  to  Carthage,  where  the  ])lague  still  made 
dreadful  havoc. 

Dionysius  had  concluded  the  late  peace  with  the  Car- 
thaginians, with  no  other  view  than  to  get  time  to  establish 

*  Tliis  bull,  with  other  spoils  here  taken,  was  afterwards  restored  to  the  Agri- 
gentiiies  by  Scipio,  when  he  took  Carthage,  in  the  third  Funic  war.— Cic.  1.  iv.  in 
Verreni,  c.  33. 

t  The  Sicaniaiis  and  Sicilians  were  anciently  two  distinct  people. 


'  THE    CARTIIAGIXIANS.  277 

his  new  authority,  and  make  the  necessary  pre] >ar;it ions  for 
the  war  which  he  meditated  atyainst  them.*  As  lie  was 
very  sensible  how  formidable  these  people  were,  he  used  his 
utmost  endeavors  to  enable  himself  to  invade  them  with 
success,  and  his  design  was  Avondei'fully  well  seconded  by 
&  ^  zeal  of  his  subjects.  The  fame  of  this  prince,  the  strong 
desire  he  had  to  distinguish  lumsclf,  the  charms  of  gain,  and 
the  prosjiect  of  the  rewards  which  he  promised  those  v.lio 
should  shoAV  the  greatest  industry,  invited  from  all  quai'ters 
into  Sicily,  the  most  able  artists  and  workmen  at  that  time 
in  the  world.  All  Syracuse  now  became  in  a  manner  an 
immense  work-shoj),  in  every  part  of  Avhich  men  were  seen 
making  swords,  helmets,  shields,  and  military  engines  ;  and 
prej)aring  all  things  necessary  for  building  shijjs  and  fitting 
out  fleets.  The  invention  of  vessels  with  five  benches  of 
oars  (or  quinf/ueremes),  was  at  that  time  very  recent ;  for, 
till  then,  those  with  three  alone  had  been  used.f 

Dlonysius  animated  the  workmen  by  his  presence,  and 
by  the  applauses  he  gave,  and  the  bounty  which  he  bestowed 
seasonably  ;  but  chieily  by  his  po])ular  and  engaging  beha- 
vior, which  excited,  more  strongly  than  any  other  conduct, 
the  industry  and  ardor  of  the  workmen,  t  the  most  excel- 
lent of  whom,  in  every  art,  had  frequently  the  honor  to  dine 
with  him. 

When  all  things  were  ready,  and  a  great  number  of 
forces  had  been  levied  in  different  countries,  he  called  the 
Syracusans  together,  laid  his  designs  before  them,  and  rep- 
resented to  them  that  the  Carthaginians  were  the  professed 
enemies  of  the  Greeks :  that  they  had  no  less  in  view  than 
the  invasion  of  all  Sicily  ;  the  subjecting  of  all  the  Grecian 
cities  ;  and  that,  in  case  their  progress  was  not  checked,  the 
Syracusans  themselves  would  soon  be  attacked  ;  that  the 
reason  why  the  Carthaginians  did  not  attem})t  any  enter- 
])rise,  and  continued  inactive,  was  owing  entirely  to  the 
dreadful  havoc  made  by  the  plague  among  them,  which,  he 
ol)served,  was  a  favorable  opportunity  for  the  Syracusans. 
Though  the  tyranny  and  the  tyrant  were  equally  odious  to 
Syracuse,  yet  the  liatred  the  peo|)le  bore  to  the  Carthagin- 
ians prevailed  over  all  other  considerations,  and  every  one, 
guided  more  by  the  views  of  an  interested  policy  than  by 
the  dictates  of  justice,  received  the  speech  with  ap})lause. 
Upon  this,  without  the  least  complaint  made,  or  any  decla- 

*  A.  M.  OCOO.  A.  Carth.  442.  A.  Rome,  314.  Ant.  J.  C.  404.  Dlo.l.  1.  xlv.  p. 
268-278.  t  Trireuies.  %  Houos  alit  aitJS. 


2Y8  ANCIENT    HISTORY. 

ration  of  war,  Dionysius  gaye  up  to  the  fury  of  the  pop« 
ulace  the  persons  and  possessions  of  the  Cartliao-inians. 
Great  numbers  of  them  resided  at  that  time  in  Syracuse, 
and  traded  there  on  the  faitli  of  treaties.  The  common  peo- 
ple ran  to  their  houses,  plundered  their  effects,  and  pre- 
tended they  were  sufficiently  authorized  to  exercise  every 
ignominy,  and  inflict  every  kind  of  punishment  on  them, 
for  the  cruelties  they  had  exercised  against  the  natives  of 
the  country.  And  this  horrid  example  of  i)ertidy  and  inhu- 
manity was  followed  throughout  the  whole  island  of  Sicily. 
This  was  the  bloody  signal  of  the  war  which  was  declared 
against  them.  Dionysius  having  thus  begun  to  do  himself 
justice  (in  his  way),  sent  de])uties  to  Carthage,  to  require 
them  to  restore  all  the  Sicilian  cities  to  their  liberties ;  and 
that  otherwise  all  the  Carthaginians  found  in  them  should 
be  treated  as  enemies.  This  news  spread  a  general  alarm 
in  Carthage,  especially  when  they  reflected  on  the  sad  con- 
dition to  which  they  were  reduced. 

Dionysius  opened  the  campaign  with  the  siege  of  Motya, 
which  was  the  magazine  of  the  Carthaginians  in  Sicily  ;  and 
pushed  the  siege  on  with  so  much  vigor  that  it  was  impossi- 
ble for  Imilcon,  the  Carthaginian  admiral,  to  relieve  it.  He 
brought  forward  his  engines,  battered  the  place  with  his 
battering  rams,  advanced  towers  six  stories  high  to  the  wall, 
rolled  upon  wheels,  and  of  an  equal  height  with  their 
houses  ;  and  from  these  he  greatly  annoyed  the  besieged 
with  furious  volleys  of  arrows  and  stones  sent  from  his  cata- 
pultas,  an  engine  at  that  time  of  late  invention.*  At  last 
the  city,  aftei-  a  long  and  vigorous  defence,  was  taken  by 
storm,  and  all  the  inhabitants  of  it  put  to  the  sword,  those 
excepted  who  took  sanctuary  in  the  temples.  The  ])lunder 
of  it  was  abandoned  to  the  soldiers;  and  Dionysius,  learing 
a  strong  garrison  and  a  trusty  governor  in  it,  returned  to 
Syracuse. 

The  following  year  Imilcon,  being  appointed  one  of  the 
suffetes,  returned  to  Sicily  with  a  far  greater  army  than  be- 
fore,f  He  landed  at  Palermo,  t  took  several  cities,  and  re- 
covered Motya  by  force  of  arras.  Animated  by  these  suc- 
cesses, he  advanced  towards  Syracuse,  with  a  design  to 
besiege  it ;  marcliing  his  infantry  by  land,  while  his  fleet, 
under  the  command  of  Mago,  sailed  along  the  coast. 

The  arrival  of  Imilcon  threw  the  Syracusans  into  great 

*  The  ourions  reader  will  flml  avery  particular  account  of  it  in  a  subsequent 
part,  of  11  lis  work. 

t  Diod.  1.  xiv.  p.  279-295.      Justin.  1.  xix.  c.  2,  3.  Z  Paaoramus. 


THE    CARTHAGIXIAN^S.  279 

consternation.  Above  two  hundred  ships  laden  with  the 
spoils  of  tlie  enemy,  and  advanchig  in  good  order,  entered 
in  a  kind  of  triunipli  the  great  harbor,  being  followed  by 
iUe  hundred  barks.  At  the  same  time  the  land  army,  con- 
sisting, according  to  some  authors,  of  three  liundred  thou- 
sand foot,*  and  three  thousand  liorse,  was  seen  marching 
forward  on  tlie  otlier  side  of  the  city.  Imilcon  pitched  liis 
tent  in  the  very  temple  of  Jupiter,  and  the  rest  of  the  army 
encamped  at  twelve  furlongs,  or  about  a  mile  and  a  half 
from  the  city.  Marching  up  to  it,  Imilcon  offered  battle  to 
the  inhabitants,  who  did  not  care  to  accept  the  ciiallcnge. 
Imilcon,  satisfied  at  his  having  extorted  from  the  Sjracu- 
sans  this  confession  of  their  own  weakness  and  his  sujjerior- 
ity,  returned  to  his  camp,  not  doubting  but  he  should  soon 
be  master  of  the  city,  considering  it  already  as  a  certain 
prey,  which  could  not  possibly  escape  him.  For  thirty  days 
together,  he  laid  waste  the  neighborhood  about  Syracuse, 
and  ruined  the  whole  country.  He  jiossessed  himself  of  the 
suburb  of  Acradina,  and  jjlundered  the  temples  of  Ceres  and 
Proserpine.  To  fortify  his  camp,  he  beat  down  the  tombs 
which  stood  round  the  city  ;  and  among  others,  that  of  Ge- 
lon,  and  his  wife  Demarata,  which  was  exceeding  magnif- 
icent. 

But  these  successes  were  not  lasting.  All  the  splendor 
of  this  anticipated  triumph  vanished  in  a  moment,  and 
taught  mankind,  says  Diodorus,  that  the  proudest  mortal, 
blasted  sooner  or  later  by  a  superior  power,  shall  be  forced 
to  confess  his  own  weakness.  While  Imilcon,  now  master 
of  almost  all  the  cities  of  Sicily,  expected  to  finish  his  con- 
quests by  the  reduction  of  Syracuse,  a  contagious  distemper 
seized  his  army,  and  made  dreadful  havoc  in  it.  It  was 
now  the  midst  of  summer,  and  the  lieat  that  year  was  exces- 
sive. The  infection  began  among  the  Africans,  multitudes 
of  whom  died,  without  any  possibility  of  their  being  re- 
beved.  Care  was  taken  at  first  to  inter  the  dead  ;  but  the 
number  increased  daily,  and  the  infection  spreading  very 
fast,  the  dead  lay  unburied  and  the  sick  could  have  no  as- 
sistance. This  plague  was  attended  with  very  uncommon 
symptoms,  such  as  violent  dysenteries,  raging  fevers,  burn- 
ing entrails,  acute  ])ains  in  every  ])art  of  tlie  body.  The  in- 
fected were  even  seized  with  madness  and  fury,  so  that  they 
would  fall  u])on  any  person  that  came  in  their  way  and  tear 
them  to  ])ieces. 

*  Some  authors  say  but  thirty  thousand  foot,  which  is  the  more  i)robable  ao« 
coimt,  as  the  fleet  which  blocked  up  the  town  by  sea,  was  so  foruiidalJle. 


280  ANCIENT    HISTORY. 

Dionysius  did  not  lose  this  favorable  opportunity  for  at- 
tacking the  enemy.  Imilcon's  army,  being  more  than  half 
conquered  by  the  plague,  could  make  but  a  feeble  resist- 
ance. The  Carthaginian  ships  were  almost  all  either  taken 
or  burnt.  The  inhabitants  in  general  of  Syracuse,  their  old 
men,  women,  and  cliildren,  came  pouring  out  of  the  city  to 
behold  an  event  which  to  them  appe;n-e(l  miraculous.  With 
hands  lifted  up  to  heaven,  they  thanked  the  tutelar  gods  of 
their  city  for  having  revenged  the  sanctity  of  tem])le3  and 
tombs,  which  had  been  so  brutally  violated  by  these  barba- 
rians. Night  coming  on,  both  parties  retired,  when  Imil- 
con,  taking  the  opportunity  of  this  short  susj^ension  of  hos- 
tilities, sent  to  Dionysius  for  leave  to  carry  l)ack  with  him 
the  small  remains  of  his  shattered  army,  with  an  offer  of 
three  hundred  talents,*  which  vv^as  all  the  specie  he  had  then 
left.  Permission  only  could  be  obtained  for  the  Carthagin- 
ians, with  whom  Imilcon  stole  away  in  the  night,  and  left 
the  rest  to  the  mercy  of  the  conqueror. 

In  such  unha]>py  circumstances  did  the  Carthaginian  gen- 
eral, who  a  few  days  before  had  been  so  proud  and  hauglity, 
retire  from  Syracuse.  Bitterly  bewailing  his  own  fate,  but 
most  of  all  that  of  his  country,  he  with  the  most  insolent 
fury,  accused  the  gods  as  the  sole  authors  of  his  misfor- 
tunes. "  The  enemy,"  continued  he,  "  may  indeed  rejoice 
at  our  misery,  but  have  no  reason  to  glory  in  it.  We  re- 
turn victorious  over  the  Syracusans,  and  are  defeated  by 
the  plague  alone.  No  part,"  added  he,  "  of  the  disaster 
touches  me  so  much  as  my  surviving  so  many  gallant  men, 
and  being  reserved,  not  for  the  comforts  of  life,  but  to  be 
the  sport  of  so  dire  a  calamity ;  however,  since  I  brought 
back  the  miserable  remains  of  an  army  which  have  been 
committed  to  my  care,  I  now  have  nothing  to  do  but  to  fol- 
low the  brave  soldiers  who  lie  dead  before  Syracuse,  and 
show  my  country,  that  I  did  not  survive  them  out  of  a 
fondness  of  life,  but  merely  to  preserve  the  troops  which 
had  escaped  the  plague  from  the  fury  of  the  enemy,  to 
which  my  more  early  death  would  have  abandoned  them." 

Being  now  arrived  in  Carthage,  which  he  found  over- 
whelmed with  grief  and  despair,  he  entered  his  house,  shut 
the  doors  against  the  citizens,  and  even  his  own  children ; 
and  then  gave  himself  the  fatal  stroke,  in  compliance  with 
a  practice  to  which  the  heathens  falsely  gave  the  name  of 
courage,  though  it  was,  in  reality,  no  other  than  cowardly 
despair. 

*  About  $274,390. 


THE    CAKTHAGIXIAXS.  281 

But  the  calamities  of  this  unhappy  city  did  not  stop 
here  ;  for  the  Africans,  who  from  time  immemorial,  had 
borne  an  implacable  hatred  to  the  Carthaghiians,  being  now 
exasperated  to  fury,  because  their  countrjanen  had  been  left 
behind,  and  exposed  to  the  murdering  sword  of  the  Syra- 
cusans,  assemble  in  the  most  frantic  manner,  sound  the 
the  alarm,  take  u])  arms,  and,  after  seizing  upon  Tunis, 
march  directly  to  Carthage,  to  the  number  of  more  than 
two  hundred  thousand  men.  The  citizens  now  gave  them- 
selves up  for  lost.  This  new  incident  was  considered  by 
them  as  the  sad  effect  of  the  wrath  of  the  gods,  which  pur- 
sued the  guilty  wretches  even  to  Carthage.  As  its  inhabit- 
ants, especially  in  all  public  calamities,  carried  their  super- 
stition to  the  greatest  excess,  their  first  care  was  to  a])pease 
the  offended  gods.  Ceres  and  Proserpine  were  deities, 
who,  till  that  time,  had  never  been  heard  of  in  Africa. 
But  now,  to  atone  for  the  outrage  which  had  been  done 
them,  in  the  plundering  of  their  temjiles,  magnificent  stat- 
ues were  erected  to  their  honor ;  ]>riests  were  selected  from 
among  the  most  distinguished  families  of  the  city ;  sacrifices 
and  victims,  according  to  the  Greek  ritual,  if  I  may  use  the 
expression,  were  offered  up  to  them  ;  in  a  word,  nothing 
was  omitted  which  could  be  thought  conducive  in  any 
manner,  to  appease  those  angry  goddesses,  and  to  merit 
their  favor.  After  this,  the  defence  of  the  city  was  the  next 
object  of  their  care.  Happily  for  the  Carthaginians,  this 
numerous  army  had  no  leader,  but  Avas  like  a  body  un- 
informed with  a  soul ;  no  provisions  or  military  engines  ;  no 
discipline  or  subordination  were  seen  among  them,  every 
man  setting  himself  up  for  a  general,  or  claiming  an  inde- 
pendence from  the  rest.  Divisions,  therefore,  arising  in 
this  rabble  of  an  army,  and  the  famine  increasing  daily,  the 
individuals  of  it  withdrew  to  their  respective  homes,  and 
delivered  Carthage  from  a  dreadful  alarm. 

The  Carthaginians  were  not  discouraged  by  their  late 
disaster,  but  continued  their  enterprises  on  Sicily.  Mago, 
their  general,  and  one  of  the  suffetes,  lost  a  great  battle,  in 
which  he  was  slain.  The  Carthaginian  chiefs  demanded  a 
peace,  which  was  granted,  on  condition  of  their  evacuating 
all  Sicily,  and  defraying  the  expenses  of  the  war.  They 
pretended  to  accept  the  terms ;  but  representing  that  it  was 
not  in  their  ])ower  to  deliver  up  the  cities,  without  first  ob- 
taining an  order  from  their  republic,  they  obtained  so  long 
a  truce,  as  gave  them  time  suflScient  for  sending  to  Car- 


282  AXCIEXT    HISTORY. 

thage.  Tliey  took  advantage  of  this  interval,  to  raise  and 
discipline  new  troops,  over  which  Mago,  son  of  hiui  who 
had  been  lately  killed,  was  appointed  general.  He  was 
very  young,  but  of  great  abilities  and  reputation.  As  soon 
as  he  arrived  in  Sicily,  at  the  exj)iration  of  the  truce,  he 
gave  Dionysius  battle ;  in  which  Leptinus,*  one  of  the  gen- 
erals of  the  latter,  Avas  killed,  and  upwards  ci  fourteen 
thousand  Syracusans  left  dead  on  the  field.  By  this  victory 
the  Carthaginians  obtained  an  honorable  peace,  which  left 
them  in  possession  of  all  they  had  in  Sicily,  and  even  the 
addition  of  some  strongholds  besides  a  thousand  talents,  f 
which  were  paid  to  them  for  defraying  the  expenses  of  the 
war. 

About  this  time  a  law  Avas  enacted  at  Carthage,  by  Avhich 
its  inhabitants  were  forbidden  to  learn  to  write  or  speak  the 
Greek  language;  in  order  to  deprive  them  of  the  means  of 
corresponding  with  the  enemy,  either  by  word  of  mouth  or 
in  writing,  t  This  was  occasioned  by  the  treachery  of  a 
Carthaginian,  who  had  written  in  Greek  to  Dionysius,  to 
give  him  advice  of  the  departure  of  the  army  from  Car- 
thage. 

Carthage  had  soon  after  another  calamity  to  struggle 
with.  §  The  plague  spread  in  the  city  and  made  terrible 
havoc.  Panic  terrors,  and  violent  fits  of  frenzy  seized  on  a 
sudden  the  heads  of  the  distempered ;  who,  sallying  sword 
in  hand  out  of  their  houses,  as  if  the  enemy  had  taken  the 
city,  killed  or  wounded  all  who  unhappily  came  in  their  way. 
The  Africans  and  Sardinians  would  very  willingly  have 
taken  this  opportunity  to  shake  off  a  yoke  Avhich  was  so 
hateful  to  them  ;  but  both  were  subjected,  and  reduced  to 
their  allegiance.  Dionysius  formed  at  this  time  an  enter- 
prise in  Sicily,  with  the  same  views,  which  was  equally  un- 
successful. ||  He  died,  some  time  after,  and  was  succeeded 
by  his  son  of  the  same  name. 

We  have  already  taken  notice  of  the  first  treaty  which 

*  This  Leptinus  was  brother  to  Dionysius.  t  About  $914,640. 

Jrfustiu.  1.  XX.  c-  ').  §  Diod.  1.  xv.  p.  344. 

II  This  is  the  Dionysius  who  invited  Plato  to  his  court ;  and  wlio,  being  after- 
wards offended  with  liis  freedom,  sold  Inm  for  a  slave.  Some  philosophers  came 
from  Greece  to  Syracuse,  in  order  to  redeem  their  brother,  which  iiaving  do)ie, 
they  sent  him  home  with  this  useful  lesson — tliat  philosophers  ought  very  rarely 
or  very  obligingly  to'converse  with  tyrants.  This  p  ince  had  learning,  and  af- 
fected to  px«s  for  !i  poet  ;  but  could  not  gain  that  name  at  the  Olympic  games, 
whither  he  had.«ent  his  verse*,  to  be  repeated  by  his  bro  her  Thearides.  It  had 
been  happy  forDionvsius,  had  the  Athenians  entertained  robetler  an  opinion  of 
his  poetry  :  for  on  their  pronouncing  him  victor,  when  I'i-^  poems  wer(^  repe"trd 
in  their  citv.  he  was  raised  to  such  a  transport  of  ioy  and  intemperance,  that  ho'h 
together  killed  him  :  and  thus,  perhaps,  was  verified  'he  prediction  of  the  oracle, 
tIz.  :  that  he  should  die  when  he  had  overcome  Lis  betters. 


THE    CARTHAGINIANS.  283 

the  Carthaginians  conchided  Avith  the  Romans.  There  was 
another,  which,  according  to  Orosius,  was  concluded  in  the 
402d  year  of  the  foundation  of  Rome,  and  consequently 
about  the  time  we  are  now  speaking  of.  This  second  treaty 
was  nearly  the  same  with  the  first,  exce])t  that  the  in- 
habitants of  Tyre  and  Utica  were  expressly  comprehended 
in  It,  and  joined  with  the  Carthaginians. 

After  the  death  of  the  elder  Dionysius,  Syracuse  was 
involved  in  great  troubles.*  Dionysius  the  younger,  Avho 
had  been  expelled,  restored  himself  by  force  of  arms,  and 
exercised  great  cruelties  there.  One  part  of  the  citizens 
implored  the  aid  of  Icetes,  tyrant  of  the  Leontines,  and  by  de- 
scent a  Syracusan.  This  seemed  a  very  favorable  opportu- 
nity for  the  Carthaginians  to  seize  upon  all  Sicily,  and  accord- 
ingly they  sent  a  mighty  fleet  thither.  In  this  extremity, 
such  of  the  Syracusans  as  loved  their  country  best,  had 
recourse  to  the  Corinthians,  who  often  assisted  them  in 
their  dangers,  and  were,  of  all  the  Grecian  nations,  the 
most  professed  enemies  to  tyranny,  and  the  most  avowed  and 
most  generous  assertors  of  liberty.  Accordingly  the  Cor- 
inthians sent  over  Timoleon,  a  man  of  great  merit,  and  who 
had  signalized  his  zeal  for  the  public  welfare,  by  freeing  his 
country  from  tyranny,  at  the  expense  of  his  own  family. 
He  set  sail  with  only  ten  shi])s,  and  arriving  at  Rhegium, 
he  eluded,  by  a  happy  stratagem,  the  vigiLince  of  the  Car- 
thaginians ;  who,  having  been  informed,  by  Icetes,  of  his 
voyage  and  design,  wanted  to  intercept  him  in  his  pas- 
sage to  Sicily. 

Timoleon  had  scarce  above  a  thousand  soldiers  under  his 
command  ;  and  yet,  with  this  liandful  of  men,  he  marched 
boldly  to  the  relief  of  Syracuse.  His  small  army  increased 
in  })roportion  as  he  advanced.  The  Syracusans  were  now 
in  a  desperate  condition  and  quite  hopeless.  They  saw 
tlie  Carthaginians  masters  of  the  port ;  Icetes  of  the  city, 
and  Dionysius  of  the  citadel.  Happily,  on  Timoleon's  arrival, 
Dionysius  having  no  refuge  left,  put  the  citadel  into  his 
hands,  with  all  the  forces,  arras,  and  ammunition  in  it,  and 
escaped  by  his  assistance  to   Corinth. f      Timoleon  had,  by 

*  A.  M.  3656.  A.  Carth.  498.  A.  Rome,  400.  Ant.  J.  C.  348.  Diod.  1.  xvi.  p. 
252.     Polyb.  1.  iii.  p.  178.     Plut.  in  Timol. 

t  Here  lie  preserved  some  resemblance  of  his  former  tyranny,  by  turning 
schoolmaster,  and  exercising  a  discipline  over  boys,  when  he.  could  no  longer 
tyrannize  over  men.  He  had  learidng,  and  was  once  a  scholar  to  Plato,  whom  he 
caused  to  come  again  into  Sicily,  notwithstanding  the  unworthy  treatment  he  had 
met  with  from  Dionysius'  father.  Philip,  king  of  Macedon,  nieeting  him  in  the 
streets  at  Corinlh,  and  asking  him  how  he  came  to  lo  e  so  considerable  a  princi- 
pality as  had  been  left  him  by  Ids  father  ;  heansweied  that  his  father  had  indeed 


284  ANCIENT    HISTORY. 

his  emissaries,  artfully  ropresentod  to  the  foreign  foroes  in 
Mago's  army  (whicli,  by  an  error  in  tl»e  constitution  of 
Carthage,  before  taken  notice  of,  was  ciiiefiy  com])osed  of 
sucli,  and  even  the  greatest  ]>art  of  whom  were  Greeks),  that 
it  was  astonishing  to  see  Greeks  using  tlieir  endeavors  to 
to  make  barbarians  masters  of  Sicily,  from  whence  they,  in  a 
very  little  time,  would  pass  over  into  Greece.  For  could 
they  imagine,  that  the  Carthaginians  were  come  so  far,  with 
no  other  view  than  to  establish  Icetes  tyrant  of  Syracuse  ? 
Such  discourses  being  spread  among  Mago's  soldiers,  gave 
this  general  very  great  uneasiness  ;  and,  as  he  wanted  only 
a  pretence  to  retire,  he  Avas  glad  to  have  it  believed  that 
his  forces  were  going  to  betray  and  desert  him,  and  upon 
this  he  sailed  with  his  fleet  out  of  the  harbor,  and  steered 
for  Carthage.  Icetes,  after  his  departure,  could  not  hold 
out  long  against  the  Corinthians  ;  so  that  they  now  got  en- 
tire possession  of  the  whole  city. 

Mago,  on  his  arrival  at  Carthage,  was  impeached  ;  but  he 
prevented  the  execution  of  the  sentence  passed  upon  him, 
by  a  voluntary  death.  His  body  was  hung  upon  a  gallows, 
and  exposed  as  a  public  spectacle  to  the  i)eople.  New 
forces  were  levied  at  Carthage,  and  a  greater  and  more 
powerful  fleet  than  the  former  was  sent  to  Sicily.*  It  con- 
sisted of  two  hundred  ships  of  war,  besides  a  thousand  trans- 
ports ;  and  the  army  amounted  to  upwards  of  seventy 
thousand  men.  They  landed  at  Lilybaeum,  under  the  com- 
mand of  Hamilcar  and  Hannibal, -and  resolved  to  attack  the 
Corinthians  first.  Timoleon  did  not  wait  for,  but  marched 
out  to  meet  them.  But,  such  was  the  consternation  of 
Syracuse,  that  of  all  the  forces  which  were  in  that  city,  only 
three  thousand  Syracusans,  and  four  thousand  mercenaries, 
followed  him ;  and  a  thousand  of  the  latter  deserted  upon 
the  mai'ch,  through  fear  of  the  danger  they  were  going  to 
encounter.  Timoleon,  however,  was  not  discouraged,  but 
exhorting  the  remainder  of  his  forces  to  exert  themselves 
courageously  for  the  safety  and  liberties  of  their  allies,  he 
led  them  against  the  enemy,  whose  rendezvous  he  had  been 
informed  was  on  the  banks  of  the  little  river  Crimisa.  It 
appeared  at  the  first  reflection  inexcusable  folly  to  attack  an 
army  so  numerous  as  that  of  the  enemy,  with  only  four  or 
five  thousand  foot,  and  a  thousand  horse ;  but  Timoleon, 

left  him  the  inlievitaiiee.  but  not  the  fortune  which  had  preserved  botli  himself 
aiid  that.— However.  foitiiMo  dil  lii'u  tio  jrreat  injury,  iii  replacing  liim  on  the 
dunghill,  from  which  she  had  raised  his  father.  ♦Pluti  p.  248-l!50. 


TIIR    CARTIIAGI]N'IA?fS.  285 

who  knew  that  bravery,  conducted  by  prudence,  is  sujienor 
to  numbers,  relied  on  the  courage  of  liis  soldiers,  who  seem- 
ed resolved  to  die  rather  than  yield,  and  with  ardor  de- 
manded to  be  led  against  the  enemy.  The  event  justified 
his  views  and  hopes.  A  battle  was  fought;  the  Cartha- 
ginians were  routed,  and  ujiwards  of  ten  thousand  of  them 
slain,  full  three  thousand  of  whom  were  C;irtliaginian  citize.ns, 
which  filled  their  city  with  mourning  and  the  greatest  con- 
sternation. Their  camp  was  taken,  and  with  it  immense 
riches,  and  a  great  number  of  ])risoners. 

Thnoleon,  *  at  the  same  time  that  he  despatched  the 
news  of  this  A'ictory  to  Corinth,  sent  thither  the  finest  arms 
found  among  the  plunder.  For  he  was  passionately  desir- 
ous of  having  this  city  applauded  and  admired  by  all  men, 
when  they  should  see  that  Corinth  alone,  among  all  the 
Grecian  cities,  adorned  its  finest  temples,  not  with  the  spoils 
of  Greece,  and  offering*  dyed  in  the  blood  of  its  citizens,  the 
sight  of  which  could  tend  only  to  preserve  the  sad  remem- 
brance of  their  losses;  but  with  those  of  barbarians,  which 
by  fine  inscriptions,  displayed  at  once  the  courage  and  re- 
ligious gratitude  of  those  who  had  won  them.  For  these 
inscriptions  imported,  That  the  Corinthians^  and  Titnoleon 
their  general^  after  having  freed  the  Greeks^  settled  in 
Sicily^  from  the  Carthaginian  yoJce,  had  hung  up  these 
arms  in  their  temples,  as  an  eternal  acknowledgment  of 
the  favor  and  goodness  of  the  gods. 

After  this,  Timoleon,  leaving  the  mercenary  troops  in 
the  Carthaginian  territories,  to  waste  and  destroy  them, 
returned  to  Syracuse.  On  his  arrival  there  he  banished  the 
thousand  soldiers  who  had  deserted  him  ;  and  took  no  other 
revenge,  than  commanding  thetn  to  leave  Syracuse  before 
sunset. 

This  victory  gained  by  the  Corinthians,  was  followed  by 
the  capture  of  many  cities,  which  obliged  the  Carthaginians 
to  sue  for  peace. 

In  ])roportion  as  the  appearance  of  success  made  the 
Carthaginians  vigorously  exert  themselves  to  raise  powerful 
armies  both  by  land  and  sea,  and  prosperity  led  them  to 
make  an  insolent  and  cruel  use  of  victory  ;  so  their  courage 
would  sink  in  imforeseen  adversities,  their  hopes  of  new  re- 
sources vanish,  and  tlieir  grovelHng  souls  condescend  to  ask 
quarter  of  the  most  inconsiderable  enemy,  and  without  sense 
of  shame,  accept  the  hardest  and  most  mortifying  conditions. 

»  Plut.  248-250. 


286  A>rCIE5fT    HISTORY. 

Those  now  imposed  were,  that  they  should  ])ossess  only  the 
landf-.  lying  beyond  the  river  Halycus  ;  *  that  tliey  should 
give  all  the  natives  liberty  to  retire  to  Syracuse  Avith  their 
families  and  effects  ;  and  that  they  should  neither  continue 
in  the  alliance,  nor  hold  any  correspondence  with  the  tyrants 
of  that  city. 

About  this  time,  in  all  probability,  there  ha])pened  at 
Carthage  a  memorable  incident,  related  by  Justin.f  TIanno, 
one  of  its  most  powerful  citizens,  formed  a  design  of  seizing 
upon  the  re})ublic,  by  destroying  the  whole  senate.  He 
chose,  for  the  execution  of  this  bloody  plan,  the  day  on  which 
his  daughter  was  to  be  married,  on  which  occasion  he  de- 
signed to  invite  the  senators  to  an  entertainment,  and  there 
poison  them  all.  The  conspiracy  was  discovered,  but  Hanno 
had  such  influence,  that  the  government  did  not  dare  to 
punish  so  execrable  a  crime ;  the  magistrates  contented 
themselves  with  only  preventing  it,  by  an  order  which  for- 
bade, in  general,  too  great  a  magnificence  at  weddings,  and 
limited  the  expense  on  those  occasions.  Hanno,  seeing  his 
stratagem  defeated,  resolved  to  employ  open  force,  and  for 
that  purpose  armed  all  the  slaves.  HoAvever,  he  was  again 
discovered  ;  and  to  escape  punishment,  retired,  with  twenty 
thousand  armed  slaves,  to  a  castle  that  was  very  strongly 
fortified;  and- there  endeaA'ored,  but  Avithout  success,  to 
engage  in  his  rebellion  the  Africans,  and  the  king  of  Mauri- 
tania. He  afterwards  was  taken  prisoner,  and  carried  to 
Carthage,  where,  after  being  Avhipped,  his  eyes  Avere  put 
out,  his  arms  and  thighs  broken,  he  Avas  put  to  death  in 
presence  of  the  people,  and  his  body,  all  torn  with  stripes, 
was  hung  on  a  gibbet.  His  children  and  all  his  relations, 
though  they  had  not  joined,  in  his  guilt,  shared  in  his  pun- 
ishment. They  were  all  sentenced  to  die,  in  order  that  not 
a  single  person  of  his  family  might  be  left,  either  to  imitate 
his  crime  or  revenge  his  death.  Such  was  the  temper  of  the 
Carthaginians  ;  CA^er  severe  and  A'iolent  in  their  punishments, 
they  carried  them  to  the  extremes  of  rigor,  and  made  them 
extend  even  to  the  innocent,  Avithout  shoAving  the  least  regard 
to  equity,  moderation,  or  gratitude. 

I  noAV  come  to  the  wars  sustained  by  the  Carthaginians 
in  Africa  itself,  as  well  as  in  Sicily,  against  Agathocles,  which 
exercised  their  arms  during,  several  years.  :j: 

*  This  liver  is  not  far  from  A^rigeutiim.  It  is  called  Lycns  by  DJo<loriis  and 
Plutarcli,  but  this  is  thought  a  mistake.  t  Justin,  lib.  xxi.  c.  4- 

t  A.  M.  36«5.  A.  Oarth.  527.  A.  Rome,  429.  Ant.  J.  C.  319.  Died.  1.  xix.  p. 
651-656,  710-712,  737-743,  760.    Justin.  1.  ii.  c,  1-6, 


THE    CARTHAGIXIAXS.  287 

This  Agathocles  was  a  Sicilian,  of  obscure  birth  and  low 
fortune.*  Supported  at  first  by  the  forces  of  the  Cartha- 
ginians, he  had  invaded  the  sovereignty  of  Syracuse,  and 
made  himself  tyrant  over  it.  In  the  infancy  of  his  powei-, 
the  Carthaginians  kept  him  within  bounds,  and  Ilamilcar, 
their  chief,  forced  him  to  agree  to  a  peace,  which  restored 
tranquillity  to  Sicily.  But  he  soon  infringed  the  articles  of 
it,  and  declared  war  against  the  Carthaginians  themselves, 
who,  iinder  the  conduct  of  Hamilcar,  obtained  a  signal  vic- 
tory over  hini,t  and  forced  him  to  shut  himself  uj)  in  Syra- 
cuse. The  Carthaginians  pursued  him  thither,  and  laid 
siege  to  that  important  city,  the  capture  of  which  would 
have  given  them  possession  of  all  Sicily. 

Agathocles,  whose  forces  were  greatly  inferior  to  theirs, 
and  who  saw  himself  deserted  by  all  his  allies,  from  their 
detestation  of  his  horrid  cruelties,  meditated  a  design  of  so 
daring,  and,  to  all  appearance,  of  so  impracticable  a  nature, 
that  even  after  success,  it  yet  appears  almost  incredible. 
This  design  was  no  less  than  to  make  Africa  the  seat  of  war, 
and  to  besiege  Carthage,  at  a  time  when  he  could  neither 
defend  himself  in  Sicily,  nor  sustain  the  siege  of  Syracuse. 
Plis  pro-found  secrecy  in  the  execution  is  as  astonishing  as 
the  desigTi  itself.  He  communicated  his  thoughts  on  tliis 
affair  to  no  person  whatsoever,  but  contented  himself  with 
declaring,  that  he  had  found  out  an  infallible  way  to  free 
the  Syracusans  from  the  dangers  that  surrounded  them ; 
that  they  had  only  to  endure  with  patience,  for  a  short  time, 
the  inconveniences  of  a  siege  ;  but  that  those  who  could  not 
bring  themselves  to  this  resolution,  might  freely  depart  the 
city.  Only  sixteen  hundred  persons  quitted  it.  He  left  his 
brother  Antander  there  with  forces  and  provisions  sufficient 
for  him  to  make  a  stout  defence.  He  set  at  liberty  all  slaves 
who  were  of  age  to  bear  arms,  and,  after  obliging  them  to 
take  an  oath,  joined  them  to  his  forces.  He  carried  with 
him  only  fifty  talents  t  to  supply  his  present  wants  ;  well 
assured  that  he  should  find  in  the  enemy's  country  what- 
ever was  necessary  to  his  subsistence.     He  therefore  set  sail 

*  He  was,  according  to  most  historians,  the  son  of  a  potter,  but  all  allow  him 
to  have  worked  at  the  trade,  l-^roiii  the  obscurity  of  his  birth  and  condition, 
Polybius  uses  an  argument  to  prove  his  capacity  and  talents,  in  opposition  to  the 
Slanders  of  Tiinasus.  But  his  greatest  eulogiuin  wfis  the  praise  of  Scipio.  That 
illustrious  Koman  being  asked,  who,  in  his  opinion,  were  the  most  prudent  in  he 
conduct  of  tbeir  atTairs  and  most  judiciously  bold  in  the  execution  of  Iheir  de- 
signs ;  answered  Agathocles  andDionygius.— Polyb.  1.  xv.  p.  1003.  Edit  Gronov. 
However,  let  his  capacity  have  been  ever  so  gieat.  it  was  exceeded  by  his  cruel- 
ties, t  The  battle  was  fought  near  the  river  and  city  of  Hymera. 

1 50,000  French  crowns,  or  $55,000.   , 


288  A^rCIENT    HISTORY. 

with  two  of  his  sons,  Archagathus  and  Ileraclides,  without 
letting  any  one  person  know  whither  he  intended  his  course. 
All  who  Avere  on  board  his  fleet  believed  that  they  were  to 
be  conducted  either  to  Italy  or  Sardinia,  in  order  to  plunder 
those  countries,  or  to  lay  waste  those  coasts  of  Sicily  which 
belonged  to  the  enemy.  The  Carthaginians,  surprised  at 
so  luiexpected  a  departure,  endeavored  to  prevent  it ;  but 
Agathocles  eluded  their  pursuit,  and  in:ide  for  the  main 
ocean. 

He  did  not  discover  his  design  till  he  had  landed  iu 
Africa.  There  assembling  his  troops,  he  told  them,  in  a  few 
words,  the  motives  which  had  i)rompted  him  to  this  expe- 
dition. He  represented,  that  tlie  only  way  to  free  their 
country,  was  to  carry  the  war  into  the  territories  of  their 
enemies  :  that  he  led  them,  who  were  inured  to  war  and  of 
intrepid  dispositions,  against  a  parcel  of  enemies  who  were 
softened  and  enervated  by  ease  and  luxury:  that  the  natives 
of  the  countrj^  oppressed  with  the  yoke  of  servitude,  equally 
cruel  and  ignominious,  woidd  run  in  crowds  to  join  them  on 
the  first  news  of  their  arrival :  that  the  boldness  of  their  at- 
tempt would  alone  disconcert  the  Carthaginians,  who  had  no 
expectation  of  seeing  an  enemy  at  their  gates  :  in  short,  that 
no  enterprise  could  jiossibly  be  more  advantageous  or  honor- 
able than  this,  since  the  whole  wealth  of  Carthage  would  be- 
come the  prey  of  the  victors,  whose  courage  would  be  praised 
and  admired  by  the  latest  posterity.  The  soldiers  fancied 
themselves  already  masters  of  Carthage,  and  received  his 
speech  with  applause  and  acclamations.  One  circumstance 
alone  gave  tliem  uneasiness,  and  that  was,  an  eclipse  of 
the  sun  happening  just  as  they  were  setting  sail.  In  these 
ages,  even  the  most  civilized  nations  understood  very  little 
the  reason  of  these  extraordinary  j^henomena  of  nature ;  and 
used  to  draw  fi*om  them  (by  their  soothsayer)  superstitious 
and  arbitrary  conjectures,  which  frequently  would  either 
suspend  or  hasten  the  most  important  enterprises.  How- 
ever, Agathocles  revived  the  drooping  courage  of  his  sol- 
diers, by  assuring  them  tliat  these  eclipses  always  foretold 
some  instant  change  :  that,  therefore,  good  fortune  was 
taking  its  leave  of  Carthage,  and  coming  over  to  them. 

Finding  his  soldiers  in  the  good  disposition  he  wished 
them,  he  executed,  almost  at  the  same  time,  a  second  enter- 
prise, which  was  even  more  daring  and  hazardous  than  his 
first,  of  carrying  them  over  into  Africa  ;  and  this  was,  the 
burning  every  ship  in  his  fleet.     Many  reasons  determined 


THE    CAKTHAGIXIAXS.  289 

hira  to  so  desperate  an  action.  He  had  not  one  good  hai 
bor  in  Africa  where  his  sliips  could  lie  in  safety.  As  the 
Carthaginians  were  masters  of  the  sea,  they  would  not  have 
failed  to  possess  themselves  immediately  of  his  fleet,  which 
was  incapable  of  making  the  least  resistance.  In  case  he 
had  left  as  many  hands  as  were  necessary  to  defend  it,  he 
would  have  weakened  his  army,  Avhich  was  inconsiderable 
at  the  best,  and  put  it  out  of  his  power  to  gain  any  advan- 
tage by  this  unexpected  diversion,  the  success  of  which 
depended  entirely  on  the  swiftness  and  vigor  of  the  execu- 
tion. Lastly,  he  was  desirous  of  putting  his  soldiers  under 
a  necessity  of  conquering,  by  leaving  them  no  other  refuge 
than  victory.  Much  courage  was  necessary  to  adopt  such 
a  resolution.  He  had  already  prepared  all  his  officers,  who 
were  entirely  devoted  to  his  service,  and  received  every 
impression  he  gave  them.  He  then  came  suddenly  into  the 
assembly,  with  a  crown  upon  his  head,  dressed  in  a  magnif- 
icent habit,  and,  with  the  air  and  behavior  of  a  man  who 
was  going  to  perform  some  religious  ceremony,  and  address- 
ing himself  to  the  assembly,  "  When  we,"  says  he,  "  left 
Syracuse,  and  were  warmly  pursued  by  the  enemy,  in  this 
fatal  necessity,  I  addressed  myself  to  Ceres  and  Proserpine, 
the  tutelar  divinities  of  Sicily ;  and  promised,  that  if  they 
would  free  us  from  this  imminent  danger,  I  would  burn  all 
our  ships  in  their  honor,  at  our  first  landing  here.  Aid  me, 
therefore,  O  soldiers,  to  discharge  my  vow  ;  for  the  god- 
desses can  easily  make  us  amends  for  this  sacrifice."  At 
the  same  time,  taking  a  flambeau  in  his  hand,  he  hastily  led 
the  way  on  board  his  own  ship,  and  set  it  on  fire.  All  the 
officers  did  the  like,  and  were  cheerfully  followed  by  the 
soldiers.  The.  trumpets  sounded  from  every  qunrter,  and 
the  whole  army  echot  1  with  joyful  shouts  and  acclamations. 
The  fleet  was  soon  consumed.  The  soldiers  had  not  been 
allowed  time  to  reflect  on  the  proposal  made  to  them. 
They  had  all  been  hurried  on  by  a  blind  and  impetuous 
ardor ;  but  when  they  had  a  little  recovered  their  reason, 
and,  surveying  in  their  minds  the  vast  extent  of  ocean 
which  separated  them  from  their  own  country,  saw  tiiem- 
selves  in  that  of  the  enemy,  without  the  least  resource,  or 
any  means  of  escaping  out  of  it,  a  sad  •  and  melancholy 
silence  succeeded  the  transport  of  joy  and  acclamations, 
which,  but  a  moment  before,  had  been  so  general  in  the 
army. 

Here  again  Agathocles  left  no  time  for  reflection.     He 

19 


290  ANCIENT    HISTORY. 

marched  his  army  towards  a  place  called  the  Great  City, 
which  was  part  of  the  domain  of  Carthage.  The  country 
through  which  they  marched  to  this  place  afforded  the  most 
delicious  and  agreeable  prospect  in  the  world.  On  each 
side  were  seen  large  meads  watered  by  beautiful  streams, 
and  covered  with  innumerable  flocks  of  all  kinds  of  cattle  ; 
country  seats  built  Avith  extraordinary  magnificence  ;  de- 
lightful avenues  plrnted  with  olive  and  all  sorts  of  fruit- 
trees  ;  gardens  of  a  prodigious  extent,  and  kej^t  with  a  care 
and  elegance  which  delighted  the  eye.  This  prospect  rean- 
imated the  soldiers.  They  marched  full  of  courage  to  the 
Great  City,  which  they  took,  sv.'ord  in  hand,  and  enriched 
themselves  with  the  plunder  of  it,  which  was  entirely  aban- 
doned to  them.  Tunis,  Avhich  was  not  far  distant  from 
Carthage,  made  as  little  resistance. 

The  Carthaginians  were  in  pi  oiigious  alarm,  when  it  was 
known  that  the  enemy  was  in  the  country,  advancing  by 
hasty  marches.  This  arrival  of  Agathocles  made  the  Car- 
thaginians conclude,  that  their  army  before  Syracuse  had 
been  defeated,  and  their  fleet  lost.  The  people  ran  in  dis- 
order to  the  great  square  of  the  city,  while  the  senate  as- 
sembled in  haste,  and  in  a  tumultuous  manner'.  Immediately 
they  deliberated  on  the  means  for  preserving  the  city.  They 
had  no  army  in  readiness  to  oppose  the  enemy,  and  their 
imminent  danger  did  not  permit  them  to  wait  the  arrival  of 
those  forces  which  might  be  raised  in  the  country,  and 
among  the  allies.  It  was  therefore  resolved,  after  several 
different  opinions  had  been  heard,  to  arm  the  citizens.  The 
number  of  the  forces  thus  levied  amounted  to  forty  thousand 
foot,  a  thousand  horse,  and  two  thousand  armed  chariots. 
Hanno  and  Bomilcar,  though  divided  between  themselves  by 
some  family  quarrels,  were,  however,  joined  in  the  command 
of  these  troops.  They  marched  immediately  to  meet  the 
enemy,  and  on  sight  of  them,  drew  up  their  forces  in  order 
of  battle.  Agathocles  liad,  at  most,  but  thirteen  or  fourteen 
thousand  men.*  The  signal  was  given,  and  an  obstinate 
fight  ensued.  Hanno,  with  his  sacred  cohort,  the  flower  of 
the  Carthaginian  forces,  long  sustained  the  fary  of  the 
Greeks,  and  sometimes  even  broke  their  ranks  ;  but  at  last, 
overwhelmed  with  a   shower  of  stones,  and   covered  with 

*  Agathocles,  wanting  arms  for  many  of  tiis  soldiers,  provided  them  with  such 
B»  were  counterfeit,  which  loolted  well  at  a  distance.  And  perceiving  the  dis- 
couragement his  forces  were  under  on  siTht  of  the  enemy's  h  >rae.  he  let  fly  a 
gr«at  many  owls,  [irivately  procured  for  that  rmrpose,  which  his  soldievg  inter- 
preted as  an  omen  and  assurance  of  victory — Diod.  Ad.  Aim.  3  Olynip.  p.  117. 


THE    CARTHAGINIANS.  201 

wounds,  he  il'iI  dead  on  the  field.  Bomilcar  might  have 
changed  the  iace  of  things,  but  he  had  private  and  ])ersonal 
reasons  not  to  obtain  a  victory  for  his  country.  He  there- 
fore thought  proper  to  retire  with  the  forces  under  his  com- 
mand, and  was  followed  by  the  Avliole  army,  which  by  that 
means  was  forced  to  leave  the  field  to  Agathocles.  After 
pursuing  the  enemy  some  time,  he  returned  and  ])lundcred 
the  Carthaginian  camp.  Twenty  thousand  pair  of  manacles 
were  found  in  it,  with  which  the  Carthaginians  had  furnislied 
themselves,  in  the  firm  persuasion  of  their  taking  many  ]>ris- 
oners.  The  result  of  this  victory  Avas  the  capture  of  a  great 
number  of  strongholds,  and  the  defection  of  many  of  the 
natives  of  the  country,  who  joined  the  victor. 

This  descent  of  Agathocles  into  Africa,  doubtless  gave 
birth  to  Scipio's  design  of  making  a  like  attempt  vipon  the 
same  republic,  and  from  the  same  place.*  Wherefore,  in 
his  answer  to  Fabius,  who  ascribed  to  temerity  his  design  of 
making  Africa  the  seat  of  the  war,  he  forgot  not  to  mention 
the  example  of  Agathocles,  as  an  instance  in  favor  of  his  en- 
terprise, and  to  show,  that  frequently  there  is  no  other  way 
to  get  rid  of  an  enemy,  who  presses  too  closely  upon  us,  than 
by  carrying  the  Avar  into  his  own  country ;  and  that  men  are 
much  more  com'ageous  when  they  act  upon  the  offensive, 
than  when  they  stand  only  upon  the  defensive. 

While  the  Carthaginians  were  thus  warmly  attacked  by 
their  enemies,  ambassadors  came  to  them  from  Tyre.f  They 
came  to  implore  their  succor  against  Alexander  the  Great, 
who  was  upon  the  point  of  taking  their  city,  which  he  had 
long  besieged.  The  extremity  to  which  their  countrymen, 
for  so  they  called  them,  were  reduced,  touched  the  Cartha- 
ginians as  sensibly  as  their  own  danger.  Though  they  were 
unable  to  relicA^e  them,  they  at  least  thought  it  their  duty  to 
comfort  them ;  and- deputed  thirty  of  their  jmncipjil  citizens, 
to  express  their  grief  that  they  could  not  spare  them  any 
troops,  because  of  the  present  melancholy  situation  of  their 
own  affairs.  The  Tyrians,  though  disappointed  of  the  only 
hope  they  had  left,  did  not  however  despond.  They  com- 
mitted their  wives,  children,  t  and  old  men,  to  the  care  of 
those  deputies  ;  and,  being  delivered  from  all  inquietude 
with  regard  to  persons  who  Avere  dearer  to  them  than  any 
thing  in  the  Avorld,  they  thought  only  of  making  a  resolute 
defence,  prepared  for  the  Avorst  that  might  hap])en.     Car- 

*  Liv.  1.  xxviii.  11.  43.  t  Diod.  1.  xvii.  p.  519-     Qnint.  Curt.  1.  iv.  c.  3. 

XTmv  rixviav  Ka'i  yvvaiKuv  ixepo'i,  soma  Of  their  wives  and  children. — Diod.  1 
xvii.-xli. 


5i92  AXCIEXT    HTSTORY. 

thage  receivoa  this  afflicted  company  witli  all  p()ssil)le  marks 
of  amity,  and  paid  to  guests  who  were  so  dear  and  worthy 
of  compassion,  all  the  services  which  they  could  have  ex- 
pected from  the  most  affectionate  and  tender  parents. 

Quintus  Curtius  places  this  embassy  from  Tyre  to  the 
Carthaginians  at  the  same  time  that  th.e  Syracusans  Avere 
ravaging  Africa,  and  had  advanced  to  the  very  gates  of  Car- 
th.age.  But  the  expedition  of  Agathocles  against  Africa 
cannot  agree  in  time  with  tlie  siege  of  Tyre,  whicli  was  moi-e 
than  tAventy  years  before  it. 

At  the  same  time,  Carthage  Avas  solicitous  hoAV  to  extri- 
cate itself  from  the  difficulties  Avith  Avhich  it  Avas  surrounded. 
The  present  unhappy  state  of  the  republic  Avas  considered 
as  the  effect  of  the  Avrath  of  the  gods ;  and  it  Avas  acknoAvl- 
edged  to  be  justly  deserved,  particularly  Avith  regard  to  tAvo 
deities  towards  Avhom  the  Cai-thaginians  had  l^een  remiss  in 
the  discharge  of  certain  duties  prescribed  by  their  religion, 
and  Avhieh  had  once  been  observed  Avith  great  exactness. 
It  was  a  custom,  coeA^al  Avith  the  city  itself,  in  Carthage,  to 
send  annua.lly  to  Tyre,  the  mother  city,  the  tenth  of  all  the 
reA'enues  of  the  republic,  as  an  offering  to  Hercules,  the 
patron  and  ])rotector  of  both  cities.  The  domain,  and  con- 
sequently tlie  revenues  of  Carthage,  having  increased  con- 
siderably, the  portion  on  the  contrary,  of  the  god,  had  been 
lessened,  and  they  Avere  far  from  remitting  the  Avholc  tenth 
to  him.  They  Avere  seized  with  a  scru])le  in  this  res])ect, 
they  made  an  open  and  public  confession  of  their  insincerity, 
and  sacrilegious  avarice  ;  and  to  ex])iate  their  guilt,  they  sent 
to  Tyre  a  great  number  of  ])resents,  and  small  shrines  of 
their  deities,  all  of  gold,  Avhich  amounted  to  a  j)rodigious 
value. 

Another  violation  of  religion,  Avhich  to  their  inhuman 
superstition  seemed  as  flagrant  as  the  former,  gave  them  no 
less  uneasiness.  Anciently,  children  of  the  best  families  in 
Carthage  used  to  be  sacrificed  to  Saturn.  They  now  re- 
proached themselves  Avith  having  failed  to  pay  to  the  god 
the  honors  Avhich  they  thought  Avere  due  to  him ;  and  with 
having  used  fraud  and  dishonest  dealing  toAvards  him,  by 
haA'ing  substituted  in  their  sacrifices,  children  of  slaAes  or 
beggai's,  bought  for  that  purpose,  in  the  rooi.i  of  those  nobly 
born.  To  expiate  the  guilt  of  so  horrid  an  im])iety,  a  sacri- 
fice was  made  to  this  bloodthirsty  god,  of  tAvo  hundred  chil- 
dren of  the  first  rank ;  and  upwards  of  three  hundred  per- 
sons, from  a  sense   of  this  terrible   neglect,   offered  them- 


THE  'CAKTIIAGIXIAXS.  293 

selves  voluntarily  as  A^ctims  to  ])acify,  by  the  effusion  of 
tlieir  blood,  the  wrath  of  the  gods. 

After  these  ex])iations,  exj)resses  were  despatched  to 
Sicily,  with  the  news  of  what  had  happened  in  Africa  and, 
at  the  same  time,  to  request  immediate  succoi's.  llamilcar, 
on  receiving  this  disastrous  intelligence,  commanded  the 
deputies  to  observe  the  strictest  silence  on  the  victory  of 
Agathocles,  and  spread  a  contrary  report,  that  he  had  been 
entirely  defeated,  his  forces  all  cut  off,  and  his  whole  fleet 
taken  by  the  Carthaginians  ;  and  in  confirmation  of  this  re- 
])ort,  he  sliowed  the  irons  of  the  vessels  pretended  to  be 
taken,  which  had  been  carefully  sent  to  him.  The  truth  of 
this  rei)ort  was  not  at  all  doubted  in  Syracuse  ;  the  majority 
were  for  capitulating,*  when  a  galley  of  thirty  oars,  built  in 
haste  by  Agathocles,  arrived  in  the  port,  and  through  great 
difficulties  and  dangers  forced  its  way  to  the  besieged.  The 
news  of  Agathocles'  victory  immediately  flew  through  the 
city,  and  restored  life  and  resolution  to  the  iidiabitants. 
llamilcar  made  a  last  effort  to  storm  the  city,  but  was 
beaten  off  with  loss.  He  then  raised  the  siege,  and  sent  five 
thousand  men  to  the  relief  of  his  distressed  country.  Some 
time  after,  having  resumed  the  siege,  and  hoping  to  surprise 
the  Syracusans,  by  attacking  them  in  the  night,t  his  design 
was  discovered,  and  falling  alive  into  the  enemy's  hands,  he 
was  put  to  death  Avith  most  exquisite  tortures,  t  Hamilcar's 
head  was  sent  immediately  to  Agathocles,  who,  advancing  to 
the  enemy's  cximp,  tlirew  it  into  a  general  consternation,  by 
displaying  to  them  the  head  of  their  general,  which  mani- 
fested the  melancholy  situation  of  their  affairs  in  Sicily. 

To  these  foreign  enemies  was  joined  a  domestic  one, 
which  was  more  to  be  feared,  as  being  more  dangerous  than 
the  others ;  this  was  Bomilcar,  their  general,  who  was  then 
in  possession  of  the  first  ])ost  in  Carthage.  §  He  had  long 
ineditated  how  to  make  himself  tyrant,  and  attain  the  sov- 
ereignty of  Carthage,  and  imagined  that  the  present  troubles 
offered  him  the  Avished-for  opportunity.     He  therefore  en- 

*  And  the  most  forwaidof  all  the  vest  was  Antaiider,  the  brother  of  Agatho- 
cles, left  >  ominaiider  in  his  absence,  who  was  so  terrified  with  tlie  report,  that  he 
was  eager  for  having  tiie  eiiy  surrendered,  and  expelled  out  of  it  eight  thousand 
inhabitants  who  were  of  a  contrary  opinion.  t  L)iod.  p.  767-709. 

t  He  was  cruelly  torturetl  till  he  died,  and  so  met  with  the  fate  which  his  fel- 
low-citizen.-, offended  at  his  cor.duct  in  Sicily,  had  probably  allotted  for  him  at 
home.  He  was  too  formidable  to  be  attacked  at  the  head  of  his  army,  and  there- 
fore the  votes  of  the  senate,  whatever  they  were,  being  ncoording  to  custom  cast 
into  a  vessel,  it  was  immediately  closed,  with  an  order  not  to  uncover  it  till  he 
was  returned,  and  had  thrown  up  his  commission.— Justin.  1.  xxii.  c.  3. 

§  Diod.  p.  779-781.      Justin.  1.  xxii.  o.  7. 


294  AXCIEXT    HISTORY. 

tered  the  city,  and  being  seconded  by  a  small  number  of 
citizens,  who  Avere  the  accomplices  of  his  rebellion,  and  a 
body  of  foreign  soldiers,  lie  jn-oclaimed  himself  tyrant,  and 
made  himself  literally  such,  by  cutting  the  throats  of  all  the 
citizens  whom  lie  met  with  in  the  streets.  A  tumult  arising 
immediately  in  the  city,  it  was  at  first  thought  tluit  the  en- 
emy had  taken  it  by  some  treachery  ;  but  Avhen  it  was 
known  that  Bomilcar  caused  all  this  disturbance,  the  young 
men  took  up  arms  to  repel  the  tyrant,  and  from  the  tops  of 
the  houses  discharged  Avliole  volleys  of  darts  and  stones 
upon  the  heads  of  his  soldiers.  When  he  saw  an  army 
marching  in  order  against  him,  he  retired  with  his  troops 
to  an  eminence,  v.'ith  design  to  make  a  Aigorous  defence, 
and  to  sell  his  life  as  dear  as  possible.  To  spare  the  blood 
of  the  citizens,  a  general  pardon  A\'as  proclaimed  for  all  A\'ho 
would  l:iy  down  their  arms.  They  surrendered  upon  this 
proclamation,  and  all  enjoyed  the  benefit  of  it,  Bomilcar, 
their  chief  exce])ted  ;  for  he,  notAvithstanding  the  general 
indemnity  ])romised  by  oath,  Avas  condemned  to  die,  and 
fixed  to  a  cross,.  Avliere  he  suffered  the  most  exquisite  tor- 
ments. From  the  cross,  as  from  a  rostrum,  he  harangued 
the  ])eo])le,  and  thouglit  himself  justly  emjioAvered  to  re- 
proach them  for  their  injustice,  their  ingratitude,  and  per- 
fidy, Avhich  he  did  by  enumerating  many  illustrious  generals, 
whose  services  they  had  rcAvarded  Avith  an  ignominious 
death.  He  expired  on  the  cross  Avhile  uttering  these  re- 
proaches.* 

Agathocles  had  Avon  over  to  his  interest  a  poAverful  king 
of  Cyrene,  named  Ophellas,t  whose  ambition  he  had  flattered 
with  the  most  sjilendid  hopes,  by  leading  him  to  understand 
that,  contenting  himself  Avith  Sicily,  he  Avoidd  leave  to 
Ophelias  the  em])ire  of  Africa.  But  as  Agathocles  did  not 
scru])le  to  commit  the  most  horrid  crimes  to  ])romote  his 
ambition  and  interest,  the  credulous  prince  had  no  sooner 
put  himself  and  his  army  in  his  ])OAver,  than,  by  the  blackest 
perlidy,  he  caused  him  to  be  murdered,  in  order  that  Ojdiel- 
las'  army  might  be  entirely  at  his  devotion.  Many  nations 
were  noAV  joined  in  alliance  with  Agathocles,  and  scA'eral 
strongholds  were  garrisoned  by  his  forces.  As  he  noAv  saw 
the  affairs  of  Africa  in  a  flourishing  condition,  he  thought 

»  It  would  seem  incredible,  that  any  man  could  so  far  triumph  over  the  pains 
of  the  cross,  iiB  to  talk  with  aiij' coherence  in  hi.s  discours;-,  liad  not  Seneca  as- 
sured us,  that  somo  have  :  ofar  despised  and  insulted  its  tortures,  that  they  spit 
contemptuously  upon  the  s^pectators.  Quidam  ex  patibulo  buos  spectatores  con- 
epuerant.— Be  Vita  Beata,  c.  19. 

t  Diod.  p.  777-7. y,  791-802.     Justin.  1.  xxii.  c.  7.  8. 


THE    CARTHAGIXIAXf?. 


295 


it  proper  to  look  after  those  of  Sicily  ;  accordingly,  he 
sailed  back  thither,  having  left  the  command  of  his  army  to 
his  son  Archagathus.  His  renown,  and  the  report  of  his 
victories,  flew  before  him. 

On  the  news  of  his  arrival  in  Sicily,  many  towns  re- 
volted to  him  ;  but  bad  news  soon  recalled  him  to  Africa. 
His  absence  had  quite  changed  the  face  of  things  ;  and  all 
his  endeavors  were  incapable  of  restoring  them  to  their 
former  condition.  All  his  strongholds  had  surrendered  to 
the  enemy ;  the  Africans  had  deserted  him  ;  some  of  his 
troops  were  lost,  and  the  remainder  were  unable  to  make 
head  against  the  Carthaginians  :  he  had  no  way  to  trans- 
port them  into  Sicily,  as  he  was  destitute  of  ships  ;  the  en- 
emy were  masters  at  sea,  and  he  could  not  hope  for  either 
peace  or  treaty  with  the  barbarians,  since  he  had  insulted 
them  in  so  outrageous  a  manner,  by  his  being  the  first  who 
had  dared  to  make  a  descent  on  their  country.  In  this  ex- 
tremity, he  thought  only  of  providing  for  his  own  safety. 

After  many  adventures,  this  base  deserter  of  his  army, 
and  perfidious  betrayer  of  his  own  children,  who  were  left 
by  him  to  the  wild  fury  of  his  disappointed  soldiers,  stole 
away  from  the  dangers  which  threatened  him,  and  arrived 
at  Syracuse  with  very  few  followers.  His  soldiers,  seeing 
themselves  thus  betrayed,  murdered  his  sons,  and  surren- 
dered to  the  enemy.  Himself  died  miserably  soon  after, 
and  ended,  by  a  cruel  death,*  a  life  that  had  been  polluted 
with  the  blackest  crimes. 

In  this  period  may  be  placed  another  incident  related 
by  Justin. t  The  fame  of  Alexander's  conquests  made  the 
Carthaginians  fear  that  he  might  think  of  turning  his  arms 
towards  Africa. 

The  disastrous  fate  of  Tyre,  whence  they  drew  their 
origin,  and  which  he  had  so  lately  destroyed ;  the  building 
of  Alexandria  upon  the  confines  of  Africa  and  Egypt,  as  if 
he  intended  it  as  a  rival  city  to  Carthage  ;  the  xminterrupted 
successes  of  that  pi'ince,  whose  ambition  and  good  fortune 
were  boundless  ;  all  this  justly  alarmed  the  Carthaginians. 
To  sound  his  inclinations,  Hamilcar,  surnamed  Rhodanus, 
pretending  to  have  been  driven  from  his  country  by  the 

*  He  was  iKjisoiied  by  one  Mseuon,  whom  he  had  unnaturally  abused.  Hie 
teeth  were  (julretied  by  the  violence  of  the  poison,  and  his  body  tortured  all 
over  witli  the  most  racking  pains.  Moenon  was  excited  to  this  deed  by  Archaga- 
thus, grandson  of  Agathocles,  whom  he  designed  to  defeat  of  the  succession,  in 
favor  of  his  other  son  Agathocles.  Before  his  death,  he  restored  the  democracy 
to  the  people.  It  is  observable  that  .Justin,  or  r.ither  Trogus.  and  Diodorus,  dis- 
agree in  all  the  material  parts  of  this  tyrant's  history.  t  Justin.  1.  xxi.  c.  6. 


296  ANCIENT    HISTORY. 

cabals  of  his  enemies, went  over  to  the  camp  of  Alexander,  to 
whom  he  was  introduced  by  Parmenio,  and  ottered  him  his 
services.  The  king  received  him  gi'aciously,  and  had  sev- 
eral conferences  with  him.  Hamilcar  did  not  fail  to  trans- 
mit to  his  country  whatever  discoveries  .he  made  from  time 
to  time,  of  Alexander's  designs.  Nevertheless,  on  his  re- 
turn to  Carthage,  after  Alexander's  death,  he  was  considered 
as  a  betrayer  of  his  country  to  that  prince,  and  accordingly 
was  put  to  death  by  a  sentence,  which  displayed  equally  the 
ingratitude  and  cruelty  of  his  countrymen. 

I  am  now  to  speak  of  the  wars  of  the  Carthaginians  in 
Sicily,  in  the  timef  of  Pyrrhus,  king  of  Epirus.  The  Ro- 
mans, to  whom  the  designs  of  that  ambitious  prince  were 
not  unknown,  to  strengthen  themselves  against  any  attempts 
he  might  make  upon  Italy,  had  renewed  their  treaties  with 
the  Carthaginians,  who,  on  their  side,  were  no  less  afraid  of 
his  crossing  into  Sicily.  To  the  articles  of  the  preceding 
treaties,  there  was  added  an  engagement  of  mutual  assist- 
ance, in  case  either  of  the  contracting  powers  should  be  at- 
tacked by  Pyrrhus.* 

The  foresight  of  the  Romans  was  well  founded  :  Pyrrhus 
turned  his  arms  against  Italy,  and  gained  many  victories. 
The  Carthaginians,  in  consequence  of  t)ie  last  treaty,  thought 
themselves  obliged  to  assist  the  Romans,  and  accordingly 
sent  them  a  fleet  of  sixscore  sail,  under  the  command  of 
Mago.  This  general,  in  an  audience  before  the  senate,  sig- 
nified to  them  the  concern  his  superiors  took  in  the  war 
which  they  heard  was  carrying  on  against  the  Romans,  and 
offered  them  their  assistance.  The  senate  returned  thanks 
for  the  obliging  offer  of  the  Carthaginians,  but  at  present 
thought  fit  to  decline  it.f 

Mago,  some  days  after,  repaii'ed  to  Pyrrhus,  upon  pre- 
tence of  offering  the  mediation  of  Carthage  for  terminating 
his  quarrel  with  the  Romans,  but  in  reality  to  sound  him, 
and  discover,  if  jiossible,  his  designs  with  regard  to  Sicily, 
which  common  fame  reported  he  was  going  to  invade,  t 
The  Carthaginians  were  afraid  that  either  Pyrrhus  or  the 
Romans  would  interfere  in  the  affairs  of  that  island,  and 
transport  forces  thither  for  the  conquest  of  it.  And  indeed 
the  Syracusans,  who  had  been  besieged  for  some  time  by 
the  Carthaginians,  had  sent  pressingly  for  succor  to  Pyr- 
rhus.    This  prince  had  a  particular  reason  to  espouse  their 

*  A.  M.  3T27.    A.  Car'h.  569.    Rome,  471.    Ant.  J.  C.  277.      Pclyb.  1.  iii.  p.  25a 
t  Edit.Gronov.    Justiii.  1.  xviii.  c.  2.  t  Ibid. 


THE    CARTHAGINIANS.  297 

interests,  having  married  Lanassa,  daughter  of  Agathocles, 
by  Avhom  he  had  a  son,  named  Alexander. 

He  at  last  sailed  from  Tarentum,  jjassed  the  strait,  and 
arrived  in  Sicily.  His  conquests  at  fii'st  were  so  rapid,  that 
he  left  the  Carthaginians,  in  the  whole  island,  only  the  sin- 
gle town  of  Lilybasum.  He  laid  siege  to  it,  but  meeting 
Avith  a  vigorous  resistance,  Avas  obliged  to  retire,  and  the 
urgent  necessity  of  his  affairs  called  him  back  to  Italy, 
where  liis  presence  Avas  absolutely  necessary.  Nor  Avas  it 
less  so  in  Sicily,  Avliich,  on  his  departure,  returned  to  the 
obedience  of  its  former  masters.  Thus  he  lost  this  island 
wdth  the  same  ra|>idity  that  he  had  Avon  it.  As  he  was  em- 
barking, turning  his  eyes  back  to  Sicily,  What  a  fine  field  of 
battle*  said  he  to  those  about  him,  do  xoe  leave  the  Cartha- 
ginians and  Homans  !  f  His  prediction  was  soon  A^erified. 

After  his  depai-ture,  the  chief  magistracy  of  Syracuse 
was  conferred  on  Hiero,  who  afterAvards  obtained  the  name 
and  dignity  of  king,  by  the  united  suffrages  of  the  citizens, 
so  greatly  had  his  government  pleased.  He  Avas  appointed 
to  carry  on  the  Avar  against  the  Carthaginians,  and  obtained 
several  advantages  OA'er  them.  But  noAv  a  common  interest 
reunited  them  against  a  neAV  enemy,  Avho  began  to  appear 
in  Sicily,  and  justly  alarmed  both  ;  these  Avere  the  Romans, 
Avho  haA'ing  crushed  all  the  enemies  who  had  hitherto  exer- 
cised their  arms  in  Italy  itself,  were  now  poAvei'ful  enough  to 
carry  them  out  of  it ;  and  to  lay  the  foundation  of  that 
vast  poAver  there,  to  Avhich  they  afterwards  attained,  and  of 
which  it  was  probable  they  had  even  then  formed  the  de- 
sign. Sicily  lay  too  commodious  for  them,  not  to  form  a 
resolution  of  establishing  themselves  in  it.  They  therefore 
eagerly  snatched  this  opportunity  for  crossing  into  it,  Avhich 
caused  the  rupture  betAveen  them  and  the  Carthaginians,  and 
give  rise  to  the  first  Punic  Avar.  This  I  shall  treat  of  more 
at  large  by  relating  the  causes  of  that  Avar. 

*Plut.  inPyiTh.  p.  398. 

t  "Oral'  oTroAcnro^ei'  i>  <J)iAoi,  Kap;(T)ioi'iois  (cal  'Poj;«ai'oi?  •naXniatpa.v.  Tbe  Greek 
expression  is  beautiful.  Imieed  Sicily  was  a  kind  of  Palwstra,  where  the  Car- 
thaginians and  Romans  exercised  themselves  In  war,  and  for  many  years  seemed 
to  play  the  part  of  wrestlers  with  each  other.  The  English  language  as  well  as 
the  i'rench,  has  no  word  to  express  the  Greek  term. 


298  ANCIEXT    HISTORY. 


CHAPTER  IT. 

THE  HISTORY    OF   CAFITHAGE,    FRO^f   THE   FIRST   PUXIC    ^VAR 
TO    ITS  DESTRUCTION. 

The  plan  which  I  have  laid  down  does  not  allow  me  to 
enter  into  an  exact  detail  of  the  wars  between  Rome  and 
Cartha<Te,  since  that  relates  rather  to  the  Roman  history, 
which  I  shall  only  transiently  and  occasionally  tonch  upon. 
My  business  is  to  relate  such  facts  only  as  may  give  the 
reader  a  just  idea  of  the  republic,  whose  history  lies  before 
me  ;  by  confining  myself  to  those  particulars  which  relate 
chiefly  to  the  Carthaginians,  such  as  their  transactions  in 
Sicilj',  Spain,  and  Africa,  which  are  sufficiently  extensive. 

I  have  already  observed,  that  from  tlie  first  Punic*  war 
to  the  ruin  of  Carthage,  a  hundred  and  eighteen  years 
elapsed.  This  whole  time  may  be  divided  into  five  parts  or 
intervals. 

I.  The  first  Punic  war  lasted  twenty-four  years.  24 

II.  The  interval  between  the  first  and  second  Punic 
war  is  also  twenty-four  years. 

III.  The  second  Punic  Avar  took  up  seventeen  years.       17 

IV.  The  interval  between  the  second  and   tliird,  is )   ,q 

forty-nine  years.  ) 

V.  The  third  Punic  war,  terminated  by  the  destruc-  ) 

tion  of  Carthage,  continued  but  four  years  and  >-   4 
some  months.  ) 

"118 

ARTICLE    I. THE    FIRST    PUNIC    WAR. 

The  first  Punic  Avar  arose  from  the  following  cause. 
Some  Cam})anian  soldiers  in  the  service  of  Agathocles,  the 
Sicilian  tyrant,  having  entered  as  friends  into  Messina,  they 
soon  after  murdered  part  of  the  toAvnsmen,  droAe  out  the 
rest,  married  their  Avives,  seized  their  effects,  and  remained 
sole  masters  of  that  important  city.*  They  then  assumed 
the  name  of  Mamertines.  In  imitation  of  them,  and  by 
their  assistance,  a  Roman  legion  treated  in  the  same  cruel 
manner  the  city  of  Rhegium,  lying  directly  opposite  to 
Messina,  on  the  other  side  of  the  strait.     These  tAvo  perfidi- 

*  A.  M.  3724.  A.  Carth.  566.  A.  Rome,  468.  Aut.  J.  C.  280.  Polyb.  1.  i.  p.  8. 
Edit.  Groiiov. 


I  24 


THE    OARTHAGIXIAXS.  299 

ous  cities,  supporting  one  anotlier,  became  at  last  formidable 
to  their  neiglibors  ;  and  especially  Messina,  which,  being 
very  powerful,  gave  great  umbrage  and  uneasiness  both  to 
the  Syracusans  and  Carthaginians,  who  possessed  one  part 
of  Sicily.  After  the  Romans  had  got  rid  of  the  enemies 
they  had  so  long  contended  Avith,  and  particularly  of  Pyr- 
rhus,  they  began  to  think  it  time  to  call  their  citizens 
to  account,  who  had  settled  themselves,  near  two  years,  at 
Rhegium,  in  so  cruel  and  treacherous  a  manner.  Accord- 
ingly they  took  the  city,  and  killed,  in  the  attack,  the  great- 
est ])urt  of  the  inhabitants,  who,  a"rmed  with  des])air,  had 
fought  to  the  last  gasp  :  three  hundred  only  were  left,  who 
were  carried  to  Rome,  whipped,  and  then  publicly  beheaded 
in  the  forum.  The  view  Avhich  the  Romans  had  in  making 
this  bloody  execution,  was,  to  prove  to  their  allies  their  own 
sincerity  and  innocence.  Rhegium  was  immediately  re- 
stored to  its  lawful  possessors.  The  Mamertines,  who  were 
considerably  weakened,  as  well  by  the  ruin  of  their  confed- 
erate city,  as  by  the  losses  sustained  from  the  Syracusans, 
who  had  lately  placed  Hiero  at  their  head,  thought  it  time 
to  provide  for  their  own  safety.  But  divisions  arising 
among  them,  one  ])art  surrendered  the  citadel  to  the  Car- 
thaginians, while  the  other  called  in  the  Romans  to  their 
assistance,  and  resolved  to  piit  them  in  possession  of  their 
city. 

The  affair  was  debated  in  the  Roman  senate,  where, 
being  considered  in  all  its  lights,  it  appeared  to  have  some 
difficulties.*  On  one  hand,  it  was  thought  brsj,  and  alto- 
gether unwortliy  of  the  Roman  virtue,  for  them  to  under- 
take openly  the  defence  of  traitors,  whose  perfidy  was 
exactly  the  same  with  that  of  the  Rhegians,  wliom  the  Ro- 
mans had  recently  ])unished  witli  so  exemplary  a  severity. 
On  the  other  hand,  it  was  of  the  utmost  consequence  to 
stop  the  progress  of  the  Carthaginians,  Avho,  not  satisfied 
with  their  conquests  in  Africa  and  Spain,  had  also  made 
themselves  masters  of  almost  all  the  islands  of  the  Sardin- 
ian and  Hetruriau  seas  ;  and  would  certainly  get  all  Sicily 
into  tlieir  hands,  if  they  should  be  suffered  to  possess  them- 
selves of  Messina.  From  thence  into  Italy  the  pas^sage  was 
very  short  ;  and  it  was  in  some  manner  to  invite  an  enemy 
to  come  over,  to  leave  the  entrance  open.  These  reasons, 
though  so  strong,  coidd  not  prevail  with  the  senate  to  de- 
clare in  favor  of  the  Mamertines ;  and  accordingly,  motives 

*  Polyb.  1.  i.  p.  12-15.    Edit.  G.oiiov. 


300  AXCIEXT    HISTORY. 

of  honor  and  justice  prevailed  over  tliose  of  interest  and 
policy.  But  the  people  were  not  so  scrupulous  ;  for,  in  an 
assembly  held  on  this  subject,  it  was  resolved  that  the  Mn- 
mertines  should  be  assisted.*  The  consul  A])pius  Claudius 
immediately  set  forward  with  his  army,  and  boldly  crossed 
the  strait,  after  he  had,  by  an  ingenious  stratagem,  eluded 
the  vigilance  of  the  Carthaginian  general.  The  Carthagin- 
ians, partly  by  art  and  partly  by  force,  were  driven  out  of 
the  citadel ;  and  the  city  was  surrendered  immediately  to 
the  consul.  The  Carthaginians  hanged  their  general,  for 
having  given  up  the  citadel  in  so  cowardly  a  manner  and 
prepared  to  besiege  the  town  with  all  tlieir  forces.  Hiero 
joined  them  with  his  own.  But  the  consul  having  defeated 
them  separately,  raised  the  siege,  and  laid  waste  at  pleas- 
ure the  neighboring  country,  the  enemy  not  daring  to  face 
him.  This  was  the  first  exijedition  which  the  Romans  made 
out  of  Italy. 

It  is  doubted  whether  the  motives  Avhich  prompted  the 
Romans  to  imdertake  this  ex])edition  were  very  upright,  and 
exactly  conformable  to  the  rules  of  strict  justice. t  Be  this 
as  it  may,  their  passage  into  Sicily,  and  the  succor  they  gave 
to  the  inhabitants  of  Messina,  may  be  said  to  liave  been  the 
first  steps  by  which  they  ascended  to  that  height  of  glory 
and  grandeur  they  afterwards  "attained. 

Hiero  having  reconciled  himself  to  the  Romans,  and 
entered  into  an  alliance  with  them,  the  Carthaginians  bent 
all  their  thoughts  on  Sicily,  and  sent  numerous  armies  into 
that  island,  t  Agrigentum  was  their  depot  of  arms,  which, 
being  attacked  by  the  Romans,  was  won  by  them,  after  they 
had  besieged  it  seven  months,  and  gained  one  battle.  § 

Notwithstanding  the  advantage  of  this  victory,  and  the 
conquest  of  so  important  a  city,  the  Romans  were  sensible 
that  while  the  Carthaginians  shoidd  continue  masters  at  sea, 
the  maritime  j)laces  in  the  island  would  always  side  with 
them,  and  })ut  it  out  of  their  power  ever  to  drive  them  out 
of  Sicily.  11  Besides,  they  saw  with  reluctance  Africa  enjoy 
a  profound  tranquillity,  at  a  time  that  Italy  was  infested 
by  the  frequent  incursions  of  its  enemies.  They  now  first 
formed  the  design  of  having  a  fleet,  and  of  disputing  the 
empire  of  the  sea  with  the  Cai'thaginians.  The  undertaking 
was  bold,  and  in  outward  appearance  rash,  but  evinces  the 

♦A.M.  3741.     A.  Carth.  583.    A.  Rome,  485.      Ant.  J.  C.  223.      Frontin. 
t  Tlie  Chevalier  Folard  examines  this  question  in  Ids  remarks  upon  Polyb 
ius,  1.  i.  p.  16. 

t  Polyb.  1.  i.  p.  15-19.      §  A.  M.  3743.     A.  Rome,  487.      ||  Polyb.  1.  i.  p.  20.      • 


THE    CARTHAGIXIAXS.  301 

courage  and  grandeur  of  the  Roman  genius.  The  Romans 
were  not  tlien  j^ossessed  of  a  single  vessel,  Avhieh  they  could 
call  their  own  ;  and  the  ships  which  had  transported  their 
forces  into  Sicily  had  been  borrowed  of  their  neighbors. 
They  were  unexperienced  in  sea  affairs,  had  no  carjienters 
acquainted  with  the  building  of  ships,  and  knew  nothing  ot 
the  shape  of  the  quinqueremes,  or  galleys,  with  five  benches 
of  oars,  in  which  the  chief  strength  of  fleets  at  that  time 
consisted  ;  but  hajipily,  the  year  before,  one  had  been  taken 
upon  the  coasts  of  Italy,  which  served  them  as  a  model. 
They  therefore  applied  themselves  with  ardor  and  incredible 
industry  to  the  building  of  ships  in  the  same  form  ;  and  in 
the  mean  time  they  got  together  a  set  of  rowers,  who  were 
taught  an  exercise  and  discipline  xitterly  unknown  to  them 
before,  in  the  follovving  manner.  Benches  were  ma  "e,  on 
the  shore,  in  the  same  order  and  fashion  with  those  of  galleys. 
The  rowers  were  seated  on  these  benches,  and  taught,  as  if 
they  had  been  furnished  vv'ith  oars,  to  throw  themselves 
backwards  with  their  arms  drawn  to  their  breasts ;  and  then 
to  throw  their  bodies  and  arms  forward  in  one  regular 
motion,  the  instant  their  commanding  officer  gave  the  signal, 
In  two  months,  one  hundred  galleys  of  five  benches  of  oars, 
and  twenty  galleys  of  three  benches  were  built ;  and  after 
some  time  had  been  sj)ent  in  exercising  the  rowers  on  ship- 
board, the  fleet  put  to  sea,  and  went  in  quest  of  the  enemy. 
The  consul  Duillius  had  the  command  of  it. 

The  Romans,  coming  up  with  the  Carthaginians  near  the 
coast  of  Myle,  they  prepared  for  an  engagement.*  As  the 
Roman  galleys,  by  their  being  clumsily  and  hastily  built, 
were  neither  very  nimble  nor  easy  to  work,  this  in -onveni- 
ence  was  supplied  by  a  machine  invented  for  this  occasion, 
and  afterwards  known  by  the  name  of  the  Corvus.f  croto 
or  crane^  by  helj)  of  which  they  grappled  the  enemy's  shijis, 
boarded  them,  and  immediately  came  to  close  engagement. 
The  signal  for  fighting  Avas  given.  The  Carthaginian  fleet 
consisted  of  a  hundred  and  thirty  sail,  under  the  command 
of  Hannibal.  :i:  He  himself  was  on  board  a  galley  of  seven 
benches  of  oars,  which  had  once  belonged  to  Pyrrl  us.  The 
Carthaginians,  highly  despising  enemies  who  were  uttei-ly 
unacquainted  with  sea  affairs,  imagined  that  their  very  a])- 
pearance  would  put  them  to  flight,  and  therefore  came  for- 
ward boldly,  with  little  expectation  of  fighting,  lut  firmly 

*  A.  M.  3715.    A.  Rome,  489.    Polyb.  1.  i.  p.  22-  t  Polyb.  1.  i.  p.  31, 

X  A  different  person  from  the  great    Hannibal. 


302  ANCIENT    HISTORY. 

imagining  they  should  reap  the  spoils,  which  they  had  already 
devoured  with  their  eyes.  They  were  nevertheless  a  littk 
surprised  at  the  sight  of  the  above-mentioned  engines,  raised 
on  the  prow  of  every  one  of  the  enemy's  shi])s,  and  which 
was  entirely  new  to  them.  But  their  astonishment  increased 
when  they  saw  those  engines  drop  down  at  once  ;  r.nd  being 
thrown  forcibly  into  their  vessels,  grapj)le  them  in  spite  of 
all  resistance.  This  clianged  the  form  of  tlie  action,  and 
obliged  the  Carthaginians  to  come  to  close  engagement  with 
their  enemies,  as  though  they  had  fought  tliem  on  land. 
They  soon  were  unable  to  sustain  the  attack  of  the  Roman 
vessels,  upon  which  a  horrible  slaughter  ensued  ;  and  the 
Carthaginians  lost  fourscore  vessels,  among  which  was  the 
admiral's  galley,  he  himself  escaping  with  difficulty  in  a  small 
boat. 

So  considerable  and  unexpected  a  victory  raised  the 
courage  of  the  Romans,  and  seemed  to  redouble  their  vigor 
for  the  continuance  of  the  war.  Extraordinary  honors  were 
bestowed  on  the  consul  Duillius,  who  was  the  first  Roman 
that  had  a  naval  triuni})h  decreed  him.  Besides  Avhich,  a 
rostral  ])i]lar  was  erected  in  Ins  honor,  with  a  noble  inscrip- 
tion ;  which  ]>illar  is  yet  standing  in  Rome* 

During  the  two  following  years,  the  Romans  grew  in- 
sensibly stronger  at  sea,  by  their  gaining  several  naval  vic- 
tories.f  But  these  were  considered  by  them  only  as  essays 
preparatory  to  the  great  design  they  meditated  of  carrying 
the  war  into  Africa,  and  of  combating  the  Carthaginians  in 
their  own  country.  There  was  nothing  the  latter  dreaded 
more ;  and  to  divert  so  dangerous  a  bloAV  they  resolved  to 
fight  the  enemy,  whatever  might  be  the  consequence. 

The  Romans  had  elected  M.  Atilius  Regulus  and  L. 
Manlius,  consuls  for  this  year.  |  Their  fleet  consisted  of 
three  hundred  and  thirty  vessels,  on  board  of  which  were 
one  hundred  and  forty  thousand  men,  each  vessel  having 
three  hundred  rowers,  and  a  hundred  and  twenty  soldiers. 
That  of  the  Carthaginians,  commanded  by  Hanno  and 
Hamilcar,  had  twenty  vessels  more  than  the  Romans,  and  a 
greater  number  of  men  in  proportion.  The  two  fleets  came 
in  sight  of  each  other  near  Ecnomus  in  Sicily.  No  man 
could  behold  two  such  formidable  navies,  or  be  a  sj)ectator 
of  the  extraordinary  preparations  they  made  for  fighting, 
without  being  under  some  concern,  on  seeing  the    danger 

*  These  pUlars  were  called  rostratae,  from  the  beaks  of  ships  with  which  they 
were  adorned ;  rostra. 

t  Polyb.  1.  i.  p.  24.  t  A.  M.  3749.    A.  Rome,  494.    Polyb.  1.  i.  p.  24. 


THE    CARTHAGINIA?f8.  303 

which  menaced  two  of  the  most  powerful  states  in  tlio 
world.  As  the  courage  on  both  sides  was  equal,  and  no 
great  disparity  in  the  forces,  the  fight  was  obstinate,  and  the 
victory  long  doubtful,  but  at  last  the  Carthaginians  were 
overcome.  More  than  sixty  of  their  ships  were  taken  by 
the  enemy,  and  thirty  sunk.  The  Romans  lost  twenty-four, 
not  one  of  which  was  taken  by  the  Carthaginians. 

The  fruit  of  tliis  victory,  as  the  Romans  had  designed  it, 
was  their  sailing  to  Africa,  after  having  refitted  their  ships, 
and  provided  them  with  all  necessaries  for  carrying  on  a 
long  war  in  a  foreign  country.*  They  landed  happily  in 
Africa,  and  began  the  war  by  takhig  a  toAvn  called  Clypea, 
which  had  a  commodious  haven.  From  thence,  after  having 
sent  an  express  to  Rome,  to  give  advice  of  their  landing, 
and  to  receive  orders  from  the  senate,  they  ovei-ran  the  open 
country,  in  which  they  made  terrible  havoc  ;  bringing  away 
whole  flocks  of  cattle,  and  twenty  thousand  prisoners. 

The  express  returned  in  the  mean  time  with  the  orders 
of  the  senate ;  which  were,  that  .Regulus  should  continue  to 
command  the  armies  in  Africa,  with  the  title  of  proconsul ; 
and  that  his  colleague  should  return  with  a  great  part  of 
the  fleet  and  the  forces  ;  leaving  Regulus  only  forty  vessels, 
fifteen  thousand  foot,  and  five  hundred  horse. f  Their  leav- 
ing the  latter  with  so  few  ships  and  troop-s,  was  a  visible 
renunciation  of  the  advantages  which  might  have  been  ex- 
pected from  the  descent  upon  Africa. 

The  people  at  Rome  depended  greatly  on  the  courrge 
and  abilities  of  Regulus,  and  the  joy  was  universal,  when 
it  was  known  that~  he  was  continued  in  the  command  in 
Africa  ;  but  he  alone  was  afflicted  on  that  account. |  When 
news  was  brought  him  of  it,  he  wrote  to  Rome,  and  request- 
ed, in  the  strongest  terms,  that  he  might  be  allowed  to 
resign.  His  chief  reason  was,  that  the  death  of  the  farmer 
who  rented  his  grounds,  having  given  one  of  his  hirelings 
an  opportunity  of  carrying  off  all  the  implements  of  tillage, 
his  presence  was  necessary  for  taking  care  of  the  little  spot 
of  ground,  but  seven  acres,  which  was  all  the  property  his 
family  possessed.  But  the  senate  undertook  to  Lave  his 
lands  cultivated  at  the  public  expense;  to  maintain  his  wife 
and  children ;  and  to  indemnify  him  for  the  loss  of  his  hire- 
ling. Thrice  happy  age  !  in  which  poverty  was  thus  had  in 
honor,  and  was  united  with  the  most  rare  and  uncommon 
merit,  and  the  highest  employments  of  the  state  !     Regulus, 

♦  Polyb.  1.  i.  p.  30.       t  A.  M.  3756.    A.  Rome,  491.        t  Val.  M;ix.  1.  iv.  c.  4. 


304  ANCIENT   HISTOUY. 

thus  freed  from  his  domestic  cares,  bent  his  tlioiip:hts    on 
discharging  the  duty  of  a  general. 

After  taking  several  castles,  he  laid  siege  to  Adis,  one  of 
the  strongest  fortifications  of  the  country.*  The  Cartha- 
ginians, exasperated  at  seeing  their  enemies  thus  laying 
waste  their  lands  at  pleasure,  at  last  took  the  field,  and 
marched  agninst  them,  to  force  them  to  raise  the  siege. 
With  this  view,  they  posted  themselves  on  a  hill,  Mhich 
overlooked  the  Roman  camp,  and  was  convenient  for  annoy- 
ing the  enemy  ;  but  at  the  same  time,  by  its  situation,  use- 
less to  one  part  of  their  army;  for  the  strength  of  the  Car- 
thaginians lay  chiefly  in  their  horses  and  elephants,  which 
are  of  no  service  but  in  plains.  Regulus  did  not  give  them 
an  opportunity  of  descending  from  the  hill,  but  taking  ad- 
vantage of  this  essential  mistake  of  the  Carthaginian  gene- 
rals,  he  fell  upon  them  in  this  post ;  and  after  meeting  with 
a  feeble  resistance,  put  the  enemy  to  flight,  plundered  their 
camp  and  laid  waste  the  adjacent  countries.  Then,  having 
taken  Tunis,t  an  important  city,  and  which  brought  him 
near  Carthage,  he  made  his  arn)y  encamp  there. 

The  enemy  were  in  the  utmost  alarm.  All  things  had 
succeeded  ill  with  them  ;  their  forces  had  been  defeated  by 
sea  and  land,  and  upwards  of  two  hundred  towns  had  sur- 
rendered to  the  conqueror.  Besides,  the  Numidians  made 
greater  havoc  in  their  territories  than  even  the  Konians. 
They  expected  every  moment  to  see  their  capital  besieged. 
And  their  aflftictiou  was  increased  by  the  concourse  of 
peasants,  Avith  their  wives  and  children,  wlio  flocked  from 
all  parts  to  Carthage  for  safety  ;  which  gave  them  melan- 
choly apprehension  in  case  of  a  siege.  Kegulus,  afraid  of 
having  the  glory  of  his  victories  torn  from  him  by  a  suc- 
cessor, made  some  proi:)osal   of  an   accommodation  to  the 

•  Polyb.l.  i.  pp.  .$1-36. 

t  In  the  interval  between  the  departure  of  MaiiHns  and  the  taking  of  Tunis, 
"we  are  to  place  the  memorable  combat  of  Regulus  and  liis  whole  army,  willi  a 
Serpent  of  80  prodigious  a  size,  that  iJie  fabulous  one  of  taUmus  is  liiirdly  com- 
parable to  it.  The  siory  of  this  serpent  vv, IB  elegautly  wiitten  hj  Livy,  but  it  is 
now  lost.  Valerius  Maximus,  however,  partly  repairs  that  loss  ;  and  in  the  li;st 
chapter  of  his  ttrst  book,  gives  us  this  account  of  this  monster  from  Livy  hiui- 
self.  He  (Livy)  says,  that  on  the  banks  of  Bagrada,  an  African  river,  lay  a  ser- 
pent, of  so  enonno'us  a  size,  that  it  kept  the  whole  Koman  army  from  corliing  to 
the  river.  Several  soliliers  had  been  buried  in  the  wide  caverns  of  its  1  eliy.  and 
many  pressed  to  death  in  the  spiral  volumes  of  its  tail.  Its  skin  was  impenetra- 
ble tQ  darts  ;  aj\d  it  was  with  repeated  endeavors  that  stones,  flung  from  mili- 
tary engines,  at  last  killed  it.  The  serpent  then  exhibited  a  sigLt  lli.at  v.  as  more 
terrible  to  the  Koman  cohorts  and  legions,  than  even  Carth.^sr'^  itself.  Hie 
streams  of  the  river  were  dyed  with  its  blood,  and  (he  stench  of  it.s  putrefcd  car- 
caso  infecting  tli*'  adjacent  country,  the  Koman  aniiy  was  forced  to  decamip.  Its 
skin,  one  hundred  and  twenty  feet  long,  was  sent  toKome  ;  a)id,  if  Pliny  may  be 
credited,  was  to  be  seen,  together  with  the  jaw-bone  of  the  ^ame  monster,  in  tho 
temple  where  they  were  first  deposited,  as  late  as  the  Kumantiue  war. 


THE    C  A.RTHAGIXIAXS.  305 

vanquished  enemy;  but  the  conditions  appeared  so  hard 
that  they  would  not  listen  to  them.  As  he  did  not  doubt 
his  being  soon  master  of  Carthage,  he  would  not  abate  any 
thing  in  his  demands  ;  but,  by  an  infatuation  which  is  almost 
inseparable  from  great  and  unexpected  success,  he  treatrd 
them  with  haughtiness,  and  pretended,  that  every  thing  he 
suffered  them  to  possess  ought  to  be  esteemed  a  favor,  with 
this  farther  insult,  That  they  otight  either  to  overcome  like 
brave  raen^  or  learn  to  submit  to  the  victor*  So  harsh  and  dis- 
dainful a  treatment  only  fired  their  resentment,  and  made 
them  resolve  rather  to  die  sword  in  hand,  than  to  do  any 
thing  which  might  derogate  from  the  dignity  of  Carthage. 

Reduced  to  this  extremity,  they  received,  in  the  hap- 
piest juncture,  a  reinforcement  of  auxiliary  troops  out  of 
Greece,  with  Xanthippus  the  Lacedaemonian  at  their  head, 
who  had  been  educated  in  the  discipline  of  Sparta,  and 
learned  tlie  art  of  w^ar  in  that  renowned  and  excellent 
school.  When  he  had  learned  the  circr>nstances  of  tlie  last 
battle,  which  were  told  him  at  his  request ;  had  clearly  dis- 
cerned the  occasion  of  its  being  lost,  and  perfectly  informed 
himself  of  thp  strength  of  Carthage,  he  declared  publicly, 
and  repeated  it  often  in  the  hearing  of  the  rest  of  the  oiH- 
cers,  that  the  misfortunes  of  the  Carthaginians  were  owing 
entirely  to  the  incapacity  of  their  generals.  Thef-e  .dis- 
courses came  at  last  to  the  ears  of  the  public  council ;  the 
members  of  it  were  struck  with  them,  and  they  requested 
the  favor  of  seeing  and  talking  with  him.  He  then  corrobo- 
rated his  opinion  with  such  strong  and  coua  incing  reasons 
that  the  oversights  committed  by  the  generals  were  visible 
to  every  one ;  and  he  proved  as  clearly  to  the  council,  that, 
by  a  conduct  opposite  to  the  former,  tliey  could  not  only 
secure  their  dominions,  but  drive  the  enemy  out  of  them. 
This  speech  revived  the  courage  and  hopes  of  the  Cartha- 
ginians ;  and  Xanthippus  was  entreated,  and  in  some  meas- 
ure forced,  to  accept  the  command  of  the  army.  Wheii 
the  Carthaginians  saw,  in  his  exercising  of  their  forces  near 
the  city,  the  manner  in  which  lie  drew  them  up  in  order  of 
battle,  made  them  advance  or  retreat  on  the  first  signal,  file 
off  with  order  and  expedition  ;  in  a  word,  perform  all  the 
evolutions  and  movements  of  the  military  art ;  they  were 
sti'uck  with  astonishment,  and  owned  that  the  ablest  gene- 
rals which  Carthage  had  hitherto  produced,  knew  nothing 
in  comparison  of  Xanthippus. 

*  Ael  TOlis  ayaOov;  ^  viKa.v  rj  iCKii.v  rot?  i/7repe';^ov<7ci'.— Diod.  Eclog.  1.  xxiii.  9    JO. 

20 


306  A>rCIEXT    HISTORY. 

The  officers,  soldiers,  and  every  one,  were  lost  in  admira- 
tion ;  and,  what  is  very  uncommon,  jealousy  gave  no  alloy 
to  it ;  the  fear  of  the  present  danger,  and  the  love  of  tli.eir 
country,  stifling,  without  doubt,  all  other  sentiments.  The 
gloomy  consternation,  which  had  before  seized  tlie  wliole 
array,  was  succeeded  by  joy  and  alacrity.  Tlie  soldiers 
were  urgent  to  be  led  against  the  enemy,  in  the  firm  assur- 
ance, they  said,  of  being  victorious  under  their  new  leader, 
and  of  obliterating  the  disgrace  of  former  defeats.  Xanthip- 
pus  did  not  suffer  their  ardor  to  cool,  and  the  sight  of  the 
enemy  only  inflamed  it. 

When  he  approached  within  a  little  more  than  twelve 
hundred  paces  of  them,  he  thought  proper  to  call  a  council 
of  war,  in  order  to  show  a  respect  to  the  Carthaginian 
generals  by  consulting  them.  All  unanimously  joined  in 
opinion  with,  him,  upon  which  they  resohed  to  give  the 
enemy  battle  the  following  day. 

The  Carthaginian  array  was  composed  of  twelve  thou- 
sand foot,  four  thousand  horse,  and  about  a  hundred  ele- 
phants. That  of  the  Romans,  as  near  as  may  be  guessed 
from  what  goes  before,  for  Polybius  gives  no  determinate 
number,  consisted  of  fifteen  thousand  foot  and  three  hun- 
dred horse. 

It  must  have  been  a  noble  sight  to  see  two  armies,  not 
overcharged  with  numbers,  but  composed  of  brave  soldiers, 
and  commanded  by  very  able  generals,  engaged  in  battle. 
In  those  tumultuous  fights,  where  two  or  three  hundred 
thousand  are  engaged  on  both  sides,  confusion  is  inevitable  ; 
and  it  is  difficult,  amidst  a  thousand  events,  where  chance 
generally  seems  to  have  greater  share  than  counsel  to  dis- 
cover the  true  merit  of  the  commanders,  and  the  real  cause 
of  victory.  But  in  such  engagements  as  this  before  us,  no- 
thing escapes  the  curiosity  of  the  readc;-,  for  he  clearly  sees 
the  disposition  of  the  two  armies,  imagines  he  almost  hears 
the  orders  given  out  by  the  generals,  follows  all  the  move-- 
ments  of  the  army,  discovers  plainly  the  faults  on  botli  sides, 
and  is  thereby  qualified  to  determine,  with  certainty,  the 
causes  to  which  the  victory  or  defeat  is  owing.  The  suc- 
cess of  this  battle,  however  inconsiderable  it  may  a])pear, 
from  the  small  number  of  the  combatants,  was  nevertheless 
to  decide  the  fate  of  Carthage. 

The  disposition  of  both  armies  was  as  follows.  Xanthi})- 
pus  drew  all  his  elephants  in  front.  Behind  these,  at  some 
distance,  he  j^laced  the  Carthaginian  infantry  in  one  body 


THE    CARTHAGINIANS.  307 

or  phalanx.  The  foreign  troops  in  the  Carthaginian  seivice 
were  posted,  one  part  of  them  on  the  right,  between  the 
phahmx  and  the  horse ;  and  the  other,  composed  of  light- 
armed  soldiers,  in  platoons,  at  the  head  of  the  two  wings  of 
the  cavalry. 

On  the  side  of  tlie  Romans,  as  they  apprehended  the 
elephants  most;  Regulus,  to  ])rovide  against  them,  }X)sted 
his  light-armed  soldiers,  on  a  line,  in  the  front  of  the  legions. 
In  the  rear  of  these  he  placed  the  cohorts,  one  behind  an- 
other, and  the  horse  on  the  wings.  In  thus  straitening  the 
front  of  his  main  battle,  to  give  it  more  depth,  he  indeed 
took  a  just  precaution,  says  Polybius,  against  the  ele])hants, 
but  he  did  not  provide  for  the  inequality  of  his  cavalry,  which 
was  much  inferior  in  numbers  to  that  of  the  enemy. 

The  two  armies  being  thus  drawn  up,  Avaited  only  for 
the  signal.  Xanthippus  ordered  the  elephants  to  advance, 
to  break  the  ranks  of  the  enemy  ;  and  commanded  the  two 
wings  of  the  cavalry  to  charge  the  Romans  in  flank.  At 
the  same  time,  the  latter,  clashing  their  arms,  and  shouting 
after  the  manner  of  their  country,  advanced  against  the 
enemy.  Their  cavalry  did  not  stand  the  onset  long,  it  being 
so  much  inferior  to  that  of  the  Carthaginians.  The  infantry 
of  the  left  wing,  to  avoid  the  attacks  of  the  elephants,  and 
show  how  little  they  feared  the  mercenaries  who  formed  the 
enemy's  right  wing,  attacks  it,  puts  it  to  flight,  and  pursues 
it  to  the  camp.  Those  in  the  first  ranks,  who  were  opposed 
to  the  elephants,  were  broken  and  trodden  under  foot,  after 
fighting  valiantly ;  and  the  rest  of  the  main  body  stood  firm 
for  some  time,  by  reason  of  its  great  depth.  But  the  rear, 
being  attacked  in  flank  by  the  enemy's  cavalry,  and  obliged 
to  face  about  and  receive  it,  and  those  who  had  broken 
through  the  elephants,  met  the  phalanx  of  the  Carthagin- 
ians, which  had  not  yet  engaged,  and  which  received  them 
in  good  order,  the  Romans  were  routed  on  all  sides,  and  en- 
tirely defeated.  The  greatest  2)art  of  them  Avere  crushed  to 
death  by  the  enormous  weight  of  the  ele2:)hants  ;  and  tlie 
remainder,  standing  in  their  ranks,  were  shot  through 
and  through  with  arrows  from  the  enemy's  horse.  Only 
a  small  number  fled,  and  as  they  Avere  in  an  open  coun- 
try, the  horse  and  elephants  killed  a  great  part  of  them. 
Five  hundred,  or  thereabouts,  who  went  off  with  Regu- 
lus, were  taken  prisoners  with  him.  The  Carthaginians, 
lost,  in  this  battle,  eight  hundred  mercenaries,  who  were 
opposed  to  the  left  wing  of  the  Romans;  and  of  the  latter 


308  AKCIENT   HISTORY. 

only  two  thousand  escaped,  avIio,  by  their  pursuing  the 
enemy's  right  wing,  had  drawn  themselves  oirt  of  the  en- 
gagement. All  the  rest,  Regulus  and  those  Avho  were  taken 
with  him  excepted,  were  left  dead  in  the  field.  Tlie  two 
thousand  who  had  escaped  the  slaughter  retired  to  Clypea, 
and  were  saved  in  an  almost  rair;iculous  manner. 

The  Carthaginians,  after  having  stripped  the  dead,  en- 
tered Carthage  in  triumph,  dragged  after  them  the  unfor- 
tunate Regulus,  and  five  hundred  prisoners.  Their  joy  was 
so  much  the  greater,  as,  but  a  very  few  days  before,  they 
had  seen  themselves  upon  the  brink  of  ruin.  The  men  and 
women,  old  and  young,  crowded  the  tem])les,  to  return 
thanks  to  the  gods ;  and  several  days  were  devoted  wholly 
to  festivities  and  rejoicings. 

Xanthippus,  who  had  contributed  so  much  to  this  ha})py 
change,  had  the  wisdom  to  withdraw  shortly  after,  from  the 
apprehension  lest  his  glory,  Avhich  had  hitherto  been  unsul- 
lied, might,  after  this  first  blaze,  insensibly  fade  away,  and 
leave  him  exposed  to  the  darts  of  envy  and  calumny,  whicli 
are  always  dangerous,  but  most  in  a  foreign  country,  when 
a  man  stands  alone,  unsupported  by  friends,  relations,  or  any 
other  succor. 

Polybius  tells  us,  that  Xanthippus'  departure  was  related 
in  a  different  manner,  and  he  promises  to  take  notice  of  it 
in  another  place,  but  that  part  of  his  history  has  not  come 
down  to  us.  We  read  in  Appian,*  that  the  Carthaginians, 
excited  by  a  mean  and  detestable  jealousy  of  Xanthippus' 
glory,  and  unable  to  bear  the  thoughts  that  they  should 
stand  indebted  to  Sparta  for  their  safety,  upon  pretence  of 
conducting  him  and  his  attendants  back  with  honor  to  his 
own  country,  with  a  numerous  convoy  of  ships,  gave  private 
orders  to  have  them  all  put  to  death  in  their  i)assage  ;  as  if, 
Avith  him,  they  could  have  buried  in  the  waves  for  ever 
the  memory  of  his  services,  and  their  horrid  ingratitude  to 
him.f 

♦■DeBell.  Pun.  p.  .30. 

t  This  perfidiout!a(:a(in,a9  it  is  related  by  Appian,  may  pos.iblvbj  true,  vli';n 
we  consider  tlie  cliarai'ter  of  the  carliiagiuiaiis,  wlio  were  certainly  a  cruel  .-ind 
treacherous  people.  But  if  it  be  fact,  one  would  wonder  why  Poh  bius  should  re- 
serve for  another  occasion,  the  relation  of  an  incident,  which  conies  in  most  prop- 
erly here,  as  it  linishes  at  once  the  character  and  life  of  Xanthippus.  His  si- 
lence therefore  m  this  place,  makes  nie  tliink  that  ho  intended  to  bring  Xanthip- 
pus again  upon  the  stage,  and  lo  exhibit  him  to  the  reader  in  a  different  light 
from  that  in  which  he  is  placed  by  Appian.    To  this  let  me  add,  that  it  showed  no 

great  depth  of  policy  in  the  Cartiiaginiuns,  to  take  this  method  of  despatching 
im.  when  so  many  "others  offered,  which  were  less  liable  to  censure.  In  this 
scheme  formed  for  his  destruction,  not  only  himself,  but  all  his  followers,  were 
to  be  murdered,  without  the  pretence  of  even  a  storm.  (U'  loss  of  one  single  Car* 
thaginian,  to  cover  or  excuse  the  perpetratiou  of  so  horrid  a  crime. 


THE    CARTHAGINIANS.  809 

This  battle,  says  Polybius,*  though  not  so  considerable 
as  many  others,  may  yet  furnish  very  salutary  instructions  ; 
which,  adds  that  author,  is  the  greatest  benefit  that  can  be 
reaped  from  the  study  of  history. 

First,  should  any  man  promise  himself  permanent  good 
fortune,  after  he  has  considered  the  fate  of  Regulus  ?  That 
general,  insolent  with  victory,  inexorable  to  the  conquered, 
and  deaf  to  all  their  remonstrances,  saw  himself  a  few  days 
after  vanquished  by  them,  and  made  their  prisoner.  Han- 
nibal suggested  the  same  reflection  to  Scipio,  when  he  ex- 
horted him  not  to  be  dazzled  with  the  success  of  his  arms. 
Regulus,  said  he,  would  have  been  recorded  among  the  few 
instances  of  valor  and  felicity,  had  he,  after  the  victory  ob- 
tained in  this  very  country,  granted  our  fathers  the  peace 
which  they  sued  for.  But,  putting  no  bounds  to  his  ambi- 
tion and  the  insolence  of  success,  the  greater  his  prosperity, 
the  more  ignominious  was  his  fall.f 

In  the  second  place,  the  truth  of  the  saying  of  Euripides 
is  here  seen  in  its  full  extent.  That  one  wise  head  is  worth  a 
great  many  hands.  X  A  single  man  here  changes  the  whole 
face  of  affaii's.  On  one  hand,  he  defeats  troops  which  were 
thought  invincible  ;  on  the  other,  he  revives  the  courage  of 
a  city  and  an  army,  whom  he  had  found  in  consternation 
and  despair. 

Such,  as  Polybius  observes,  is  the  use  which  ought  to  be 
made  of  the  study  of  history.  For  there  being  two  ways  of 
acquiring  improvement  and  instruction,  first,  by  one's  own 
experience,  and,  secondly,  by  that  of  other  men  ;  it  is  much 
more  wise  and  useful  to  improve  by  other  men's  miscar- 
riages than  by  our  own, 

I  return  to  Regulus,  that  I  may  here  finish  what  relates 
to  him  ;  Polybius,  to  our  great  disappointment,  taking  no 
farther  notice  of  that  general.  § 

*  Lib.  i.  p.  36,  3T. 

t  Inter  pauca  felicitatis  virtutisque  exempla,  M.  Atilius  quondam  in  hie 
e3.ileni  terra  iuisset,  si  victor  paceiu  petentibus  dedisset  patribus  no.stris.  Setl 
noil  statueiido  taiulein  felicitati  nioduni,  uec  cohibeiide  etfereiitem  se  fortun^m, 
quanto  altius  elatus  erat,  eo  foediiis  coriniit.— Liv.  I.  xxx.  ii.  30. 

+  'fls  iv  aotjibv  ^ovAeu/ia  Taj  TToAAas  x^^P"-"!  "iKa.  It  mayiiotbe  improper  to  take 
notice  in  tliis  place,  as  it  was  forgotten  before,  of  a  mistake  of  tl\e  learned  Carau- 
bon,  ill  Ids  translation  of  a  passage  of  Pol>bius,  concerning  Xautliippua.     Tlie 

passaji;e  is  tllis,  Ei'  ols  KaX  acLvO^Trnov  iiva  Aoxe^at/iquoi'  upSpa  Trjs  AaKioviftr]'; 
aywyris  fUCTex-qKOTa.,  Koi  Tpl^>)^  iv  to"?  woAe/LtiKotf  f^foira  o'Uu^ieT.ooi'-  which  18  th  US  ren- 
dered by  Casaubon  ;  In  queis  [militibiis  sc.  Grteeia  allatis]  Xanthipnus  quidana 
fuit  Laced.'cnioiiius,  vlr  disciplina  L.ioonjca  imbatus,  et  nni  rei  militarls  usum 
niedioerem  habebat.  Wliereas,  agreeably  with  the  whole  character  and  conduct 
of  Xauthippus,  I  Uxka  the  sense  of  the  passage  to  be,  a  man  formed  by  the  Spar- 
tan discipline,  and  proportlnnahly  [not  moderately]  skilled  in  military  affairs. 

§  This  silence  of  Polybius  lias  prejudiced  a  great  many  learned  men  against 
many  of  the  storiefi  told  of  Regulus'  barbt^rous  treatmeiit,'aft6r  be  was  taken  hf 


310  ANCIENT    HISTOKY. 

After  being  kept  some  years  in  prison,  lie  was  sent  to 
Rome,  to  propose  an  exchange  of  prisoners.  *  He  had  been 
obliged  to  take  an  oath,  th  it  ho  would  return  in  case  he 
proved  unsuccessful.  He  then  acquainted  the  senate  Avith 
the  subject  of  hu  voyage;  and  being  invited  by  them  to 
give  his  opinion  freely,  he  answered  that  he  could  no  longer 
do  it  as  a  senator,  having  lost  both  this  quality,  and  that  of 
a  Iloman  citizen,  from  llie  time  that  lie  had  fallen  into  the 
hands  of  his  enemies ;  but  he  did  not  refuse  to  offer  his 
thoughts  as  a  private  person.  This  was  a  very  delicate  af- 
fair. Every  one  was  touched  with  the  misfortunes  of  so 
great  a  man.  He  needed  only,  says  Cicero,  to  have  spoken 
one  word,  and  it  would  have  restored  him  to  his  liberty,  his 
estate,  his  dignity,  his  wife,  his  children,  and  his  country ; 
but  that  word  appeared  to  him  contrary  to  the  honor  and 
welfare  of  the  state.  He  therefore  plainly  declared  that  an 
exchange  of  prisoners  ought  not  to  be  so  much  as  thought 
of ;  that  such  an  example  would  be  of  fatal  consequence  to 
the  republic  ;  that  citizens,  who  had  so  basely  surrendered 
their  arms  and  persons  to  the  enemy,  were  unworthy  of  the 
least  compassion,  and  incapable  of  serving  their  country ; 
that  with  regard  to  himself,  as  he  was  so  far  advanced  in 
years,  his  death  ought  to  be  considered  as  nothing,  whereas 
they  had  in  their  hands  several  Carthaginian  generals,  in 
the  flower  of  their  age,  and  capable  of  doing  their  country 

the  Carthaginians.  Mr.  RolliTj  speaks  no  farther  of  this  matter,  and  therefore  I 
shall  give  my  reader  the  substance  of  what  is  brought  agiiinst,  the  general  belief 
of  the  Roman  writers  (as  well  historians  as  poets),  and  of  Appian,ou  this  sub- 
jec'j.  First,  it  is  urged  that  Polybius  was  very  sensible  that  tlie  story  of  these 
cruelties  was  false  ;  and  tlierefore,  that  he  might  not  disoblige  the  Romans,  by 
contr:idicting  so  general  a  belief,  he  chose  rather  to  be  silent  concerning  ReguluB 
after  he  was  taken  prisoner,  than  to  violate  the  truth  of  history,  of  which  he  was 
80  strict  an  observer.  This  opinion  is  farther  strengthened,  say  the  adversaries 
of  this  belief,  by  a  fragment  of  Diodorus,  which  says,  that  the  wife  of  Regulus, 
exasperated  at  tiie  death  of  her  husband  at  Carthag;,  occasioned,  as  she  imagined, 
by  barbarous  usage,  persuaded  her  sons  to  revenge  the  fate  of  their  father,  by  the 
cruel  ireatmaiit  of  two  Car.ha^inian  captives  (tliought  t<i  be  Bostar  and  Hamil- 
car),  taken  in  the  sea-fight  against  Sicily,  afLer  the  misfortune  of  Regulus,  and 
put  into  her  hands  fortho  redemption  of  her  husband.  One  of  these  died  by  the 
seventy  of  his  im')riso;iment ;  and  the  other,  by  the  care  of  the  senate,  who  de- 
test-ed  the  cruelty,  survived,  and  was  restored  to  health.  This  treatms-nt  of  the 
captives,  and  the  resentment  of  the  senate  on  that  account,  form  a  third  argu- 
msnt  or  presumption  against  the  truih  of  this  story- of  Regulus,  which  is  thua 
argued  :— Regul;i8  dving  in  his  captivity,  by  the  usual  course  of  nature,  his  wife, 
thus  frustrated  of  her  hopos  of  redeeming  him  by  the  exchange  of  lier  captives, 
treated  them  with  the  utmost  barbaritv.  in  consequence  of  her  belief  of  the  ill 
USHge  which  Rcjulns  had  received.  The  senate  being  angry  with  her  for  it,  to 
give  some  color  to  her  cruelties,  she  gave  out  among  her  acivaintance  and  kin- 
dred, that  her  husband  died  in  the  wav  generally  related.  This,  like  all  other 
reports,  increased  sradually  ;  and,  from  the  national  hatred  between  the  Cartha- 
ginians and  Romans,  was  easily  and  generally  believed  by  the  latter.  How  far 
fhls  is  cpncjusive  ^.jain^t  the  testimonies  of  two  such  weighty  authors  as  Cicero 
^nd  Seneca  (to  s^y  nothing  of  the  poets'),  is  left  to  the  judgment  of  the  reader. 

•A,  &f.  375.1.      A.  Ronie,  499.     Appiftn  de  Bello  Pun.  pp.  2,  3.    Cic.  de  Off.  L 
ill.  a.  99, 100.    Aul.  Gel.  1.  vl.  c.  i.    Senec.  Ep.  99. 


THE    CARTHAGINIANS.  311 

great  services  for  many  years.  It  ^ras  Avith  difficulty  that 
the  senate  complied  with  so  generous  and  unexampled  a 
counsel. 

The  illustrious  exile  therefore  left  Rome,  in  order  to 
return  to  Carthage,  unmoved  either  with  the  deep  affliction 
of  liis  friends,  or  the  tears  of  liis  wife  and  children,  althougli 
he  knew  but  too  well  the  grievous  torments  which  vrere  pre- 
pared for  him.*  And,  indeed,  the  moment  his  enemies  saw 
him  returned  without  having  obtained  the  exchange  of  pris- 
oners, they  put  him  to  every  kind  of  torture  their  barba- 
rous cruelty  could  invent.  They  imprisoned  him  for  a  long 
time  in  a  dismal  dungeon,  whence,  after  cutting  off  his  eye- 
lids, they  drew  him  at  once  into  the  sun,  when  its  beams 
darted  the  strongest  heat.  They  next  put  him  into  a  kind 
of  chest  stuck  full  of  nails,  whose  points  wounding  him,  did 
not  allow  him  a  moment's  ease  either  day  or  night.  Lastly, 
after  having  been  long  tormented  by  being  kept  for  ever 
awake  in  this  dreadful  torture,  his  merciless  enemies  nailed 
him  to  a  cross,  their  usual  punishment,  and  left  him  to  ex- 
pire on  it.  Such  was  the  end  of  this  great  man.  His  ene- 
mies, by  depriving  him  of  some  days,  perhaps  years  of  life, 
brought  eternal  infamy  on  themselves. 

The  blow  which  the  Romans  had  received  in  Africa  did 
not  discourage  them.  They  made  greater  preparations 
than  before  to  recover  their  loss  ;  and  sent  to  sea,  the  fol- 
lowing campaign,  three  hundred  and  sixty  vessels,  t  The 
Carthaginians  sailed  out  to  meet  them  with  two  hundred, 
but  were  beat  in  an  engagement  fought  on  the  coast  of 
Sicily,  and  a  hundred  and  fourteen  of  tlieir  ships  were  taken 
by  the  Romans.  These  sailed  into  Africa,  to  take  in  the 
few  soldiers  who  had  escaped  the  pursuit  of  the  enemy, 
after  the  defeat  of  Regulus,  and  had  defended  themselves 
vigorously  in  Clupea,  t  where  they  had  been  unsuccessfully 
besieged.    • 

Here  again  we  are  astonished  that  the  Romans,  after  so 
considerable  a  victory,  and  with  so  large  a  fleet,  should  sail 
into  Africa,  only  to  bring  from  thence  a  small  garrison  ; 
whereas  they  might  have  attempted  the  conquest  of  it, 
since  Regulus  with  much  fewer  forces,  had  almost  com- 
pleted it. 

The  Romans  were  overtaken  by  a  storm  in  their  return, 
which  almost  destroyed  their  whole  fleet.  §  The  like  mis- 
fortune befell  them  also  the  following  year.  ||     However, 

*  Horat.  1.  iii.  Od.  3.  t  Polyb.  1.  viii.  p.  37.  t  Or  Clypea. 

§  Polyb.  1.  vii.  p.  38-40.  II  Polyb.  1.  vii.  p.  41,  42. 


312  ANCIENT    HISTORY. 

they  consoled  themselves  for  this  double  loss,  by  a  a  ictory 
which  they  gained  over  Asdrubal,  from  whom  they  took 
near  a  hundred  and  forty  elephants.  This  news*^  being 
brought  to  Rome,  it  filled  the  whole  city  with  joy,  not  only 
because  the  strength  of  the  enemy's  army  was  considerably 
diminished  by  the  loss  of  their  elephants,  but  chiefly  be- 
cause this  victory  had  inspired  the  land  forces  with  fresh 
courage,  who  since  the  defeat  of  Regulus,  had  not  dared  to 
venture  upon  an  engagement,  so  great  Avas  the  terror  Avith 
which  those  formidable  animals  had  filled  the  minds  of  all 
the  soldiers.  It  was  therefore  judged  proper  to  nx3.ke  a 
greater  effort  than  ever,  in  order  to  finish,  if  possible,  a  war 
which  had  continued  fourteen  years.  The  tAvo  consuls  set 
sail  with  a  fleet  of  tAvo  hundred  ships,  and  arriving  in  Sicily, 
formed  the  bold  design  of  besieging  Lilybteum.  This  was 
the  strongest  toAvn  Avhich  the  Carthaginians  possessed  in 
Sicily  ;  and  the  loss  of  it  would  be  attended  with  that  of 
every  part  of  the  island,  and  open  to  the  Komans  a  free  pas- 
sage into  Africa. 

The  reader  will  suppose  that  the  utmost  ardor  Avas  shown 
both  in  the  assault  and  defence  of  the  place.*  Imilcon 
was  governor  there,  Avith  ten  thousand  regular  forces,  ex- 
clusive of  the  inhabitants  ;  and  Hannibal,  son  of  Hamilcar, 
soon  brought  him  as  many  more  from  Carthage,  he  having, 
Avith  the  most  intrepid  courage,  forced  his  Avay  through 
the  enemy's  fleet,  and  arrived  happily  in  the  port.  The 
Romans  had  not  lost  any  time.  Having  brought  forAvard 
their  engines,  they  beat  doAvn  several  towers  Avith  their 
battering  rams,  and  gaining  ground  daily,  they  made  such 
progress  as  gave  the  besieged,  who  Avere  now  closely  press- 
ed, some  fears.  The  governor  saw  ])lainly  that  there  was 
no  other  way  left  to  save  the  city,  but  by  firing  the  engines 
of  the  besiegers.  Having  therefore  prepared  his  forces  for 
this  enterprise,  he  sent  them  out  at  daybreak,  Avlth  torches 
in  their  hands,  tow,  and  all  kinds  of  combustible  matters, 
and  at  the  same  time  attacked  all  the  engines.  The  Romans 
strove,  with  unparalleled  bravery,  to  repel  them,  and  the 
engagement  Avas  very  bloody.  Every  man,  assailant  as  well 
as  defendant,  stood  to  his  post  and  chose  to  die  rather  than 
to  quit  it.  At  last,  after  a  long  resistance  and  dreadful 
slaughter,  the  besieged  sounded  a  retreat,  and  left  the  Ro- 
mans in  possession  of  their  Avorks.  This  scene  being  over, 
Hannibal,  embarking  in  the  night,  and  concealing  his  depart- 

*  Polyb.  1.  i.  p.  44-59. 


THE    CARTHAGIXIANS.  313 

ure  from  the  enemy,  sailed  for  Drepanum,  where  Adherbal 
commanded  for  the  Carthaginians.  Drepanum  was  advan- 
tageously situated,  having  a  commodious  poi't,  and  lying 
about  a  hundred  and  twenty  furlongs  from  Lilybajum  ;  and 
was  of  so  much  consequence  to  the  Carthaginians,  that  they 
had  been  always  very  desirous  of  preserving  it. 

The  Romans,  animated  by  their  late  success,  renewed 
the  attack  with  greater  vigor  than  ever,  the  besieged  not 
daring  to  venture  a  second  time  to  burn  their  machines, 
because  of  the  ill  success  they  had  met  with,  in  their  first 
attempt.  But  a  furious  wind  rising  suddenly,  some  merce- 
nary soldiers  represented  to  the  governor,  that  now  was 
the  favorable  opportunity  for  them  to  fire  the  engines  of  the 
besiegers,  especially  as  the  wind  blew  full  against  them,  and 
they  offered  themselves  for  the  enterprise.  The  offer  was 
accepted,  and  accordingly  they  were  furnished  with  every 
thing  necessary.  In  a  moment  the  fire  catched  on  all  the 
engines,  and  the  Romans  could'  not  possibly  extinguish  it, 
because  the  flames  being  instantly  spread  everywhere,  the 
Avind  carried  the  sparks  and  smoke  fvdl  into  their  eyes,  so 
that  they  could  not  see  where  to  apply  relief,  whereas  their 
enemies  saw  clearly  where  to  aim  their  strokes,  and  throw 
their  fire.  This  accident  made  the  Romans  lose  all  hopes  of 
being  ever  able  to  carry  the  place  by  force.  They  therefore 
turned  the  siege  into  a  blockade,  raised  a  line  of  contra- 
vallation  round  the  town,  and  dispersing  their  army  in  every 
part  of  the  neighborhood,  resolved  to  effect  by  time,  what 
they  found  themselves  absolutely  unable  to  perform  in  any 
other  way. 

When  the  transactions  of  the  siege  of  Lilybaeum,  and 
the  loss  of  part  of  the  forces,  were  known  at  Rome,  the  cit- 
izens, so  far  from  desponding  at  this  ill  news,  seemed  to  be 
fired  with  new  vigor.*  Every  man  strove  to  be  foremost 
in  the  muster-roll ;  so  that,  in  a  very  little  time,  an  army  of 
ten  thousand  men  was  raised,  who,  crossing  the  strait, 
marched  by  land  to  join  the  besiegers. 

At  the  same  time,  P.  Claudius  Pulcher,  the  consul, 
formed  a  design  of  attacking  Adherbal  in  Drepanum.t  He 
thought  himself  sure  of  surprising  him,  because,  after  the 
loss  lately  sustained  by  the  Romans  at  LilybaBum,  the  enemy 
could  not  imagine  that  they  would  venture  out  again  at  sea. 
Flushed  with  these  hopes,  he  sailed  out  with  his  fleet  in  the 
night,  the  better  to  conceal  his  design.     But  he  had  to  do 

*  Polyb.  lib.  i.  p.  50.  t  A.  M.  3756.    A.  Rome,  500.    Polyb.  1.  i.  p.  51. 


314  ANCIENT    HISTOPvV. 

with  an  active  general,  whose  vigilance  he  could  not  elude, 
and  who  did  not  even  give  hira  time  to  draw  up  his  ships 
in  line  of  battle,  but  fell  vigorously  upon  him,  while  his 
fleet  was  in  disorder  and  confusion.  The  Carthaginians 
gained  a  complete  victory.  Of  the  Roman  fleet,  only  thirty 
vessels  got  off,  which  being  in  company  with  the  consul, 
fled  with  him,  and  got  away  in  the  best  manner  they  could, 
along  the  coast.  All  the  rest,  amounting  to  fourscore  and 
thirteen,  with  the  men  on  board  them,  Avere  taken  by  the 
Carthaginians  ;  a  few  soldiers  excejoted,  who  had  escaped 
from  the  shipwreck  of  their  vessels.  This  victory  displayed 
as  much  the  prudence  and  valor  of  Adherbal,  as  it  reflected 
shame  and  ignominy  on  the  Roman  consul. 

Junius,*  his  colleague,  was  neither  more  prudent  nor 
more  fortunate  than  himself,  but  lost  almost  his  whole  fleet 
by  his  ill  conduct.  Endeavoring  to  atone  for  his  misfortune 
by  some  considerable  action,  he  held  a  secret  correspond- 
ence with  the  inhabitants  of  Eryx,t  and  by  that  means  got 
the  city  surrendered  to  him.  On  the  summit  of  the  moun- 
tain stood  the  temple  of  Venus  Erycina,  which  was  certainly 
the  most  beautiful,  as  well  as  the  richest  of  all  the  Sicilian 
temples.  The  city  stood  a  little  below  the  summit  of  this 
mountain,  and  the  road  that  led  to  it  was  very  long,  and  of 
diflScult  access.  Junius  posted  one  part  of  his  troops  upon 
the  top,  and  the  remainder  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain, 
imagining  that  he  now  had  nothing  to  fear ;  but  Hamilcar, 
surnamed  Barcha,  father  of  the  famous  Hannibal,  found 
means  to  get  into  the  city,  which  lay  between  the  two  camps 
of  the  enemy,  and  there  fortified  himself.  From  this  ad- 
vantageous post,  he  harassed  the  Romans  incessantly  for 
two  years.  One  can  scarce  conceive  how  it  was  possible 
for  the  Carthaginians  to  defend  themselves,  when  thus  at- 
tacked from  both  the  summit  and  foot  of  the  mountain,  and 
unable  to  get  provisions,  but  from  a  little  port,  which  was 
the  only  one  open  to  them.  By  such  enterprises  as  these, 
the  abilities  and  prudent  courage  of  a  general  are  as  well, 
or  perhaps  better  discovered,  than  by  the  winning  of  a 
battle. 

For  five  years,  nothing  memorable  was  performed  on 
either  side,  t  The  Romans  were  once  of  opinion,  that 
their  land  forces  would  alone  be  capable  of  finishing  the 
siege  of  Lilyba3um  :  but  the  war  being  protracted  beyond 
their  expectation,    they   returned   to  their  first  plan,  and 

•  Polyb.  1.  i.  p.  54-59.     t  A  city  and  mountain  of  Sicily,    t  Polyb.  1.  i.  p.  59- 64 


THE    CARTHAGINIAA'S.  315 

made  extraordinary  efforts  to  fit  out  a  new  fleet.  The 
public  treasury  was  at  a  low  ebb  ;  but  this  want  was  sup- 
plied by  private  purses,  so  ardent  was  the  love  which  the 
liomans  bore  to  their  country.  Every  man,  according  to 
his  circumstances,  contributed  to  the  common  expense  ;  and 
upon  public  security,  advanced  money,  Avithout  the  least 
scruple,  for  an  expedition  on  which  the  glory  and  safety  of 
Rome  depended.  One  man  fitted  out  a  ship  at  his  own 
charge  ;  another  Avas  equipped  by  the  contributions  of  two 
or  three  ;  so  that  in  a  A'ery  little  time,  two  hundred  were 
ready  for  sailing.  The  command  was  given  to  Lutatius 
the  consul,  Avho  immediately  put  to  se-i.*  The  enemy's 
fleet  had  retired  into  Africa,  by  which  means  the  consul 
easily  seized  upon  all  the  advantageous  posts  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Lilybaeum  :  and  foreseeing  that  he  should  soon 
be  forced  to  fight,  he  did  all  that  lay  in  his  power  to  assure 
himself  of  success,  and  employed  the  interval  in  exercising 
his  soldiei-s  and  seamen  at  sea. 

He  was  soon  informed  that  the  Carthaginian  fleet  drew 
near,  under  the  command  of  Hanno,  who  landed  in  a  small 
island  called  Hiera,  opposite  to  Drepanum.  His  design 
was  to  reach  Eryx  undiscovered  by  the  Romans,  in  order  to 
supply  the  army  there ;  to  reinforce  his  troops  and  take 
Barcha  on  board  to  assist  him  in  the  expected  engagement. 
But  the  consul,  suspecting  his  intention,  was  beforehaiid 
with  him  ;  and  having  assembled  all  his  best  forces,  sailed 
for  the  small  island  ^gusa,t  which  lay  near  the  other. 
He  acquainted  his  officers  with  the  design  he  had  of  attack- 
ing the  enemy  on  the  morrow.  Accordingly,  at  daybreak, 
he  prepared  to  engage  ;  unfortunately  the  wind  Avas  favor- 
able for  the  enemy,  Avhich  made  him  hesitate  whether  he 
should  give  them  battle.  But  considering  that  the  Cartha- 
gmian  fleet,  Avhen  unloaded  of  its  provisions,  would  become 
lighter  and  more  fit  for  action,  and  besides  would  be  con- 
siderably strengthened  by  the  forces  and  presence  of  Barcha, 
he  came  to  a  resolution  at  once  ;  and,  notAvithstanding  the 
foul  Aveather,  made  directly  to  the  enemy.  The  consul  had 
choice  forces,  able  seamen,  and  excellent  ships,  built  after 
the  model  of  a  galley  that  had  been  lately  taken  from  the 
enemy ;  and  which  Avas  the  most  complete  of  its  kind  that 
had  ever  been  se^n.  The  Carthaginians,  on  the  other  hand, 
Avere  destitute  of  all  these  advantages.  As  they  had  iDcen 
the  entire  masters  at  sea  for  some  years,  and  the  Romans 

*  A,  M.  3763.    A.  Kome,  507.  Tliey  are  now  called  Mg&te». 


316  ANCIENT    HISTOKY. 

did  not  once  dare  to  face  them,  they  had  tliem  in  the  high- 
est contempt,  and  looked  upon  themselves  as  invincible. 
On  the  first  report  of  the  enemy  being  in  motion,  the  Car- 
thaginians had  put  to  sea  a  fleet  fitted  out  in  haste,  as  ap- 
peared from  every  circumstance  of  it :  the  soldiers  and  sea- 
men being  all  mercenaries,  newly  levied,  without  the  least 
experience,  resolution,  or  zeal,  since  it  was  not  for  their  own 
country  they  Avere  going  to  fight.  This  soon  appeared  in 
the  engagement.  They  could  not  sustain  the  first  attack. 
Fifty  of  their  vessels  were  sunk,  and  seventy  taken,  with 
their  whole  crews.  The  rest,  favored  by  a  wind  which  rose 
very  seasonably  for  them,  made  the  best  of  their  way  to  the 
little  island  from  whence  they  had  sailed.  There  Avere 
upwards  of  ten  thousand  taken  prisoners.  The  consul 
sailed  immediately  for  Lilybaeum,  and  joined  his  forces  to 
those  of  the  besiegers. 

When  the  news  of  his  defeat  arrived  at  Carthage,  it 
occasioned  so  much  the  greater  surprise  and  terror,  as  it  Avas 
less  expected.  The  senate,  hoAvcA^er,  did  not  lose  their 
courage,  though  they  saAV  themselves  quite  unable  to  con- 
tinue the  war.  As  the  Romans  Avere  noAV  masters  of  the 
sea,  it  was  impossible  for  the  Carthaginians  to  send  either 
proA'isions  or  reinforcements  to  the  armies  in  Sicily.  An 
express  was  therefore  immediately  despatched  to  Barcha, 
the  general  there,  empowering  him  to  act  as  he  should  think 
proper.  Barcha,  so  long  as  he  had  room  to  entertain  the 
least  hopes,  had  done  CA^ery  thing  that  could  be  expected 
from  the  most  intrepid  courage,  and  the  most  consummate 
Avisdom.  But  having  now  no  resource  left,  he  sent  a  dep- 
utation to  the  consul,  in  order  to  treat  about  a  peace. 
Prudence,  says  Polybius,  consists  in  knowing  how  to  resist 
or  to  yield  at  a  seasonable  conjuncture.  Lutatius  was  not 
insensible  how  tired  the  Romans  were  grown  of  a  war, 
which  had  exhausted  them  both  of  men  and  money  ;  and 
the  dreadful  consequences  Avhich  had  attended  on  the  inex« 
orable  and  imprudent  obstinacy  of  Regulus  was  fresh  in  his 
memory.  He  therefore  complied  Avithout  difficulty,  and 
dictated  the  folloAving  treaty  : 

"  There  shall  be  j>eace  between  Rome  and  Carthage  (in 
case  the  Moman 2)eople  approve  of  it)  on  the  following  con- 
ditions :  The  Carthaginians  shall  entirely  evacuate  all 
Sicily ;  shall  no  longer  make  war  upon  Hiero^  the  Syracu- 
sans^  or  their  allies  /  they  shall  restore  to  the  Homans  with- 
out  ransom^  all  the  prisoners  which  they  have  taken  from 


THE    CARTHAGIXIAXS.  317 

them  /  and  pay  them^  within  twenty  years^  ttoo  thousand 
tvjo  hundred  Euhoic  talents  of  silver P  *  It  is  worth  tlie 
reader's  remarkino-,  by  the  way,  the  simple,  exact,  and  clear 
terms  in  which  tliis  treaty  is  expressed  :  that,  in  so  short  a 
compass,  adjusts  the  interests,  botli  by  sea  and  hind,  of  two 
powerful  republics  and  their  allies. 

When  these  conditions  were  brought  to  Rome,  the 
people,  not  approving  of  them,  sent  ten  commissioners  to 
Sicily,  to  terminate  the  affair.  These  made  no  alteration 
as  to  the  substance  of  the  treaty  ;  only  shortening  the  time 
appointed  for  the  payment,  reducing  it  to  ten  years  :  a 
thousand  talents  were  added  to  the  sum  that  had  been 
stipulated,  which  Avas  to  be  paid  immediately ;  and  tlie 
Carthaginians  were  required  to  depart  from  all  the  islands 
situated  between  Italy  and  Sicily.f  Sardinia  Avas  not  com- 
prehended in  this  treaty,  but  they  gave  it  up  by  another 
treaty  some  years  after. 

Such  was  the  conclusion  of  this  war,  the  longest  men- 
tioned in  history,  since  it  continued  twenty-four  years  with- 
out intermission. I  The  obstinacy,  in  disputing  for  em])ire, 
was  equal  on  either  side ;  the  same  resolution,  the  same 
greatness  of  soul,  in  forming  as  well  as  in  executing  pro- 
jects, being  conspicuous  on  both  sides.  The  Carthaginians 
had  the  superiority  with  regard  to  experience  in  naval 
affairs ;  in  the  strength  and  swiftness  of  their  vessels  ;  the 
working  of  them  ;  the  skill  and  capacity  of  the  pilots  ;  the 
knawledge  of  coasts,  shallows,  roads,  and  winds  ;  and  in 
the  inexhaustible  fund  of  wealth,  which  furnished  all  the 
expenses  of  so  long  and  obstinate  a  war.  Tlie  Romans  had 
none  of  these  advantages  ;  but  their  courage,  zeal  for  the 
public  good,  love  of  their  country,  and  a  noble  emulation  ol 
glory,  supplied  all  other  deficiencies.  We  are  astonished 
to  see  a  nation,  so  raw  and  inexperienced  in  naval  affairs, 
not  only  disputing  the  sea  with  a  people  who  Avere  best 
skilled  in  them,  and  more  powerful  than  any  that  had  ever 
been  before;  but  even  gainingseveral  victories  over  them  at 
sea.  No  difficulties  or  calamities  could  discourage  them. 
They  cei'tainly  would  not  have  thought  of  peace,  in  the  cir- 
cumstances under  which  the  Carthaginians  demanded  it. 
One  unfortunate  campaign  dispirits  the  next ;  whereas  the 
Romans  were  not  shaken  by  a  succession  of  them. 

As  to  the   soldiers,  there  was  no  comparison  between 

*  This  sum  amounts  to  near  six  millions  one  hundred  and  eighty  thousand 
Fren.^h  livres,  or  $2,286,600.  t  Polyb.  1.  iii.  p.,  1S2. 

%  A.  M.  3736.    A.  Carth.  605.   A.  Rome,  507.  Ant.  J.  C.241. 


318  ANCIEXT    HISTORY. 

those  of  Rome  and  of  Carthage,  tlie  former  being  infinitely 
superior  in  point  of  courage  ;  among  the  generals  who  com- 
manded in  this  war,  Hamilcar,  surnanied  Barcha,  was  doubt- 
less the  most  conspicuous  for  his  bravery  and  prudenc;e. 

THE    LIBYAX    WAR,    OR   WAR    AGAINST    THE    MERCENARIES. 

The  war  which  the  Carthaginians  Avaged  against  the 
Homans  was  succeeded  immediately  by  another.*  The 
very  same  year,t  which,  though  of  much  shorter  continu- 
ance, was  infinitely  more  dangerous  ;  as  it  was  carried  on 
in  the  very  heart  of  the  republic,  and  attended  with  such 
cruelty  and  barbarity,  as  scarcely  to  be  ])aralleled  in  history  ; 
I  mean  the  war  Avhich  the  Carthaginians  were  obliged  to  sus- 
tain against  their  mercenary  troops,  Avho  had  served  under 
them  in  Sicily,  and  commonly  called  the  African  or  Libyan 
war.  t  It  continued  only  three  years  and  a  half,  but  was  a 
very  bloody  one.     The  only  occasion  of  it  was  this : 

As  soon  as  the  treaty  Avas  concluded  Avith  the  Romans, 
Hamilcar  haAdng  carried  to  Lilybreum  the  forces  Avhich  Avere 
in  Eryx,  resigned  his  commission,  and  left  to  Gisco,  goA-er- 
nor  of  the  place,  the  care  of  trans))orting  these  forces  into 
Africa.  §  Cisco,  as  though  he  had  foreseen  wdiat  Avould  hap- 
pen, did  not  ship  them  all  off  at  once,  but  in  small  and  sep- 
arate parties  ;  in  order  that  those  Avho  came  first  might  be 
paid  off,  and  sent  home,  before  the  arrival  of  the  rest.  This 
conduct  evinced  great  forecast  and  Avisdom,  but  was  not 
seconded  equally  at  Carthage.  As  the  republic  had  been 
exhausted  by  the  exj^ense  of  a  long  war,  and  the  payment 
of  nearly  three  millions  French  livres  to  tlie  Romans  on  sign- 
ing the  peace,  the  forces  were  not  paid  off  in  proportion  as 
they  arriA'cd ;  but  it  Avas  thought  proper  to  Avait  for  the 
rest,  in  the  hopes  of  obtaining  from  them,  Avhen  they  should 
be  all  together,  a  remission  of  some  part  of  their  arrears. 
This  was  the  first  oversight. 

Here  we  discoA'er  the  genius  of  a  state  composed  of 
merchants,  Avho  know  the  full  value  of  money,  but  do  not 
estimate  sufficiently  the  merit  of  soldiers  ;  Avho  bargain  for 
blood  as  if  it  Avere  an  article  of  trade,  and  always  go  to  the 
cheapest  market.  In  such  a  republic,  Avhen  an  exigency  is 
once  answered,  the  merit  of  serA'ices  is  no  longer  remem- 
bered. 

These  soldiers,  most  of  whom  came  to  Carthage,  being 

*  Polyb.  1.  i.  y.  6-J-S9.  t  The  same  year  that  the  first  Punic  war  ptule.l. 

$  And  somctinics  f  eriKoi/  or  the  war  with  the  mercenaries.    §  Polyb.  1.  i.  ji.  (6. 


THE    CARTHAGIXIAXS.  319 

long  accustomed  to  a  licentious  life,  caused  great  disturb- 
ances in  the  city ;  to  remedy  which,  it  was  proposed  to 
their  officers,  to  march  them  all  to  a  little  neighboring 
town  called  Sicca,  and  there  supply  them  Avith  whatever 
was  necessary  for  their  subsistence,  till  the  arrival  of  the 
rest  of  their  coni]:)anions  ;  and  that  then  they  should  all  be 
paid  off,  and  sent  home.     This  was  a  second  oversight. 

A  third  was,  the  refusing  to  let  them  leave  their  baggage, 
their  wives  and  children,  in  Carthage,  as  they  desired,  and 
the  forcing  them  to  remove  these  to  Sicca ;  Avhereas,  had 
they  stayed  in  Carthage,  they  would  have  been  in  a  manner 
so  many  hostages. 

Being  all  met  together  at  Sicca,  they  began,  having  little 
else  to  do,  to  com|)ute  the  arrears  of  their  pay,  which  they 
made  much  more  than  was  really  due  to  them.  To  this  com- 
putation they  added  the  mighty  promises  which  had  been 
made  them,  at  different  times,  as  an  encouragement  for 
them  to  do  their  duty  ;  and  pretended  that  these  likewise 
ought  to  be  placed  to  account.  Hanno,  who  Avas  then  goA- 
ernor  of  Africa,  and  had  been  sent  to  them  from  the  mag- 
istrates of  Carthage,  proposed  to  these  soldiers  some  remis- 
sion of  their  arrears  ;  and  desired  that  they  Avould  content 
themseh'es  with  receiving  a  part  in  consideration  of  the 
great  distress  to  Avhich  the  commonAvealth  Avas  reduced,  and 
its  present  unhappy  circumstances.  The  reader  Avill  easily 
guess  how  such  a  proposal  was  received.  Complaints,  mur- 
murs, seditious  and  insolent  clamors,  were  everyAvhere 
heard.  These  troops  being  composed  of  different  nations, 
who  Avere  strangers  to  one  another's  language,  Avere  inca- 
pable of  hearing  reason  Avhen  they  once  mutinied.  Spaniards, 
Gauls,  Ligurians,  inhabitants  of  the  Balearic  isles,  Greeks, 
the  greatest  part  of  them  slaves  or  deserters,  and  a  very 
great  number  of  Africans,  composed  these  mercenary  forces. 
Transported  with  rage,  they  immediately  break  up,  march 
towards  Carthage,  being  upAvards  of  twenty  thousand,  and 
encamp  at  Tunis,  nor  far  from  that  metropolis. 

The  Carthaginians  too  late  discovered  their  error.  There 
was  no  compliance,  hoAv  groA'elling  socA'cr,  to  Avhich  they 
did  not  stoop,  to  soothe  these  exasperated  soldiers ;  Avho  on 
their  side  practised  every  knavish  art  which  could  be 
thought  of,  in  order  to  extort  money  from  them.  When 
one  point  was  gained,  they  immediately  had  recourse  to  a 
new  artifice,  on  Avhich  to  ground  some  new  demand.  Was 
their  jjay  settled  beyond  the  agreement  made  Avith  them, 


320  ANCIEN^T    HISTORY. 

they  still  would  be  reimbursed  for  the  losses  which  they 
pretended  to  have  sustained,  either  by  the  death  of  liorses, 
or  by  the  excessive  price  which  at  certain  times  they  had 
paid  for  bread-corn ;  and  still  insisted  on  the  recompense 
which  had  been  promised  them.  As  nothing  could  be  fixed, 
the  Carthaginians,  with  great  difficulty,  prevailed  on  them 
to  refer  themselves  to  the  opinion  of  some  general  who  had 
commanded  in  Sicily.  Accordingly,  they  pitched  upon  Gis- 
CO,  who  had  always  been  acceptable  to  them.  This  general 
harangued  them  in  a  mild  and  insinuating  manner  ;  recalled 
to  their  memories  the  long  time  they  had  been  in  the  Car- 
thaginian service  ;  the  considerable  sums  they  had  received 
from  the  republic  ;  and  granted  almost  all  their  demands. 

The  treaty  was  upon  the  point  of  being  concluded,  when 
two  mutineers  occasioned  a  tumult  in  every  part  of  the 
camp.  One  of  these  was  Spendius,  a  Capuan,  who  had  been 
a  slave  at  Rome,  and  fled  to  the  Carthaginians.  He  was  tall, 
stout,  and  bold.  The  fear  he  was  under  of  falling  into  the 
hands  of  his  old  master,  by  whom  he  was  sure  to  be 
hanged,  as  was  the  custom,  prompted  him  to  break  off  the 
accommodation.  He  was  seconded  by  one  Matho,*  who  had 
been  very  active  in  forming  the  conspiracy.  These  two 
represented  to  the  Africans,  that  the  instant  after  their  com- 
panions should  be  discharged  and  sent  home,  they,  being 
thus  left  alone  in  their  own  country,  would  fall  a  sacrifice 
to  the  rage  of  the  Carthaginians,  who  would  take  vengeance 
upon  them  for  the  common  rebellion.  This  was  sufhcient 
to  raise  them  to  fury.  They  immediately  made  choice  of 
Spendius  and  Matho  for  their  chiefs.  Xo  remonstrances 
were  heard ;  and  whoever  offered  to  make  any,  was  imme- 
diately put  to  death.  They  ran  to  Cisco's  tent,  plundered 
it  of  the  money  designed  for  the  payment  of  the  forces ; 
dragged  even  that  general  himself  to  prison,  with  all  his 
attendants,  after  having  treated  them  with  the  utmost  in- 
dignities. All  the  cities  of  Africa  to  whom  they  had  sent 
deputies,  to  exhort  them  to  recover  their  liberty,  came  over 
to  them,  Utica  and  Hippacra  excepted,  which  they  therefore 
besieged. 

Carthage  had  never  before  been  exposed  to  such  immi- 
nent danger.    The  citizens  of  it,  to  a  man,  drew  their  partic- 

*  Matho  was  an  African,  and  free-bom  ;  but  as  he  had  been  active  in  raising 
the  rebellion,  an  acconmiodation  would  have  rained  him.  He  therefore,  de- 
spairiny  of  a  pardon,  embraced  the  interest  of  Spendius  with  more  zeal  than  any 
of  the  rebels  ;  and  first  insinuated  to  the  Africans  tlie  dnnjrer  of  coiiclu<ling  a 
peiuje,  as  this  wonld  leave  them  alone,  and  exposed  to  the  rage  of  their  old  mas- 
ters.—I'olyb.  p.  93.  Edit.  Grouov. 


THE    CARTIIAGIXIAXS.  321 

ular  subsistence  from  the  rents  and  revenues  of  their  lands, 
and  the  public  expenses  from  the  tribute  paid  from  Africa. 
But  all  this  was  stopped  at  once,  and,  a  much  worse  circum- 
stance, was  turned  against  them.  They  found  themselves 
destitute  of  arms  and  foi-ces  either  for  sea  or  land ;  of  all 
necessary  prejiarations  cither  for  the  sustaining  of  a  siege 
or  the  equij)inng  of  a  fleet ;  and,  to  complete  their  misfor- 
tunes, without  any  hopes  of  foreign  assistance,  either  from 
tlieir  friends  or  allies. 

They  might  in  some  sense  accuse  themselves  for  the  dis- 
tress to  wliich  they  were  reduced.  During  the  last  war, 
they  had  treated  the  African  nations  with  the  utmost  rigor, 
by  imposing  excessive  tributes  on  them,  in  the  exaction  of 
which,  no  allowance  was  made  for  poverty  and  extreme 
misery ;  and  governors,  such  as  Ilanno,  were  treated  Avith 
the  greater  respect,  the  more  severe  they  had  been  in  levy- 
ing those  tributes.  So  that  these  Africans  were  easily  pre- 
vailed upon  to  engage  in  this  rebellion.  At  the  very  first 
signal  that  was  made,  it  broke  out,  and  in  a  moment  became 
general.  The  women,  wlio  had  often,  with  the  deepest 
affliction,  seen  their  husbands  and  fathers  dragged  to  prison 
for  non-payment,  were  more  exasperated  than  the  men,  and 
with  pleasure  gave  up  all  their  oi'naments  towards  the  ex- 
penses of  the  war  ;  so  that  the  chiefs  of  the  rebels,  after 
paying  all  they  had  promised  the  soldiers,  found  themselves 
still  in  the  midst  of  plenty.  An  instructive  lesson,  says 
Polybius,  to  ministers ;  as  it  teaches  them  to  look,  not  only 
to  the  present  occasion,  but  to  extend  their  views  to  futu- 
rity. 

The  Carthaginians,  notwithstanding  their  present  dis- 
tress, did  not  despond,  but  made  the  most  extraordinary 
efforts  for  their  defence.  The  command  of  the  army  was 
given  to  Hanno.  Trooj)s  were  levied  by  land  and  sea, 
horse  as  well  as  foot.  All  citizens  capable  of  bearing  arms 
were  mustered,  mercenaries  were  invited  from  all  parts,  and 
all  the  ships  which  the  republic  had  left  were  refitted. 

The  rebels  discovered  no  less  ardor.  We  related  before, 
that  they  had  besieged  two  cities  which  refused  to  join 
them.  Their  army  was  now  increased  to  seventy  thousand 
men.  After  detachments  had  been  drawn  from  it  to  carry 
on  these  sieges,  they  pitclied  their  camp  at  Tunis,  and  there- 
by held  Carthage  in  a  kind  of  blockade,  filling  it  with  per- 
petual alarms,  and  frequently  advancing  up  to  its  very  wallfl, 
by  day  as  well  as  by  night. 

21 


322  ANCIEJTT    IIISTOKY. 

Ilanno  had  marched  to  the  relief  of  Utica,  and  gained 
a  considerable  advantage,  which,  had  he  made  a  pi'oper  use 
of  it,  might  have"  proved  decisive,  but  entering  the  city,  and 
only  diverting  himself  there,  the  mercenaries,  who  were 
posted  on  a  neighboring  hill  covered  with  trees,  hearing 
how  careless  the  enemy  were,  i)oured  down  upon  them, 
found  the  soldiers  everywhere  off  their  duty,  took  and 
plundered  the  camp,  and  seized  upon  all  their  provisions, 
etc.,  brought  from  Carthage  to  succor  the  besieged.  Nor 
Avas  this  the  only  error  committed  by  Ilanno  ;  and  errors, 
on  such  occasions,  are  by  much  the  most  fatal.  Hamilcar, 
surnamed  Barcha,  was  therefore  appointed  to  succeed 
him.  This  general  answered  the  idea  which  had  been  enter- 
tained of  him  ;  and  his  first  success  was  in  obliging  the 
rebels  to  raise  the  siege  of  Utica.  He  then  marched  against 
their  army,  which  was  encamped  near  Carthage,  defeated 
part  of  it,  and  seized  almost  all  their  advantageous  posts. 
These  successes  revived  the  courage  of  the  Carthaginians, 

The  arrival  of  a  young  Numidian  nobleman,  Naravasus 
by  name,  who,  out  of  his  esteem  for  the  person  and  merit  of 
Barcha,  joined  him  with  two  thousand  Numidians,  and  was 
of  great  service  to  that  general.  Animated  by  his  rein- 
forcement, he  fell  upon  the  rebels,  who  had  enclosed  him  in 
a  valley,  killed  ten  thousand  of  them,  and  took  four  thou- 
sand prisoners.  The  young  Numidian  distinguished  him- 
self greatly  in  this  battle.  Barcha  received  among  his 
troops  as  many  of  the  prisoners  as  were  desirous  of  being 
enlisted,  and  gave  the  rest  liberty  to  go  wherever  they 
pleased,  on  condition  that  they  should  never  take  up  arms 
against  the  Carthaginians ;  otherwise  that  every  man  of 
them  who  was  taken  should  be  put  to  death.  This  conduct 
proves  the  wisdom  of  that  general.  He  thought  this  a  bet- 
ter expedient  than  extreme  severity.  And  indeed,  where  a 
multitude  of  mutineers  are  concerned,  the  greatest  part  of 
whom  were  drawn  in  by  the  persuasion  of  the  most  hot- 
headed, or  through  fear  of  the  most  furious,  clemency  sel- 
dom fails  of  being  successful. 

Spendius,  the  chief  ot  the  rebels,  fearing  that  this  affect- 
ed lenity  of  Barcha  might  occasion  a  defection  among  his 
troops,  thought  the  only  expedient  left  him  to  prevent  it 
would  be,  to  put  them  u]>on  some  signal  action,  in  order  to 
deprive  them  of  all  hopes  of  being  ever  reconciled  to  the 
enemy.  With  this  view,  after  having  read  to  them  some 
fictitious  letters  by  which  advice  was  given  him  of  a  secret 


THE    CARTIIAGIXIANS.  323 

design,  concerted  between  some  of  their  comrades  and 
Gisco,  for  the  rescuing  him  out  of  prison,  where  he  had 
been  so  long  detained,  lie  brought  them  to  the  barbarous  res- 
olution of  murdering  him  and  all  the  rest  of  the  prisoners  ; 
and  any  man  who  durst  offer  any  milder  counsel  was  im- 
mediat'ely  sacrificed  to  their  fui'y.  Accordingly,  this  unfor- 
tunate general,  and  seven  hundred  prisoners,  who  M^cre  con- 
fined with  him,  were  brought  out  to  the  he  id  of  the  camp, 
where  Gisco  fell  the  first  sacrifice,  and  afterwards  all  the 
rest.  Their  hands  were  cut  off,  their  thighs  broke,  and  their 
bodies,  still  breathing,  were  thrown  into  a  hole.  The  Car- 
thaginians sent  a  herald  to  demand  their  remains,  in  order 
to  pay  them  the  last  sad  oftice,  but  were  refused ;  and  the 
herald  was  further  told,  that  whoever  presumed  to  come 
upon  the  like  errand,  should  meet  with  Gisco's  fate.  And 
indeed  the  rebels  immediately  came  to  the  unanimous  reso- 
lution, viz. ;  to  treat  all  such  Carthaginians  as  should  fall 
into  their  hands  in  the  same  barbarous  manner  ;  and  de- 
creed further,  that  if  any  of  their  allies  were  taken,  they 
should,  after  their  hands  were  cut  off,  be  sent  back  to  Car- 
thage. This  bloody  resolution  was  but  too  strictly  exe- 
cuted. 

The  Carthaginians  were  now  just  beginning  to  breathe, 
as  it  were,  and  recover  their  spirits,  when  a  number  of  un- 
lucky accidents  plunged  them  again  into  fresh  dangers.  A 
division  arose  among  their  generals  :  and  the  provisions,  of 
which  they  were  in  extreme  necessity,  coming  to  them  V>y 
sea,  were  all  cast  away  in  a  storm.  But  their  most  griev- 
ous misfortune  was,  the  sudden  defection  of  the  two  only 
cities  which  till  then  had  preserved  their  allegiance,  and  in 
all  times  adhered  inviolably  to  the  commonwealth.  These 
were  IJtica  and  Ilippacra.  These  cities,  without  the  least 
reason,  or  even  so  much  as  a  pretence,  went  over  at  once  to 
the  rebels,  and  transported  with  the  like  rage  and  fury,  mur- 
dered the  governor,  with  the  garrison  sent  to  their  relief ; 
and  carried  their  inhumanity  so  far,  as  to  refuse  their  dead 
bodies  to  the  Carthaginians,  who  demanded  them  for  buri;d. 

The  rebels,  animated  by  so  much  success,  laid  siege  to 
Carthage,  but  were  obliged  immediately  to  raise  it.  They 
nevertheless  continued  the  war.  Having  drawn  together 
into  one  body  all  their  own  troops  and  those  of  the  allies, 
making  upwards  of  fifty  thousand  men  in  all,  they  watched 
the  motions  of  Hamilcar's  army,  but  carefully  kept  their 
own  on  the  hills,  and  avoided  coming  down  into  the  plains 


824  ANCIEXT   HISTORY. 

because  the  enemy  would  there  have  been  so  much  superior 
to  them,  on  account  of  their  elephants  and.  horses.  Hamilcar, 
more  skilful  in  the  art  of  war  than  they,  never  exposed 
himself  to  any  of  their  attacks  ;  but,  taking  advantage  of 
their  oversight,  often  dispossessed  them  of  their  posts,  if 
their  soldiers  straggled  ever  so  little,  and  harassed  them  a 
thousand  ways.  Such  of  them  as  fell  into  his  hands  were 
thrown  to  wild  beasts.  At  last,  he  surprised  them  at  a  time 
when  they  least  expected  it,  and  shut  them  up  in  a  post, 
which  was  so  situated  that  it  was  impossible  for  them  to 
get  out  of  it.  Not  daring  to  venture  a  battle,  and  being 
unable  to  get  off,  they  began  to  fortify  their  camp,  and  sur- 
rounded it  with  ditches  and  entrenchments.  But  an  enemy 
within  themselves,  and  which  was  much  more  formidable, 
had  reduced  them  to  the  greatest  extremity  ;  this  was  hun- 
ger, which  was  so  raging,  that  they  at  last  ate  one  another ; 
Divine  Providence,  says  Polybius,  thus  revenging  upon 
themselves  the  barbarous  cruelty  they  had  exercised  on 
others.  They  now  had  no  resource  left,  and  knew  but  too 
well  the  j)unishments  which  would  be  inflicted  on  them,  in 
case  they  should  fall  alive  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy. 
.After  such  bloody  scenes  as  had  been  acted  by  them,  they 
did  not  so  much  as  think  of  peace,  or  of  coming  to  an  ac- 
commodation. They  had  sent  to  their  forces,  encamped  at 
Tunis,  for  assistance,  but  with  no  success.  In  the  mean 
time  the  famine  increased  daily.  They  had  first  eaten 
their  ])risoners,  then  their  slaves,  and  now,  their  fellow-tnti- 
zens  only  were  left  to  be  devoured.  Their  chiefs,  no  longer 
able  to  resist  the  complaints  and  cries  of  the  multitude,  who 
threatened  to  cut  all  their  throats  if  they  did  not  surrender, 
went  themselves  to  Hamilcar,  after  having  obtained  a  safe 
conduct  from  him.  The  conditions  of  the  treaty  were,  that 
the  Carthaginians  should  select  any  ten  of  the  rebels,  to 
treat  them  as  they  should  think  fit,  and  that  the  rest  should 
be  dismissed  with  only  one  suit  of  clothes  for  each.  When 
the  treaty  was  signed,  the  chiefs  tLemselves  were  arrested, 
and  detained  by  tlie  Carthaginians,  who  plainly  shoMcd,  on 
this  occasion,  that  they  were  not  over-scrupulous  in  point  of 
honesty.  The  rebels,  hearing  that  their  chiefs  were  seized, 
and  knowing  nothing  of  the  convention,  suspected  that  they 
were  betrayed,  and  thereupon  immediately  took  up  arms. 
But  Hamilcar,  have  surrounded  them,  brought  forward  his 
elephants,  and  either  trod  them  all  under  foot,  or  cut  them 
to  pieces,  they  being  upwards  of  forty  thousand. 


THE    CARTHAGINIANS.  325 

Tlie  consequence  of  this  victory  wr.s,  the  reduction  of 
ahnost  all  the  cities  of  Africa,  which  immediately  returned 
to  their  allegiance.  Hamilcar,  without  loss  of  time,  marched 
against  Tunis,  which,  ever  since  the  beginning  of  the  Avar, 
had  been  the  asylum  of  the  rebels,  and  their  dejjosit  of  arms. 
Pie  invested  it  on  one  side,  while  Hannibal,  who  was  joined  in 
the  command  with  him,  besieged  it  on  the  other.  Then  ad- 
vancing near  the  walls,  and  ordering  crosses  to  be  set  up, 
he  hung  Spendius  on  one  of  them,  and  his  companions  who 
had  been  seized  with  him  on  the  rest,  where  they  all  expired. 
Matho,  the  other  chief,  who  commanded  in  the  city,  saw 
plainly  by  this  what  he  himself  might  expect,  and  for  that 
reason  was  much  more  attentive  to  his  own  defence.  Per- 
ceiving that  Hannibal,  as  being  confident  of  success,  was 
very  negligent  in  all  things,  he  made  a  sally,  attacked  his 
quarters,  killed  many  of  his  men,  took  several  prisoners, 
among  whom  was  Hannibal  himself,  and  plundered  his 
camp. 

Then  taking  Spendius  from  the  cross,  he  put  Hannibal 
in  his  place,  after  having  made  him  suffer  inexpressible  tor- 
ments, and  sacrified  round  tbe  body  of  Spendius  thirty  citi- 
zens of  the  first  rank  in  Carthage,  as  so  ninny  victims  of  his 
vengeance.  One  would  conclude  that  there  had  been  a 
mutual  emulation  between  the  contending  parties,  .which  of 
them  should  outdo  the  other  in  acts  of  the  most  barbarous 
cruelty. 

Barcha  being  at  a  distance  from  his  colleague,  it  was 
some  time  before  his  misfortune  reached  him  ;  and  besides, 
the  road  lying  between  the  two  camps  being  impracticable, 
it  was  impossible  for  him  to  advance  hastily  to  his  assist- 
ance. This  unlucky  accident  caused  a  great  consternation 
in  Carthage.  The  reader  may  have  observed,  in  the  course 
of  this  war,  a  continual  vicissitude  of  prosperity  and  adver- 
sity, of  security  and  fear,  of  joy  and  grief ;  so  various  and 
inconstant  were  the  events  on  either  side. 

In  Carthage  it  was  thought  advisable  to  make  one  bold 
effort.  Accordingly,  all  the  youth  capable  of  bearing 
arms  were  pressed  into  the  service.  Hanno  was  sent  to 
join  Hamilcar,  and  thirty  senators  were  de])uted  to  conjure 
those  generals,  in  the  name  of  the  republic,  to  forget  past 
quarrels,  and  sacrifice  their  resentments  to  their  country's 
welfare.  This  was  immediately  complied  Avith  ;  they  mutu- 
ally embraced,  and  were  reconciled  sincerely  to  one  an- 
other. 1   : 


326  ANCIENT    HISTORY. 

From  this  time  the  Carthaginians  were  uniformly  suo 
cessful  ;  and  Matho,  who,  in  every  succeeding  attempt, 
came  off  with  disadvantage,  at  last  thought  himself  obliged 
to  hazard  a  battle  ;  this  was  just  what  the  Carthaginians 
wanted.  The  leaders  on  both  sides  animated  their  troops, 
as  going  to  fight  a  battle  which  would  for  ever  decide  their 
fate.  An  engagement  ensued.  Victory  was  not  long  in 
suspense,  for  the  rebels  every  where  giving  ground,  nearly 
all  the  Africans  were  slain,  and  the  rest  surrendered.  Matho 
was  taken  alive,  and  carried  to  Carthage.  All  Africa  re- 
turned immediately  to  its  allegiance,  except  the  two  j)ei-fidi- 
ous  cities  which  had  lately  revolted  ;  they  were  however 
soon  forced  to  surrender  at  discretion. 

The  victorious  anny  now  returned  to  Carthage,  and  was 
there  received  Avith  shouts  of  joy,  and  the  congratulations 
of  the  whole  city.  JMatho  and  his  soldiers,  after  having 
adorned  the  public  triumph,  were  led  to  execution,  and  fin- 
ished, by  a  painful  and  ignominious  death,  a  life  that  had 
been  polluted  with  the  blackest  treasons,  and  unparalleled 
barbarities.  Such  was  the  conclusion  of  the  war  against  the 
mercenaries,  after  having  lasted  three  years  and  four  months. 
It  furnished,  says  Polybius,  an  ever-memorable  lesson  to  all 
nations  not  to  employ  in  their  armies  a  greater  number  of 
mercenaries  than  citizens :  nor  to  rely,  for  the  defence  of 
their  state,  on  a  body  of  men  who  are  not  attached  to  it, 
either  by  interest  or  affection. 

I  have  hitherto  purposely  deferred  taking  notice  of  such 
transactions  in  Sardinia,  as  passed  at  the  time  I  have  been 
speaking  of,  and  which  were,  in  some  measure,  dependent  on, 
and  resulting  from,  the  war  waged  in  Africa  against  the 
mercenaries.  They  exhil)it  the  same  violent  methods  to 
promote  rebellion,  the  same  excesses  of  cruelty,  as  if  the 
wind  had  carried  the  same  spirit  of  discord  and  fury  from 
Africa  into  Sardinia. 

When  the  news  was  brought  there  of  what  Spendius  and 
Matho  were  doing  in  Africa,  the  mercenaries  in  that  island 
also  shook  off  the  yoke,  in  imitation  of  those  incendiaries. 
They  began  by  the  murder  of  Bostar  their  general,  and  of 
all  the  Carthaginians  under  him.  A  successor  was  sent,  but 
all  the  forces  Avhich  he  carried  Avith  him  went  over  to  the 
rebels,  hung  the  general  on  a  cross,  and,  throughout  the 
whole  island,  put  all  the  Carthaginians  to  the  sword,  after 
having  made  them  suffer  inexpressible  torments.  Tliey  then 
besieged  all  the  cities  one  after  another,  and  soon  got  pes* 


THE    CARTHAGTXIAXS.  827 

session  of  tlie  whole  country.  But  feuds  arising  between 
them  and  the  natives,  the  mercenaries  were  driven  entirely 
out  of  the  island,  and  took  refuge  in  Italy.  Thus  the  Car- 
thaginians lost  Sardinia,  an  island  of  great  importance  to 
them,  on  account  of  its  extent,  its  fertility,  and  the  great 
number  of  its  inhabitants. 

The  Romans,  ever  since  their  treaty  with  the  Carthagin- 
ians, had  behaved  towards  them  with  great  justice  and 
moderation.  A  slight  quarrel,  on  account  of  some  Roman 
merchants  who  were  seized  at  Carthage  for  their  liaving 
su])plied  the  enemy  with  provisions,  had  embroiled  them  a 
little.  But  these  merchants  being  restored  on  the  first  com- 
plaint made  to  the  senate  of  Carthage,  the  Romans,  Avho 
prided  themselves  upon  their  justice  and  generosity  on  all 
occasions,  made  the  Carthaginians  a  return  of  their  former 
fi-iendsliip  ;  served  them  to  the  utmost  of  theii*  power,  for- 
bade their  merchants  to  furnish  any  other  nation  with  ])ru- 
visions,  and  even  refused  to  listen  to  proposals  made  by  the 
Sardinian  rebels,  when  invited  by  them  to  take  possession 
of  the  island. 

But  these  scruples  and  delicacy  Avore  off  by  degrees,  and 
CiEsar's  advantageous  testimony,  in  Sallust,  oi  their  honesty 
and  plain  dealing,  could  not,  with  any  ])ropriety,  be  applied 
here  :  "  although,"  says  he,  "  in  all  the  Punic  Avars,  the  Car- 
thaginians, both  in  peace  and  during  truces,  had  committed 
a  number  of  detestable  actions,  the  Romans  could  never 
(however  inviting  the  opportunity  might  be)  be  prevailed 
upon  to  retaliate  such  usage,  being  more  attentive  to  their 
own  glory  than  to  the  revenge  they  might  have  justly  taken 
on  such  perfidious  enemies."  * 

The  mercenaries  Avho,  as  was  observed,  had  retired  into 
Italy,  brought  the  Romans  at  last  to  the  resolution  of  sail- 
ing over  into  Sardinia,  to  render  themselves  masters  of  it.f 
The  Carthaginians  were  deeply  afflicted  at  the  news,  under 
the  idea  that  they  had  a  more  just  title  to  Sardinia  than 
the  Romans  ;  they  therefore  put  themselves  in  a  posture  to 
take  a  speedy  and  just  revenge  on  those  who  had  excited 
the  people  of  that  island  to  take  up  arms  against  them.  But 
the  Romans,  pretending  that  these  preparations  were  made, 
not  against  Sardinia,  but  their  state,  declared  war  against 

*  Bellis  Punicis  omnibus,  cum  saepe  Carthagiuieiises  et  in  pace  et  per  iiiducias 
multa  nefanda  faciiiora  feeissent,  jiuinquam  ipsi  per  occa-ionem  talia  fecere : 
niaffis  quod  se  diguum  toret,  quam  quod  in  illosjura  fieri  posset,  quaerebant.— 
Sallust.  in  Bell.  Catilin. 

t  A.  M.  37C7.    A.  Cartli.  609.    A.  Rome,  511.    Aut.  J.  C.  237. 


328  AXCIEXT    HISTORY. 

the  Carthaginians.  The  latter,  quite  exhausted  in  every 
respect,  and  scarcely  beginning  to  breathe,  were  in  no  con- 
dition to  sustain  a  war.  The  necessity  of  the  times  was 
therefore  to  be  complied  with,  and  they  were  foix-ed  to  yield 
to  a  more  powerful  rival.  A  fresh  treaty  was  thereujton 
made,  l)y  which  they  gave  up  Sardinia  to  the  Romans,  and 
obliged  themselves  to  a  new  payment  of  tMelve  hundred 
talents,  to  avoid  the  war  with  Avhich  they  were  menaced. 
This  injustice  of  the  Romans  was  the  true  cause  of  the  sec- 
ond Punic  war,  as  will  appear  in  the  sequel. 

ARTICLE    II. THE    SECOXD    PUXIC    WAR. 

The  second  Punic  war,  which  I  am  about  to  relate,  is 
one  of  the  most  memorable  recorded  in  histoiy,  and  most 
worthy  of  the  attention  of  an  inquisitive  reader  :  whether 
we  consider  tlie  boldness  of  the  enterprises  ;  the  wisdom 
employed  in  the  execution ;  the  obstinate  efforts  of  two 
rival  nations,  and  the  ready  resources  they  found  in  their 
lowest  ebb  of  fortune  ;  the  variety  of  uncommon  events, 
and  the  uncertain  issue  of  so  long  and  bloody  a  war ;  or, 
lastly,  the  assemblage  of  the  most  perfect  examples  of  every 
kind  of  merit,  and  the  most  instructive  lessons  that  occur  in 
liistory,  either  with  regard  to  Avar,  policy,  or  government.* 
Never  did  two  more  powerful,  or  at  least  more  warlike 
states  or  nations,  make  war  against  each  other,  and  never 
had  these  in  question  seen  themselves  raised  to  a  more  ex- 
alted pitch  of  power  and  glory.  Rome  and  Cartliage  were, 
doubtless,  at  that  time  the  two  first  states  of  the  world. 
Having  already  tried  their  strength  in  the  first  Punic  war, 
and  thereby  made  an  essay  of  each  other's  power,  they  knew 
perfectly  well  what  either  could  do.  In  this  second  war, 
the  fate  of  arms  was  so  equally  balanced,  and  the  success 
so  intermixed  with  vicissitudes  and  varieties,  that  tliat  party 
triumphed  which  had  been  most  in  danger  of  ruin.  Great 
as  the  forces  of  these  two  nations  were,  it  may  almost  be 
said  that  their  mutual  hatred  was  still  greater.  The  Ro- 
mans, on  one  side,  could  not  without  indignation  see  the 
vanquished  presuming  to  attack  them  ;  and  the  Carthagin- 
ians, on  the  other,  were  exasperated  at  the  equally  rapacious 
and  harsh  treatment  which  they  pretended  to  have  received 
from  the  victor. 

The  plan  which  I  have  laid  down  does  not  permit  me  to 

•  Liv.  1.  xxi.  p.  1. 


THE    CARTIIAGrNIAXS.  829 

enter  into  a  minute  detail  of  this  war,,  whereof  Italy,  Sicily, 
Spain,  and  Africa  were  the  several  seats,  and  which  has  a 
still  closer  connection  with  the  Roman  history  than  with 
that  I  am  now  writing.  I  shall  confine  myself,  therefore, 
principally  to  such  transactions  as  relate  to  the  Carthagin- 
ians, and  endeavor,  as  far  as  I  am  able,  to  give  my  reader 
an  idea  of  the  genius  and  character  of  Hannibal,  who,  per- 
haps, was  the  greatest  Avarrior  of  antiquity. 

THE  REMOTE  AXD  MORE  IMMEDIATE  CAUSES  OF  THE  SEO 
OXD  PUNIC  WAR. 

Before  I  come  to  speak  of  the  declaration  of  war  between 
the  Romans  and  Carthaginians,  I  think  it  necessary  to  ex- 
plain the  true  causes  of  it,  and  to  point  out  by  Avhat  steps 
the  rup.tui-e  between  these  two  nations  was  so  long  prepar- 
ing, before  it  o})enly  broke  out. 

That  man  Avould  be  grossly  mistaken,  says  Polybius,* 
who  should  look  upon  the  taking  of  Saguntum  by  Hannibal 
as  the  true  cause  of  the  second  Punic  war.  The  regret  of 
the  Carthaginians  for  having  so  tamely  given  up  Sicily,  by 
the  treaty  which  terminated  the  first  Punic  war,  the  injus- 
tice and  violence  of  the  Romans,  who  took  advantage  of 
the  troubles  excited  in  Africa  to  dispossess  the  Carthagin- 
ians of  Sardinia,  and  to  impose  a  new  tribute  on  them,  and 
the  success  and  conquests  of  the  latter  in  Spain,  were  the 
true  causes  of  the  violation  of  the  treaty,  as  Livy,  agreeing 
herein  with  Polybius,  insinuates  in  few  Avords  in  the  begin- 
ning of  liis  history  of  the  second  Punic  war.f 

And  indeed  liamilcar,  surnamed  Barcha,  Avas  highly  ex- 
asperated on  account  of  the  last  treaty  which  the  necessity 
of  the  times  had  compelled  the  Carthaginians  to  submit  to, 
and  therefore  meditated  the  design  of  taking  just,  though 
distant  measures,  for  breaking  it  the  first  favorable  oppor- 
tunity that  should  offer,  t 

When  the  troubles  of  Africa  were  appeased,  he  was  sent 
upon  an  expedition  against  the  Numidians ;  in  which,  giv- 
ing fresh  proofs  of  his  courage  and  abilities,  his  merit  raised 
him  to  the  command  of  the  army  which  was  to  act  in  Spain. 
Hannibal,  his  son,  at  that  time  but  nine  years  of  age,  begged 
with  the  utmost  importunity  to  attend  him  on  this  occa- 

*  Lib.  iii.  p.  ]62-lf;8. 

t  Augebaiit  ingentos  gi>lritfl8  virum.  Slcllm  Sardiiiiaque  amissse  :  Nam  et 
Sicilian  iiiiniB  celeri  despeiHtiniie  reriim  coiicessam  ;  etSardiiiiaui  inter  niotum 
Africaj  fraude  liomauoium,  stipeudio  etiam  supeiiiiiposito,  iiiterceptam. — LIt. 
1.  xxi.  n.  1.  t  Polyb.  1.  it.  p.  90. 


330  AXCIEIfT    HIST  >RT. 

sion  ;  a:id  for  that  purpose  employed  all  the  soothing  arts 
so  common  to  children  of  his  age,  and  which  have  so  much 
power  OAer  a  tender  father.*  Hamilcar  could  not  refuse 
him  ;  and  after  having  made  him  swear  upon  the  altars 
that  he  would  declare  himself  an  enemy  to  the  Romans  as 
soon  as  his  age  Avould  alloAV  him  to  do  it,  took  his  son  M'ith 
him. 

Hamilcar  possessed  all  the  qualities  which  constitute  the 
great  general.  To  an  invincible  courage,  and  the  most  con- 
summate prudence,  he  added  a  most  popular  and  insinua- 
ting behavior.  He  subdued,  in  a  very  short  time,  the  great- 
est part  of  the  nations  of  Spain,  either  by  the  terror  of  his 
arms,  or  his  engaging  conduct ;  and,  after  enjoying  the 
command  there  nine  }ears,  came  to  an  end  worthy  of  his 
exalted  character,  by  dying  gloriously  in  arms  for  the  cause 
of  his  country. 

The  Carthaginians  appointed  Asdrubal,  his  son-in-law, 
to  succeed  him.f  This  general,  to  secure  the  country,  built 
a  city,  which,  by  the  advantage  of  its  situation,  the  commo- 
diousness  of  its  harbor,  its  fortifications,  and  ojnilence  occa- 
sioned by  its  great  commerce,  became  one  of  the  most  con- 
siderable cities  in  the  world.  It  Avas  called  Xew  Carthage, 
and  to  this  day  is  known  by  the  name  of  Carthagcna. 

From  the  several  steps  of  these  two  great  generals,  it 
was  easy  to  perceive  that  they  were  meditating  some  mighty 
design,  which  they  had  always  in  view,  and  laid  their 
schemes  at  a  great  distance  for  putting  i^  in  execution.  The 
Romans  M^ere  sensible  of  this,  and  reproached  themselves 
for  their  indolence  and  sloth,  which  had  thrown  them  into 
a  kind  of  lethargy,  at  a  tinie  when  the  enemy  were  rapidly 
pursuing  their  victories  in  Spain,  Avhich  might  one  day  be 
turned  against  them.  They  would  have  been  very  well 
])leased  to  attack  them  by  open  force,  and  to  wrest  their 
conquests  out  of  their  hands ;  but  the  fear  of  another  not 
less  formidable  enemy,  the  Gauls,  kept  them  from  showing 
their  resentments.  They  therefore  had  recourse  to  negotia- 
tion ;  and  concluded  a  treaty  with  Asdrubal,  in  which,  with- 
out taking  any  notice  of  the  rest  of  Spain,  they  contented 
themselves  with  introducing  an  article,  by  which  the  Car- 
thaginians were  not  allowed  to  make  any  conquests  beyond 
the  Iberus. 

Asdrubal,  in  the  mean  time,  still  pushed  on  his  conquests, 


*  Polyb.  1.  iii.  p.  127.     Liv.  1.  xxi.  p.  1. 
t  A.  M.  3776.    A.  Home,  520.    Polyb.  1.  ii. 


p.  101. 


THE    f'AKTHAGTlSriANS.  381 

but  took  care  not  to  pass  beyond  the  limits  stipulated  by 
the  treaty;  and  sparing  no  endeavors  to  win  the  chiefs  of 
the  several  nations  by  a  courteous  and  en2:aging  behavior, 
lie  brought  them  over  to  the  interest  of  Carthage,  more  by 
j)ersuasive  methods  than  force  of  arms.*  But,  unha])pily, 
after  having  governed  Spain  eight  years,  he  was  treacher- 
ously murdered  by  a  Gaul,  who  took  so  barbarous  a  revenge 
for  a  private  enmity  he  bore  hini.f 

Three  years  before  his  death,  he  had  written  to  Car- 
thage, to  desire  that  Hannibal,  then  twenty-two  years  of  age, 
might  be  sent  to  him.  t  The  proposal  met  with  some  diffi- 
culty, as  the  senate  was  divided  between  two  powerful  fac- 
tions, which  from  Hamilcar's  time,  had  begun  to  follow 
opposite  views  in  the  administration  and  affairs  of  the  state. 
One  faction  was  headed  by  llanno,  whose  birth,  merit,  and 
zeal  for  the  public  welfare,  gave  him  great  influence  in  the 
public  deliberations.  This  faction  proposed,  on  every  oc- 
casion, the  concluding  of  a  safe  ].eaee,  and  the  ]^reserving 
the  conquest  in  Spain,  as  being  preferable  to  the  uncertain 
events  of  an  expensive  war,  which  they  foresaw  would  one 
day  occasi  )n  the  ruin  of  Carthage.  The  other,  called  the 
Barcinian  faction,  because  it  sui)ported  the  interests  of 
Barcha  and  his  family,  had  to  its  ancient  merit  and  credit 
in  the  city,  added  the  reputation  which  the  signal  exploits 
of  Haniilcar  and  Asdrubal  had  given  it,  and  declared  open- 
ly for  war.  When,  therefore,  Asdrubal's  demand  came  to 
be  debated  in  the  senate,  Hanno  rej)resented  the  danger 
of  sending  so  early  into  the  field  a  young  man,  Avho  had  all 
the  haughtiness  and  imperious  temj^er  of  his  father  ;  and 
who  ought,  therefore,  rather  to  be  kept  a  long  time,  and 
very  carefully,  under  the  eye  of  the  magistrates  and  the 
power  of  the  laws,  that  he  might  learn  obedience,  and  a 
modesty  which  should  teach  him  not  to  think  himself  su- 
perior to  all  other  men.  He  concluded  with  saying,  that  he 
feared  this  s])ark,  which  was  then  kindling,  would  one  day 
rise  to  a  conflagration.  His  remonstrances  were  not  heard, 
so  that  the  Barcinian  faction  had  the  superiority,  and  Han- 
nibal set  out  for  Spain. 

*  Polyb.  1.  ii.  p.  123.    Liv.  1.  xxi.  n.  2. 

t  TUe  murder  was  an  eltect  of  the  extraordinary  fidelity  of  this  Gaul,  whoso 
master  liaU  fallen  by  the  hand  of  Asdnibal.  li  was  perpetrated  iu  public  ;  and 
the  luurde.er  being  seiiie<i  by  the  guards,  and  put  to  tJie  torture,  expressed  so 
strong  a  satisfaotiou  in  the  thoughts  of  his  having  executed  his  revenge  so  sue- 
cessfully,  that  he  oeemed  to  laugh  at  the  pain  of  his  torments.  Eo  fuit  habitu 
oris,  ut  Buperaiite  laetitia  dolores,  ridentis  etiam  speciem  prsebnerit.— Liv.  xxi, 
n.  1.  t  A.M.  3783.    A.  Rome.  630.    Liv.  1.  xxi.  u.  3,  4. 


332  ANCIENT    niSTORY. 

The  moment  of  his  arrival  there,  he  drew  upon  liimself 
the  eyes  of  the  whole  army,  who  fancied  they  saw  his  father 
Hamilcar  revive  in  him.  He  seemed  to  dart  the  same  fire 
from  his  eyes  ;  the  same  martial  vigor  dis]>layed  itself  in 
the  air  of  his  countenance,  Avith  the  same  features  and  en- 
gaging deportment.  But  his  personal  qualities  endeared 
him  still  more.  He  possessed  almost  every  talent  that  con- 
stitutes the  great  man.  His  patience  in  labor  was  invincible, 
his  temperance  was  surprising,  his  courage  in  the  greatest 
dangers  intrepid,  and  his  presence  of  mind  in  the  heat  of 
battle  admirable  ;  and  a  still  more  wonderful  circumstance, 
his  disposition  and  cast  of  mind  were  so  flexible,  that  nature 
had  formed  him  equally  for  commanding  or  obeying ;  so 
that  it  was  doubtful  whether  he  was  dearer  to  the  soldiers 
or  the  generals.  He  served  three  campaigns  under  As- 
drubal. 

Upon  the  death  of  that  gener  tl,  the  suffrages  of  both 
the  army  and  people  concurred  in  raising  Hannibal  to  the 
supreme  command.*  I  know  not  whether  it  was  not  even 
then,  or  about  that  time,  that  the  republic,  to  heighten  his 
influence  and  authority,  appointed  him  one  of  its  suffetes, 
the  first  dignity  of  the  state,  which  was  sometimes  conferred 
on  generals.  It  is  from  Cornelius  Nepos  f  that  we  have 
borrowed  this  circumstance  of  his  life,  who,  speaking  of 
the  priBtorshi])  bestowed  on  Hannibal,  upon  his  return  to 
Carthage,  and  the  conclusion  of  the  peace,  says,  that  this 
was  twenty-two  years  after  he  had  been  nominated  king.t 

The  moment  he  was  created  general,  Hannibal,  as  if 
Italy  had  been  allotted  to  him,  and  he  Avas  even  then  ap- 
pointed to  make  war  upon  the  Romans,  secretly  turned  his 
whole  views  on  that  side,  and  lost  no  time,  for  fear  of  being 
prevented  by  death,  as  his  father  and  brother-in-law  had 
been.  In  Spain  lie  took  several  strong  towns  and  conquered 
many  nations  :  and  although  the  Spaniards  greatly  exceeded 
him  in  the  number  of  forces,  their  army  amounting  to  up- 
wards of  one  hundred  thousand  men,  yet  he  chose  his  time 
and  posts  so  judiciously  that  he  entirely  defeated  them. 
After  this  victory  every  thing  submitted  to  his  arms.  But 
he  still  forebore  laying  siege  to  Saguntum,  §  carefully  avoid- 

*  A.  M.  3784.  A.  Canb.  626.  A.  Kome,  528.  Polyb.  1.  iii.  p.  179.  Liv.  1.  xxi. 
3-5.  t  lu  Nil.  Auiiio.  <_-.  7. 

t  Hie  ut  rediit  pi-aitor  factus  est,  postquani  rex  fuerat  anno  secumlo  et  vige- 
Bimo. 

§  This  city  lay  on  the  Cartliagiiiian  side  of  the  Iberiis,  very  near  the  mouth  o£ 
that  river,  and  in  a  country  wliere  tlie  Cartluiginians  wore  allowed  to  make  war ; 
but  SaKUJituni,  as  an  ally  of  the  liouians,  was  excepted  from  all  hosiilities,  by 
virtue  of  the  lato  treaty. 


THE    CARTHAGINIAN'iS.  333 

ing  every  occasion  of  a  rupture  with  the  Romans,  till  lie 
should  be  furnished  Avith  all  things  necessary  for  so  impor- 
tant an  enterprise,  jiursuant  to  the  advice  given  by  his 
father.  He  applied  himself  particularly  to  engage  the  affec- 
tions of  the  citizens  and  allies,  and  to  gain  their  confidence, 
by  generously  allotting  them  a  large  share  of  the  plunder 
taken  from  the  enemy,  and  by  scrujndously  paying  them  all 
their  arrears  :  *  a  wise  step,  which  never  fails  of  producing 
its  advantage  at  a  proper  season. 

The  Saguntines,  on  their  side,  sensible  of  the  danger 
with  which  they  were  threatened,  hiformed  the  Romans  of 
the  progress  of  Hannibal's  conquests. f  Upon  this,  deputies 
were  nominated  by  the  latter,  and  ordered  to  go  and  ex- 
amine the  state  of  affairs  upon  the  spot ;  they  were  also  to 
lay  their  com])laints  before  Hannibal,  if  it  should  be  thought 
proper  ;  and  in  case  he  should  refuse  to  do  justice,  they 
should  then  go  directly  to  Carthage,  and  make  the  same 
complaints. 

In  the  mean  time  Hannibal  laid  siege  to  Saguntum,  prom- 
ising himself  great  advantages  from  the  taking  of  this  city. 
He  was  persuaded  that  this  would  deprive  the  Romans  of 
all  hopes  of  carrying  their  war  into  Sjjain ;  that  this  new 
conquest  would  secure  those  he  had  already  made  ;  that  as 
no  enemy  would  be  left  behind  him,  his  march  would  be 
more  secui-e  and  unmolested  ;  that  he  should  find  money 
enough  in  it  for  the  execution  of  his  designs  ;  that  the  plun- 
der of  the  city  would  inspire  his  soldiers  with  greater  ardor, 
and  make  them  follow  him  more  cheerfully;  that,  lastly,  the 
spoils  which  he  should  send  to  Carthage,  would  gain  him 
the  favor  of  the  citizens.  Animated  by  these  motives,  he 
carried  on  the  siege  with  the  utmost  vigor.  He  himself  set 
an  example  to  his  troops,  was  present  at  all  the  works,  and 
exposed  himself  to  the  greatest  dangers. 

News  was  soon  carried  to  Rome  that  Sagimtum  was  be- 
sieged. But  the  Romans,  instead  of  flying  to  its  relief,  lost 
their  time  in  fruitless  debates,  and  equally  insignificant  depu- 
tations. Hannibal  sent  word  to  the  Roman  deputies,  that 
he  was  not  at  leisure  to  hear  them  ;  they  therefore  repairetl 
to  Carthage,  but  met  with  no  better  reception,  the  Barcinian 
faction  having  prevailed  over  the  complaints  of  tlie  Romans, 
and  all  the  remonstrances  of  Hanno. 

During  all  these  voyages  and  negotiations,  the  siege  was 

*  Ibi  largfe  partiendo  pr8e(lain,stipendia  prsBterita  cum  tide  exsolveiido,  cunc- 
tos  civium  tiocinimque  aiiimos  in  se  lirmavit. — Liv.  1.  xxi.  n.  6. 
t  Polyb.  1.  iii.  pp.  160,  ITl.    Liv.  1.  xxi.  u,  &-15. 


334  ANCIEJTT    HISTOKV. 

carried  on  with  great  vigor.  The  Snguntines  were  now  re- 
duced to  the  last  extremity,  and  in  want  of  all  thinixs.  An 
aceomuiodation  was  thereupon  proposed  ;  but  the  conditions 
on  which  it  was  offered  appeared  so.  harsh,  that  tlie  Sa- 
guntines  could  not  prevail  upon  themselves  to  accej)t  them. 
Before  they  gave  their  final  answer,  tiiv^  principal  senators, 
bringing  their  gold  and  silver,  and  tliat  of  the  public  treas- 
ury, into  the  market-place,  threw  both  into  a  fire  lighted  for 
that  purpose,  and  afterwards  rushed  headlong  into  it  them- 
selves. At  the  same  time  a  tower,  which  had  been  long 
assaulted  by  the  battering-rams,  falling  with  a  dreadful  noise, 
the  Carthaginians  entered  the  city  by  the  breach,  soon  made 
themselves  masters  of  it,  and  cut  to  pieces  all  the  inhabi- 
tants who  were  of  age  to  bear  arms.  But,  notwithstanding 
the  fire,  the  Carthaginians  got  a  very  great  booty.  Hanni- 
bal did  not  reserve  to  himself  ary  part  of  the  spoils  gained 
by  his  victories,  but  applied  them  solely  to  carrying  on  his 
enterprises.  Accordingly  Polybius  remarks,  that  the  taking 
of  Saguntum  was  of  service  to  him,  as  it  awakened  the 
ardor  of  his  soldiers,  by  the  sight  of  the  rich  booty  which 
they  had  just  obtained,  and  by  the  hopes  of  more  ;  and  it 
reconciled  all  the  principal  persons  of  Carthage  to  Hannibal, 
by  the  large  presents  he  made  to  them  out  of  the  spoils. 

Words  could  never  express  the  grief  and  consternation 
with  which  the  melancholy  news  of  the  capture  and  the 
cruel  fate  of  Saguntum  was  received  at  Rome.*  Comj^as- 
sion  for  this  unfortunate  city  ;  shame  for  liaving  failed  to 
succor  such  faithful  allies  ;  a  just  indignation  against  the 
Carthaginians,  the  authors  of  all  these  calamities ;  a  strong 
alarm  raised  by  the  successes  of  Hannibal,  whom  the  Romans 
fancied  they  saw  already  at  their  gates  ;  all  these  sentiments 
caused  so  violent  an  emotion,  that,  during  the  first  moments 
of  their  agitation,  the  Romans  were  unable  to  come  to  any 
resolution,  or  do  any  thing,  but  give  way  to  the  torrent  of 
their  passion,  and  sacrificed  floods  of  tears  to  the  momory  of 
a  city,  which  fell  the  victim  of  its  inviolable  fidelity  t  to  the 
Romans,  and  had  been  betrayed  by  their  unaccountable  in- 
dolence and  imprudent  delays.  When  they  Avere  a  little  re- 
covered, an  assembly  of  the  people  was  called,  and  war  was 
unanimously  decreed  against  the  Carthaginians. 

•  Polyb.  pp.  174,  175.    Liv.  1.  xxi.  n.  16, 17. 

t  Sanctitate  disciplinae,  quk  tideiu  socialem  usque  ad  pemiciem  saam  coluerunt 
—Liv.  1.  xxi.  u.  7. 


THE    CAKTHAGIXIAXS. 


WAR    PROCLAIMED. 


That  no  ceremony  might  be  wanting,  deputies  were  sent 
to  Cai'thage,  to  inquire  whether  Saguntumhad  been  besieged 
by  order  of  the  republic,  and  if  so,  to  declai:e  war ;  *  or,  in 
case  this  siege  had  been  undertaken  solely  by  the  authority 
of  Hannibal,  to  require  that  he  should  be  delivered  up  to  the 
Romans.  The  deputies  perceiving  that  the  senate  gave  no 
direct  answer  to  their  demands,  one  of  them  taking  up  the 
fold  of  his  robe,  I  bring  here^  says  he,  in  a  haughty  tone, 
either  peace  or  tear  ;  the  choice  is  left  to  yourselves.  The 
senate  answering,  that  they  left  the  choice  to  him,  I  gwe 
you  war  then.,  says  he,  unfolding  his  robe  :  and  ice,  replied 
the  Carthaginians,  with  the  same  haughtiness,  as  heartily 
accept  it,  and.  are  resolved  to  prosecute  it  with  the  same 
cheerfulness.  Such  was  the  beginning  of  the  second  Punic 
war. 

If  the  cause  of  this  war  should  be  ascribed  to  the  taking 
of  Saguntum,t  the  whole  blame,  says  Polybius,  lies  upon  the 
Carthaginians,  who  could  not,  with  any  colorable  pretence, 
besiege  a'  city  that  was  in  alliance  with  Rome,  and  as  such, 
comprehended  in  the  treaty,  which  forbade  either  pai*ty  to 
make  war  upon  the  allies  of  the  other.  But,  should  the 
origin  of  this  war  be  traced  higher,  and  carried  back  to  the 
time  when  the  Carthaginians  were  dispossessed  of  Sardinia 
by  the  Romans,  and  a  new  tribute  was  so  unreasonably  im- 
posed on  them ;  it  must  be  confessed,  continues  Polybius, 
that  the  comluct  of  the  Romans  is  entirely  unjustifiable  on 
these  two  points,  as  being  founded  merely  on  violence  and 
injustice  ;  and  that,  had  the  Carthaginians,  without  having 
recourse  to  ambiguous  and  frivolous  pretences,  plainly  de- 
manded satisfaction  upon  these  two  grievances,  and  upon 
their  being  refused  it,  had  declared  war  against  Rome,  in 
that  case  reason  and  justice  had  been  entirely  on  their  side. 

The  interval  between  the  conclusion  of  the  first,  and  the 
begmning  of  the  second  Punic  war,  was  twenty-four  years. 

THE  BEGIJfXIXG   OF  THE  SECOND  PUNIC  WAR. 

When  war  was  resolved  upon  and  proclaimed  on  both 
sides,  Hannibal,  who  was  then  twenty-six  or  twenty-seven 
years  of  age,  before  he  discovered  his  grand  design,  thought 
it  incumbent  on  him  to  provide  for  the  security  of  Spain 

•  Polyb.  p.  187.    Liv.  1.  xxi.  n-  18,  19.  t  Polyb.  1.  iii.  pp.  184,  185. 


S36  ANCIENT    HISTORY. 

and  Africa.*  With  this  view,  he  marched  the  forces  out  of 
the  one  into  the  other,  so  that  the  Africans  served  in  Spain, 
and  the  Spaniards  in  Africa.  He  was  prompted  to  this  from 
a  persuasion,  that  these  soldiers,  being  thus  at  a  distance  from 
their  respective  countries,  would  be  fitter  for  service,  and 
more  firmly  attached  to  him,  as  they  would  be  a  kind  of  hos- 
tages for  each  other's  fidelity.  The  forces  Avhicli  he  left  in 
Africa  amounted  to  about  forty  thousand  men,  twelve  hun- 
dred whereof  were  cavalry :  those  of  Spain  were  somewhat 
more  than  fifteen  thousand,  of  Avhicli  two  thousand  five  hun- 
dred and  fifty  were  cavalry.  He  left  the  command  of  the 
Spanish  forces  to  his  brother  Asdrubal,  with  a  fleet  of  about 
sixty  ships  to  guard  the  coast ;  and  at  the  same  time  gave 
him  the  wisest  counsel  for  his  conduct,  both  with  regard  to 
the  Spaniards  or  the  Romans,  in  case  they  should  attack 
him. 

Livy  observes,  that  Hannibal,  before  he  set  forward  on 
this  expedition,  went  to  Cadiz  to  discharge  his  vows  made 
to  Hercules ;  and  that  he  engaged  himself  by  new  ones,  in 
order  to  obtain  success  in  the  war  he  was  entering  upon. 
Polybius  gives  us,  in  few  words,  a  very  clear  idea  of  the  dis- 
tance of  the  several  ])laces  through  which  Hannibal  was  to 
march  in  his  way  to  Italy.f  From  New  Carthage,  t  whence 
he  set  out  to  the  Iberus,  was  computed  two  thousand  two 
hundred  furlongs.  §  From  the  Iberus  to  Emporium,  a  small 
maritime  town,  which  separates  S])ain  from  the  Gauls,  ac- 
cording to  Strabo  ||  was  sixteen  hundred  furlongs. H  From 
Emporium  to  the  pass  of  the  Rhone,  the  like  distance  of 
sixteen  hundred  furlongs.**  From  the  pass  of  the  Rhone 
to  the  Alps  fourteen  hundred  furlongs. ft  From  the  Alps 
to  the  plains  of  Italy,  twelve  hundred  furlongs.tt  Thus, 
from  New  Carthage  to  the  plains  of  Italy,  were  eight  thou- 
sand furlongs.  §§ 

Hannibal  had,  long  before,  taken  all  proper  measures  to 
discover  the  nature  and  situation  of  the  places  through  which 
he  was  to  pass  ;|(||  to  know  how  the  Gauls  were  affected  to 
the  Romans  ;  to  win  over  their  chiefs,  a\  hom  he  knew  to  be 
very  greedy  of  gold,  by  his  bounty  to  them ;  ^^  and  to  se- 

*  A.  M.  3T87.  A.  Cartb.  629.  A.  Koine,  531.  Ant.  J.  C.  217.  Polyb.  1.  Hi.  p.  187. 
Liv.  1.  xxi.  n.  21,22. 

t  Polyb.  1.  iii.  pp.  192, 193.  t  Two  hundred  and  seventy-five  miles. 

§  Polybius  n>akes  the  distance  from  New  Carliiage  to  be  'JiiOitfurlonus  :  conse- 
quently the  number.-;  of  furlongs  will  l)e  84()(».  or,  allowing  02.')  I'eetto  the  furlong, 
91>1  English  miles,  and  almost  one-third.    See  Polyb.    Edit,  (ironov.  p.  267. 

II  Polvb.  1.  iii.  p.  199.  t  200  miles.  ♦*  200  miles.  tt  \ir>  miles. 

n  150  miles.  §§  1000  miles.  ||||  Polyb.  1.  iii.  pp.  188,  189. 

f  U  Polyb.  1.  iii.  p.  100.    Liv.  1.  xxi.  n.  22—24. 


THE    CARTHAGINIANS.  337 

cure  to  himself  the  affection  and  fidelity  of  a  part  of  the  na- 
tions through  whose  country  he  was  to  march.  He  was  not 
ignorant,  that  the  passage  of  the  Alps  would  be  attended 
with  great  difficulties,  but  he  knew  they  were  not  insur- 
mountable, and  that  was  enough  for  his  purpose. 

Hannibal  began  his  marcli  early  in  the  spring,  from  Xew 
Carthage,  wliere  he  had  wintered.*  'His  army  then  con- 
sisted of  more  than  a  hundred  tliousand  men,  of  which  twelve 
thousand  were  cavalry,  and  he  had  nearly  forty  elephants. 
Having  crossed  the  Ibcrus,  he  soon  svxbdued  the  several  na- 
tions which  opposed  him  in  his  march,  but  lost  a  considera- 
ble part  of  his  army  in  this  expedition.  He  left  Hanno  to 
command  all  the  country  lying  between  the  Iberus  and  the 
Pyrenean  hills,  with  eleven  thousand  men,  who  were  appoint- 
ed to  guard  the  baggage  of  those  who  were  to  follow  him.  He 
dismissed  the  like  number,  sending  them  b;!ck  to  their  re- 
spective countries  ;  thus  securing  to  himself  their  affection 
when  he  should  want  recruits,  and  assuring  the  rest  that 
they  should  be  allowed  to  return  Avhenever  they  should  de- 
sire it.  He  passed  the  Pyrenean  hills  and  advanced  as  far 
as  the  banks  of  the  Rhone,  at  the  head  of  fifty  thousand 
foot,  and  nine  thousand  horse  ;  a  formidable  army,  but  less 
so  from  the  number,  than  from  the  valor  of  the  troops  that 
composed  it;  troops  who  had  served  several  years  in  Spain, 
and  learned  the  art  of  war,  under  the  ablest  captains  that 
Carthage  could  ever  boast. 

PASSAGE    OF    THE    RHONE. 

Hannibal  f  being  arrived  within  about  four  days'  march 
from  the  mouth  of  the  Rhone,  t  attempted  to  cross  it,  be- 
cause the  riA'er,  in  this  place,  took  up  only  the  breadth  of 
its  channel.  He  brought  up  all  the  ship  boats  and  small 
vessels  he  could  meet  with,  of  which  the  inhabitants  had  a 
great  number,  because  of  their  commerce.  He  likewise 
built  with  great  diligence  a  prodigious  number  of  boats, 
small  vessels,  and  rafts.  On  his  arrival,  he  found  the  Gauls 
encamped  on  the  opposite  bank,  and  prepared  to  dispute 
the  passage.  There  was  no  possibility  of  his  attacking  them 
in  front.  He  therefore  ordered  a  considerable  detachment 
of  his   forces,  under   the   command  of   Hanno,  the  son  of 

*  Audierunt  prwoccupatos  jam  ab  Aimiltale  Gallorum  aiiimos  esse  ;  sed  ne  illi 
quideni  ipsi  satis  mitem  geiiteiu  fore,  iii  subinde  auro,  cujiis  avidissima  gens  est, 
principum  aniini  coucilientur. — Liv.  1.  xxi.  n.  29. 

t  Polyb.  1.  iii.  pp.  270-274.    Edit.  Groiiov.    Liv.  1.  xxi.  n.  26-28. 

i  A  little  above  Avignou. 

22 


338  ANCIEXT    IIISTOKY. 

Bomilcar,  to  pass  the  river  higher  up ;  and,  in  order  to  con- 
ceal his  march,  and  the  design  he  had  in  view,  from  ihe 
enemy,  he  obliged  them  to  set  out  in  the  niglit.  All  things 
succeeded  as  he  desired  ;  and  the  river  was  passed  the  next 
day  without  the  least  op}>osition.* 

They  passed  tlie  next  day  in  refreshing  themselves,  and 
in  the  niglit  they  advanced  silently  towards  the  enemy.  In 
the  morning,  when  the  signals  agreed  upon  had  l>cen  given, 
Plannibal  prepared  to  attempt  the  passage.  Part  of  his 
horses,  completely  harnessed,  were  put  into  boats,  th;it  their 
riders  might,  on  their  landing,  immediately  charge  tlie 
enemy.  The  rest  of  the  horses  swam  over  on  both  sides  of 
the  boats,  from  which  one  single  man  held  the  bridles  of 
three  or  four.  The  infantry  crossed  the  river,  either  on 
rafts,  or  in  small  boats,  and  in  a  kind  of  gondolas,  which 
were  only  the  trunks  of  trees  they  themselves  had  made 
hollow.  The  large  boats  were  drawn  up  in  a  line  at  the  top 
of  the  channel,  in  order  to  break  the  force  of  the  waves,  and 
facilitate  the  passage  to  the  rest  of  the  fleet.  When  the 
Gauls  saw  it  advancing  on  the  river,  they,  according  to  their 
custom,  broke  into  dreadful  cries  and  hoAvlings,  and,  clash- 
ing their  bucklers  over  their  heads,  one  against  the  other, 
let  fly  a  shower  of  darts.  But  they  were  ])rodigiously 
astonished,  when  they  heard  a  great  noise  behind  them,  saw 
their  tents  on  fire,  and  themselves  attacked  both  in  front 
and  rear.  They  now  had  no  Avay  left  to  save  themselves 
but  by  flight,  and  accordingly  retreated  to  their  respective 
villages.  After  this,  the  rest  of  the  troops  crossed  the  river 
quietly,  and  Avithout  any  opposition. 

The  elephants  were  still  behind,  and  occasioned  a  great 
deal  of  trouble.  They  Avere  wafted  over  the  next  day  in 
the  following  manner  :  From  the  bank  of  the  riAcr  was 
throAvn  a  raft,  two  hundred  feet  in  length,  and  fifty  in 
breadth ;  this  Avas  strongly  fixed  to  the  banks  by  large 
ropes,  and  quite  coA'ered  over  Avith  earth,  so  that  the  ele- 
phants, deceived  by  its  appearance,  thought  themselves  upon 
firm  ground.  From  this  first  raft  they  proceeded  to  a  second, 
Avhich  Avas  built  in  the  same  form,  but  only  a  hundred  feet 
Ipng,  and  fastened  to  the  former  by  chains  that  Avere  easily 
loosened.  The  female  elephants  were  put  ui)on  the  first 
raft,  and  the  males  followed  after  ;  and,  when  tliey  Avere  got 
upon  the  second  raft,  it  Avas  loosened  from  the  first,  and  by 
the  help  of  small  boats  toAved  to  the  opposite  shore.     xVfter 

*  It  is  thought  this  was  between  lioqueiiiaure  and  Pont  St.  Esprit. 


THE    CARTIIARIXIANS.  339 

this,  it  was  sent  back  to  fetch  those  which  were  beliind. 
Some  fell  into  tlie  water,  but  at  last  got  safe  to  shore,  and 
not  a  single  elephant  was  drowned, 

THE  MARCH  AFTER  THE  BATTLE  OF  THE  RHOXE. 

The  two  Roman  consuls  liad,  in  the  beginning  of  the 
spring,  set  out  for  their  res})e('tive  provinces ;  P.  Scipio  for 
Spain  Avith  sixty  ships,  two  Roman  legions,  fourteen  thou- 
sand foot,  and  twelve  hundred  horse  of  the  allies  ;  Tiberius 
Sempronius  for  Sicily,  with  a  hundred  and  sixty  shi])s,  two 
legions,  sixteen  thousand  foot,  and  eighteen  hundred  horse 
of  the  allies.*  The  Roman  legion  consisted,  at  th;it  time, 
of  four  thousand  foot,  and  three  hundred  horse.  Sempro- 
nius had  made  extraordinary  preparations  at  Lilybseum,  a 
seaport  town  in  Sicily,  with  the  design  of  crossing  over 
directly  into  Africa.  Sci])io  Avas  equally  confident  that  he 
should  find  Hannibal  still  in  Spain,  and  make  that  country 
the  seat  of  war.  But  he  was  greatly  astonished,  when,  on 
his  arrival  at  Marseilles,  advice  was  brought  him  that  Han- 
nibal was  upon  the  banks  of  the  R]K)ne,  and  ])rei)aring  to 
cross  it.  He  then  detached  three  hundred  horse,  to  view 
the  posture  of  the  enemy;  and  Hannibal  detached  five  hun- 
dred Numidian  horse  for  the  same  purpose,  during  which 
some  of  his  soldiers  were  employed  in  transporting  the  ele- 
phants. 

At  the  same  time  he  gave  audience,  in  the  presence  of 
his  whole  army,  to  one  of  the  princes  of  that  part  of  Gaul 
which  is  situated  near  the  Po,  who  assured  him,  by  an  inter- 
preter, in  the  name  of  his  subjects,  that  his  arrival  was  im- 
patiently expected  ;  that  the  Gauls  were  ready  to  join  him, 
and  march  against  the  Romans;  that  he  hhnself  a\  ould 
conduct  his  army  through  places  where  they  should  meet 
with  a  plentiful  supply  of  provisions.  When  the  prince 
was  withdrawn,  Hannibal,  in  a  speech  to  his  troops,  magni- 
fied extremely  this  deputation  from  the  Gauls  ;  extolled, 
with  just  praises,  the  bravery  which  his  forces  had  shown 
hitherto,  and  exhorted  them  to  sustain  to  the  last  their 
reputation  and  glory.  The  soldiers,  inspired  with  fresh 
ardor  and  courage,  declared,  with  uplifted  hands,  their 
readiness  to  follow  wherever  he  should  lead  the  way.  A(- 
cordingly  he  appointed  the  next  day  for  l)js  march  ;  and 
after  offering  up  vows,  and  making  sup])lications  to  the  gods 
for  the  safety  of  his  troops,  he  dismissed  them,  desiring,  at 

•  Polyb.  1.  iii.  p.  200-202,  &c.    Liv.  1.  xxi.  n.  31,  32. 


340  ANCIENT    HISTORY 

the  same  time,  that  they  M^ould  take  necessai-y  refresh- 
ments. 

While  this  Avas  doing;,  the  Numidians  returned.  They 
had  met  with  and  charged  the  Rom.an  detachment  :  the  con- 
flict was  very  obstinate,  and  the  slaughter  great,  considering 
the  small  number  of  combatants.  A  hundred  and  sixty  of 
the  Romans  were  left  dead  upon  the  spot,  and  more  than 
two  hundred  of  their  enemies.  But  the  honor  of  this  skir- 
mish fell  to  the  Romans,  the  Numidians  having  retired,  and 
left  them  the  field  of  battle.  This  first  action  was  inter])r'  - 
ed  as  an  omen  of  the  fate  of  the  Avhole  war,  and  seemed  to 
promise  success  to  the  Romans,  but  which,  at  the  same 
time,  would  be  dearly  bought,  and  strongly  contested.*  On 
both  sides,  those  Avho  had  survived  this  engagement,  and 
who  had  been  engaged  in  reconnoitering,  returned  to  inform 
their  respective  generals  of  what  they  had  discovered. 

Hannibal,  as  he  had  declared,  decamped  the  next  day, 
and  crossing  through  the  midst  of  Gaul,  advanced  north- 
ward ;  not  that  this  was  the  shortest  way  to  the  Alps,  but 
only  as  it  led  him  from  the  sea,  it  prevented  his  meeting 
Scipio  ;  and,  by  that  means,  favored  the  design  he  had  of 
marching  all  his  forces  into  Italy,  without  lessening  them  by 
fighting. 

Though  Scipio  marched  with  the  utmost  expedition,  he 
did  not  reach  the  place  where  Hannibal  had  passed  the 
Rhone,  till  three  days  after  he  had  set  out  from  it.  Despair- 
ing therefore  to  overtake  him,  he  returned  to  his  fleet,  and 
reimbarked,  fully  resolved  to  wait  for  Hannibal  at  tlie  foot 
of  the  Alps.  But,  in  order  that  he  might  not  leave  Spain 
defenceless,  he  sent  his  brother  Cneius  thither,  with  the 
greatest  part  of  his  army,  to  make  head  against  Asdrubal ; 
and  hunself  set  forward  immediately  for  Genoa,  Avitli  the 
intention  of  o^^posing  the  army  which  was  in  Gaul,  near  the 
Po,  to  that  of  Hannibal. 

The  latter,  after  four  days'  march,  arrived  at  a  kind  of 
island,  formed  by  the  conflux  of  two  rivers,  which  unite 
their  streams  at  this  place. f      Here  he  was  chosen  umpire 

*  Hoc  priiuipium  siiniilQue  onion  belli,  iit  sumniarernm  prosperuni  eventuni, 
ita  haud  sane  iiierueiitum  iiicipiiisqueceitaniinis  victoriani  Konianis  porteiidit. — 
Liv.  1.  xxi.  11.  2. 

t  The  text  of  Polybiiis.  as  it  lias  been  transmitted  to  us,  and  that  of  Li  vy ,  place 
this  island  at  the  nieotiiig  of  tlia  saone  ami  ihe  itnoue,  tliat  is,  in  iliat  part  where 
the  city  of  l>yons  stands.  But  tliis  i»  a  in  luifesl  error.  It  was  Jixuipa?  in  tlie 
Greek,  instead  of  wHidi  6  "Apaohq  has  been  sub-tituted.  J.  Gronovin  says,  Ihat 
he  had  reafl,  in  a  manuscript  of  Livy,  Bisarar.  which  shows  that  we  are  In  read 
Isara  Uhodanuspie  amnes,  instead  of  Arar  Rhodanusque  ;  and  that  the  island  in 

Suestiou  is  formed  by  the  conflux  of  the  Tsara  and  the  Rhone.    The  situation  of 
le  Allobroges,  here  sjiokeii  of,  proves  this  evidently. 


THE    CARTHAGINIAXS.  341 

between  two  brothers,  who  disputed  their  right  to  the  king- 
dom. He  to  whom  Hannibal  decreed  it,  furnished  his  wliolo 
army  with  provisions,  clothes  and  arms.  This  was  the 
country  of  the  Allobroges,  the  people  who  inhabited  the 
present  districts  of  Geneva,  Vienne,*  and  Grenoble.  His 
march  was  not  much  intcrru])tcd  till  he  arrived  at  the 
Durance,  and  from  thence  he  reached  the  foot  of  the  Alps 
without  any  opposition. 

THE  PASSAGE  OVER  THE  ALPS. 

The  sight  of  these  mountains,  whose  tops  seem  to  touch 
the  skies,  and  were  co^'ered  with  snow,  and  where  nothing 
appeared  to  the  eye  but  a  few  pitiful  cottages,  scattered 
here  and  there,  on  the  sharp  tops  of  inaccessible  rocks  ;  no- 
thing but  meagre  flocks,  almost  perishing  with  cold,  and 
liairy  men  of  a  savage  and  fierce  aspect  ;  this  spectacle 
renewed  the  terror  which  the  distant  prospect  had  raised, 
and  cliilled  with  fear  the  hearts  of  the  soldiers. f  When 
they  began  to  climb  up,  they  perceived  the  mountaineers, 
who  had  seized  upon  the  highest  cliffs,  and  prepared  to  op- 
pose their  passage.  They  therefore  were  forced  to  halt. 
Had  the  mountaineers,  says  Polybius,  only  lain  in  ambuscade 
and  suffered  Hannibal's  troops  to  strike  into  some  narrow 
passage,  and  then  charged  them  on  a  sudden,  the  Carthagin- 
ian army  would  have  been  irrecoverably  lost.  Hannibal, 
being  informed  that  they  kept  those  postg  only  in  the  day- 
time, and  quitted  them  in  the  evening,  possessed  himself  of 
them  by  night.  The  Gauls,  returning  early  in  the  morning, 
were  very  much  surprised  to  find  their  posts  in  the  enemy's 
liands ;  but  still  they  were  not  disheartened.  Being  used 
to  climb  up  those  rocks,  they  attacked  the  Carthaginians 
who  were  upon  their  march,  and  harassed  them  on  all  sides. 
The  latter  were  obliged,  at  the  same  time,  to  engage  with 
the  enemy,  and  struggle  with  the  ruggedness  of  the  paths  of 
the  mountains,  where  they  could  hardly  stand.  But  the 
gi-eatest  disorder  was  caused  by  the  horses  and  beasts  of 
burden  laden  with  the  baggage,  that  were  frighted  by  the 
cries  and  howling  of  the  Gauls,  which  echoed  dreadfully 
among  the  mountains ;  and  being  sometimes  wounded  by  the 
mountaineers,  came  tumbling  on  the  soldiers,  and  dragged 
tliem  headlong  with  them  down  the  precipices  which  skirted 
the  road.     Hannibal,  being  sensible  that  the  loss  of  his  bag- 

»  In  Dauphine.  t  Polyb.  1.  iii.  pp.  20o-208.    Liv.  1.  xxi.  ii.  32-37. 


342  ANCIENT    HISTORY. 

gage  alone  was  enough  to  destroy  his  army,  ran  to  tlie  assist- 
ance of  his  troops  m  ho  were  thus  embarrasseil,  and  liaving 
put  the  enemy  to  flight,  continued  liis  juarcli  Avitlio\it  molesta- 
tion or  danger,  and  came  to  a  castk%  which  w  as  the  most  im- 
portant fortress  in  the  whole  country.  He  possessed  himself 
of  it,  and  of  all  the  neighboring  villnges,  in  which  he  found 
a  large  quantity  of  corn,  and  sufficient  cattle  to  subsist  his 
army  for  three  days. 

Although  their  march  Avas  for  a  short  time  uninterrupted, 
the  Carthaginians  were  to  encounter  a  new  danger.  The 
Gauls,  feigning  to  take  advantage  of  the  misfortunes  of 
their  neighbors,  who  had  suffered  for  opposing  the  passage 
of  Hannibal's  troops,  came  to  pay  their  res])ects  to  that 
general,  brought  him  provisions,  offered  to  be  his  guides,  and 
left  him  hostnges,  as  pledges  of  their  fidelity.  Hannibal, 
however,  placed  no  great  confidence  in  them.  The  ele])hants 
and  horses  marched  in  tlie  front,  while  himself  followed 
with  the  main  body  of  his  foot,  keeping  a  vigilant  eye  over 
all.  They  ca'ine  at  length  to  a  very  steej)  and  narrow  pass, 
which  was  commanded  by  an  eminence,  where  the  Gauls 
had  placed  an  ambuscade.  These  rushing  out  on  a  sudden 
assailed  the  Carthaginians  on  every  side,  rolling  down  stones 
ujion  them  of  a  prodigious  size.  The  army  would  have 
been  entirely  routed,  had  not  Hannibal  exerted  himself,  in 
an  extraordinary  manner,  to  extricate  them  out  of  this 
difficulty. 

At  last,  on  the  ninth  day,  they  reached  the  summit  of  the 
Alps.  Here  the  army  halted  two  days,  to  rest  and  refresh 
themselves  after  their  fatigue,  after  which  they  continued 
their  march.  As  it  was  now  autumn,  a  great  quantity  of 
snow  had  lately  fallen,  and  covered  all  the  roads,  which 
caused  a  consternation  among  the  troops,  and  disheartened 
them  very  much.  Hannibal  perceived  it,  and  halting  on  a 
hill,  from  whence  there  was  a  prospect  of  all  Italy,  he  showed 
them  the  fruitful  plains  of  Piedmont,  Avatered  by  the  river 
Po,  which  they  had  nearly  reached,  adding  that  they  had 
but  one  more  effort  to  make,  before  they  arrived  at  them. 
He  represented  to  them,  that  a  battle  or  two  would  put  a 
glorious  period  to  their  toils,  and  enrich  them  for  ever,  by 

fiviiig  them  possession  of  the  capital  of  tlie  Koman  empire, 
'his  speech,  full  of  such  pleasing  hopes,  and  enforced  by  the 
sight  of  Italy,  inspired  the  dejected  soldiers  with  fresh  vigor 
and  alacrity.  They  therefore  jiursued  their  march.  But 
Btiii  the  road  Avas  more  craggy  and   troublesome  than  ever, 


THE    CAKTHAGTXIAXS.  343 

and  as  they  were  now  on  a  descent,  the  difficulty  and  dan- 
ger increased.  For  the  ways  were  narrow,  steep,  and  slij)- 
])ery,  in  most  places  ;  so  that  the  soldiers  could  neither  keep 
their  feet  as  they  marched,  nor  recover  themselves  when  they 
made  a  false  step,  but  stumbled,  and  beat  down  one  another. 

They  were  now  come  to  a  place  worse  than  any  they  had 
yet  met  with.  This  was  a  path  naturally  very  steep  and 
craggy,  which  being  made  more  so  1)y  the  late  falling  in  of 
the  earth,  terminated  in  a  fi'ightful  preci])ice  more  than  a 
tliousand  feet  deep.  Here  the  cavalry  stopped  short.  Han- 
nibal, wondering  at  tliis  sudden  halt,  ran  to  the  ]>lace,  and  saw 
that  it  would  really  be  impossible  for  the  troops  to  advance. 
He  therefore  was  for  making  a  circuitous  route,  but  this 
also  was  found  impracticable.  As  upon  the  old  suow,  wb.ich 
was  growing  hard  by  lying,  there  was  some  lately  fjjllen 
that  was  of  no  great  depth,  the  feet,  at  first,  by  their  sinking 
into  it,  found  a  firm  support  ;  but  this  snow  being  soon  dis- 
solved by  the  treading  of  the  foreuiost  troops  and  beasts  of 
burden,  the  soldiers  marched  on  nothing  but  ice,  which  Avas 
so  slippery  that  they  had  no  firm  footing ;  and  where,  if 
they  made  the  least  false  stej),  or  endeavored  to  save  them- 
selves with  their  hands  or  knees,  there  were  no  boughs  or 
roots  to  catch  hold  of.  Besides  this  difficulty,  the  horses 
striking  their  feet  forcibly  into  the  ice  to  keep  themselves 
from  falling,  could  not  draw  them  out  again,  but  were 
caught  as  in  a  gin.  They  therefore  were  forced  to  seek  some 
other  expedient. 

Hannibal  resolved  to  pitch  his  cam]>,  and  to  give  his 
troops  some  days'  rest  on  the  summit  of  this  hill,  which  was 
of  a  considerable  extent,  after  they  should  have  cleared  the 
gi'ound,  and  removed  all  the  old  as  well  as  the  new  fallen 
snow,  which  was  a  Avork  of  immense  labor.  He  afterwards 
ordered  a  path  to  be  cut  into  the  rock  itself,  and  this  was 
carried  on  with  amazing  patience  and  labor.  To  open  and 
enlarge  this  path,  all  the  trees  thereabout  were  cut  down,  and 
piled  round  the  rock,  and  there  set  on  fire.  The  wind,  fortu- 
nately blowing  hard,  a  fierce  flame  soon  broke  out,  so  that 
the  rock  glowed  like  the  very  coals  with  which  it  was  sur- 
rounded. Then  Hannibal,  if  Livy  may  be  credited,  for  Polyb- 
ius  says  nothing  of  this  matter,  caused  a  great  quantity  of 
vinegar  to  be  poured  on  the  rock,*'which  jnercing  into  the 

*  Many  reje(!t  this  incident  ;is  fiiaitious.  Pliny  takes  notice  of  a  remarkable 
quality  in  Vinegar,  viz. :  its  being  able  to  break  ro<-.ks  and  stont-s.— Saxa  runipit  i_n- 
fiisum.quiB  lion  ruperit  ignis  aiiteecdens,  1.  xxili.  c.  1.  He  therefore  lalls  it, 
Siu!cii9  rernni  donrtor.  1.  x\?iii.  c.  2.  Dion,  speaking  of  the  siege  of  Kleuthra, 
says,  that  tho    walla  of  it  were  made  to  fall  by  thji  fprce  of  viue-ar,  I.  xxxvi. 


344  ANCIENT    HISTORY. 

veins  of  it,  that  Avere  now  cracked  by  the  intense  heat  of  tlie 
fire,  calcined  and  softened  it.  In  this  manner,  making  a  large 
circuit,  in  order  that  the  descent  raiglit  be  easier,  tliey  cut  a 
way  along  the  rock,  which  opened  a  free  passage  to  the  forces, 
the  baggage,  and  even  to  the  elephants.  Four  days  Avere 
employed  in  this  work,  during  which  the  beasts  of  burden 
had  no  provender,  there  being  no  food  for  them  on  moun- 
tains buried  under  eternal  snows.  At  last  they  came  into 
cultivated  and  fruitful  spots,  which  yielded  plenty  of  forage 
for  the  horses,  and  all  kinds  of  food  for  the  soldiers. 

HANNIBAL    ENTERS    ITALY. 

When  Hannibal  marched  into  Italy,  his  army  was  far 
less^ numerous  than  when  he  left  Spain,  w^here  we  find  it 
amounted  to  nearly  sixty  thousand  men.*  He  had  sus- 
tained great  losses  during  the  march,  either  in  the  battles 
he  was  forced  to  fight,  or  in  the  passage  of  rivers.  At  his 
departure  from  the  Rhone,  it  consisted  of  thirty-eight  thou- 
sand foot,  and  above  eight  thousand  horse.  The  march  over 
the  Alps  destroyed  nearly  half  this  number,  so  that  Hanni- 
bal had  now  remaining  only  twelve  thousand  Africans,  eight 
thousand  Spanish  foot,  and  six  thousand  horse.  This  ac- 
count he  himself  caused  to  be  engraved  on  a  pillar  near  the 
promontory  called  Licinium.  It  was  five  months  and  a  half 
since  his  first  setting  out  from  New  Carthage,  including  the 
fortnight  he  employed  in  marching  over  the  Alps,  when  he 
set  up  his  standard  in  the  plains  of  the  Po,  at  the  entrance 
of  Piedmont.     It  might  then  have  been  September. 

His  first  care  was  to  give  his  troops  some  rest,  which 
they  very  much  wanted.  When  he  perceived  that  they  were 
fit  for  action,  the  inhabitants  of  all  the  territories  of  Turin  f 
refusing  to  conclude  an  alliance  with  him,  he  marched  and 
encamped  before  their  chief  city,  carried  it  in  three  days, 
and  put  all  who  had  opposed  him  to  the  sword.  This  exj^e- 
dition  struck  the  barbarians  with  so  much  dread,  that  they 
all  came  voluntarily  and  surrendered  at  discretion.  The 
rest  of  the  Gauls  would  have  done  the  same,  had  they  not 
been  awed  by  the  terror  of  the  Roman  arms,  which  Avere 
now  approaching.  Hannibal  thought,  therefore,  that  he  had 
no  time  to  lose  ;  that  it  was  his  interest  to  march  up  into 

p.  8.  Probably  the  circumstaTices  Ibat  seems  iuiprobal.le  on  Ihis  occasion,  is  the 
difliculty  <•£  Hannibal's  procuriiiK,  in  those  mountaiiis,  a  quantity  of  vinegar 
Bufficient  for  this  purpose. 

*  Polyb.  1.  iii.  pp.  299,  212-214.    Liv.  1.  xxi.  n.  39.  t  Taurim. 


THE    CARTHAGINIANS.  345 

the  country,  and  attempt  some  great  ex])loit,  sucli  as  miglit 
induce  those  who  should  have  an  inclination  to  join  him  to 
rely  on  his  valor. 

The  ^apid  progress  which  Hannibal  had  made  greatly 
alarmed  Rome,  and  caused  the  utmost  consternation  through- 
out the  city.  Sempronius  was  ordered  to  leave  Sicily,  and 
hasten  to  the  relief  of  his  country  ;  and  P.  Scipio,  the  other 
consul,  advanced  with  the  utmost  diligence  towards  the 
enemy,  crossed  the  Po,  and  pitched  his  camp  near  the 
Ticinus.* 

BATTLE  OF  THE  CAVALRY  NEAR  THE  TICINUS. 

The  armies  being  now  in  sight,  the  generals  on  each  side 
made  a  speech  to  their  soldiers,  before  they  engaged  in 
battle.t  Scipio,  after  having  represented  to  his  forces  the 
glory  of  their  country,  and  the  noble  achievements  of  their 
ancestors,  observed  to  them,  that  victory  was  in  their  hands, 
since  they  were  to  combat  only  with  Carthaginians,  a  peo- 
ple who  had  been  so  often  defeated  by  them,  as  well  as 
forced  to  be  their' tributaries  for  twenty  years,  and  long  ac- 
customed to  be  almost  their  slaves  :  that  the  advantage  they 
had  gained  over  the  flower  of  the  Carthaginian  horse,  was 
a  sure  omen  of  their  success  during  the  rest  of  the  war : 
that  Hannibal,  in  marching  over  the  Alps,  had  just  before 
lost  the  best  part  of  his  army,  and  that  those  who  survived 
were  exhausted  with  hunger,  cold,  and  fatigue  :  that  the 
bare  sight  of  the  Romans  was  sufficient  to  put  to  flight  a 
parcel  of  soldiers,  who  had  the  aspect  of  ghosts  rather  than 
of  men  :  in  a  word,  that  victory  was  become  necessary,  not 
only  to  secure  Italy,  but  to  save  Rome  itself,  whose  fate  the 
present  battle  would  decide,  that  city  having  no  other  army 
wherewith  to  oppose  the  enemy. 

Hannibal,  that  his  words  might  make  the  stronger  im- 
pression on  the  rude  minds  of  his  soldiers,  addressed  him- 
self to  their  eyes,  before  he  addressed  their  ears  ;  and  did 
not  attempt  to  persuade  them  by  arguments,  till  he  had  first 
moved  them  by  the  folloAving  spectacle.  He  armed  some  of 
the  prisoners  he  had  taken  in  the  mountains,  and  obliged 
them  to  fight,  two  and  two,  in  the  sight  of  his  army,  prom- 
ising to  reward  the  conquerors  with  their  liberty  and  rich 
presents.  The  alacrity  and  vigor  wherewith  these  bar- 
barians engaged  upon  these  motives,  gave  Hannibal  an  occa- 

*  A  small  river,  now  called  Tesino,  in  Loinliardy. 
t  rolyb.  1.  iii.  pp.  214-218.  Liv.    1.  xxi.  u.  3U-47. 


346  ANCIENT    HISTORY. 

sion  of  exhibiting  to  his  soldiers  a  lively  image  of  their 
present  condition ;  which,  by  dejiriving  tliem  of  all  means 
of  returning  back,  put  them  under  an  absolute  necessity 
either  of  conquering  or  dying,  in  order  to  avoid  the  endless 
evils  prepared  for  those  that  should  be  so  base  and  cowardly 
as  to  submit  to  the  Romans.  lie  dis])layed  to  them  the 
greatness  of  their  reward,  viz. :  the  conquest  of  all  Italy ;  the 
plunder  of  the  rich  and  wealthy  city  of  Rome  ;  an  illus- 
trious victory,  and  immortal  gIor)\  He  spoke  contemptibly 
of  the  Roman  power,  the  false  lustre  of  which,  he  observed, 
ought  not  to  dazzle  such  warriors  as  themselves,  who  had 
marched  from  the  pillars  of  Hercules,  through  the  fiercest 
nations  into  the  very  centre  of  Italy.  As  for  his  own  part, 
he  scorned  to  compare  liimself  with  Scipio,  a  general  of  but 
six  months'  standing:  himself,  who  was  almost  born,  at  least 
brought  up,  in  the  tent  of  Hamilcar,  his  father ;  the  con- 
queror of  Spain,  of  Gaul,  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  Alps,  and, 
what  was  still  more  remarkable,  of  the  Alps  themselves.  He 
roused  their  indignation  against  the  insolence  of  the  Romans, 
who  had  dared  to  demand  that  himself,  and  the  rest  who 
had  taken  Saguntum,  should  be  delivered  up  to  them  ;  and 
excited  their  jealousy  against  the  intolerable  pride  of  those 
imperious  masters,  who  imagined  that  all  things  ought  to 
obey  them,  and  that  they  had  a  right  to  give  laws  to  the 
world. 

After  these  speeches,  both  sides  prepared  for  battle. 
Scipio,  having  thrown  a  bridge  across  the  Ticinus,  marched 
his  troops  over  it.  Two  ill  omens  had  filled  his  army  with 
consternation  and  dread.*  As  for  the  Carthaginians,  they 
were  inspired  with  the  boldest  courage.  Hannibal  animated 
them  with  fresh  promises ;  and  cleaving  with  a  stone  the 
skull  of  the  lamb  he  was  sacrificing,  he  i)rayed  to  Jui)iter  to 
dash  his  head  in  pieces  in  like  manner,  in  case  he  did  not 
give  his  soldiers  the  I'ewards  he  had  promised  them. 

Scipio  posted  in  the  first  line,  the  troops  armed  with  mis- 
sile weapons,  an^  the  Gaulish  horse  ;  and  foriiiing  his  second 
line  of  the  flower  of  the  confederate  cavalry,  he  advanced 
slowly.  Hannibal  advanced  with  his  whole  cavalry,  in  the 
centre  of  which  he  had  posted  the  troopers  Avho  rode  with 
bridles,  and  the  Numidi:m  horse  on  the  wings,  in  order  to 
surround  the  enemy.f  The  officers  and  cavalry,  being  eager 

*  These  two  ill  omens  were,  flrst,  a  wolf  had  stole  into  the  camp  of  the  Romang 
and  cruelly  mangled  soiue  of  tlie  soldiers,  without  receiving  the  least  harm  from 
those  who  endeavored  to  UlU  it ;  and,  secondly, a  swarm  of  bees  had  pitched  upon 
a  tree  near  the  pneto  ium,  or  general's  tent. — I^iv.  1.  xxi.  c.  46. 

t  The  Numidiaus  used  to  ride  without  saddle  qx  bridle. 


THE    CAETIIAGINIAKS.  347 

to  engage,  tlie  battle  commenced.  At  the  first  onset,  Scipio's 
light-armed  soldiers  discharged  their  darts,  but  frightened 
at  the  Carthaginian  cavalry,  which  came  pouring  u])on  them, 
and  fearing  lest  they  should  be  trampled  under  the  horses' 
feet,  they  gave  way,  and  retired  through  the  intervals  of 
the  squadrons.  The  fight  continued  a  long  time  with  equal 
success.  Many  troopers  on  botli  sides  dismounted  ;  so  that 
the  battle  was  carried  on  between  infantry  as  well  as 
cavalry.  In  the  mean  time,  the  Numidians  surrounded  the 
enemy,  and  charged  the  rear  of  the  light-armed  troops,  wno 
9t  first  had  escaped  the  attack  of  the  cavalry,  and  trod 
them  under  their  horses'  feet.  The  centre  of  the  Roman 
forces  had  hitherto  fought  watli  great  bravery.  Many  were 
killed  on  both  sides,  and  even  more  on  that  of  the  Cartha- 
ginians. But  the  Roman  troo])s  were  thrown  into  disorder 
by  the  Numidi;ins,  who  attacked  them  in  the  rear  :  and  es- 
pecially by  a  wound  the  consul  received,  Avliich  disabled 
him.  This  general,  however,  was  rescued  out  of  the  enemy's 
hands  by  the  bravery  of  his  son,  then  but  seventeen  yeai's 
old,  and  who  afterwards  was  honored  with  the  surname  of 
Africanus,  for  having  put  a  glorious  period  to  this  war. 

Tlie  consul,  though  dangerously  wounded,  retreated  in 
good  order,  and  was  conveyed  to  his  camp  by  a  body  of 
horse,  who  covered  him  with  their  arms  and  bodies  :  the 
rest  of  the  army  followed  him  thither.  He  hastened  to  the 
Po,  which  he  crossed  with  his  army,  and  then  broke  down 
the  bridge,  whereby  he  prevented  Hannibal  from  overtaking 
him. 

It  was  agreed,  that  Hannibal  OAved  this  first  victory  to 
his  cavalry;  and  it  was  judged  from  thenceforth,  that  the 
main  strength  of  his  army  consisted  in  his  horse  ;  and  there- 
fore, that  it  would  be  proper  for  the  Romans  to  avoid  large 
open  plains  like  those  between  the  Po  and  the  Alps. 

Immediately  after  the  battle  of  the  Ticinns,  all  the 
neighboring  Gauls  seemed  to  contend  who  should  submit 
themselves  fii'st  to  Hannibal,  furnish  him  with  ammunition, 
and  enlist  in  his  army.  And  this,  as  Polybius  has  observed, 
was  what  chiefly  induced  that  wise  and  skilful  general,  not- 
withstanding the  small  number  and  weakness  of  his  troops, 
to  hazard  a  battle ;  Avhich  he  indeed  was  now  obliged  to 
venture,  from  the  impossibility  of  marching  back  whenever 
he  should  desire  to  do  it,  because  nothing  but  a  battle  would 
oblige  the  Gaul's  to  declare  for  him  :  their  assistance  being 
the  only  refuge  he  then  had  left. 


348  ANCIENT    HISTORY. 

BATTLE    OF    TREBIA. 

Semprouius  the  consul,  upon  the  orders  he  had  received 
from  the  senate,  was  returned  from  Sicily  to  Ariminum.* 
Fi'om  thence  he  marched  towards  Trebia,  a  small  river  of 
Lombardy.  which  falls  into  the  Po  a  little  above  Placentia, 
where  he  joined  his  forces  to  those  of  Scipio.  Hannibal 
advanced  towards  the  camp  of  the  Romans,  from  which  he 
was  separated  only  by  that  small  river.  The  armies  lying 
so  near  one  another,  gave  occasion  to  frequent  skirmishes, 
in  one  of  which  Sem}>ronius,  at  the  head  of  a  body  of  horse, 
gained  but  a  very  small  advantage  over  a  party  of  Cartha- 
ginians, which  nevertheless  very  much  increased  the  good 
opinion  this  general  naturally  entertained  of  his  own  merit. 

This  inconsiderable  success  seemed  to  him  a  complete 
victory.  He  boasted  his  having  vanquished  the  enemy  in 
the  same  kind  of  fight  in  which  his  colleague  had  been  de- 
feated, and  that  he  thereby  had  revived  the  courage  of  the 
dejected  Romans.  Being  now  resolutely  bent  to  come,  as 
soon  as  possible,  to  a  decisive  battle,  he  thought  it  proper, 
for  decency  sake,  to  consult  Scipio,  whom  he  found  to  be  of 
a  quite  different  opinion  from  himself.  Scipio  represented, 
that  in  case  time  should  be  allowed  for  disciplining  the  new 
levies  during  the  winter,  they  would  be  much  m.ore  lit  for 
service  in  the  ensuing  campaign  ;  that  the  Gauls,  who  were 
naturally  fickle  and  inconstant,  would  disengage  themselves 
insensibly  from  Hannibal ;  that  as  soon  as  his  wounds 
should  be  healed,  his  presence  might  be  of  some  use  in  an 
affair  of  such  general  concern  ;  in  a  word,  he  besought  him 
earnestly  not  to  proceed  any  farther. 

These  reasons,  though  so  just,  made  no  impression  upon 
Sempronius.  He  saw  himself  at  the  head  of  sixteen  thou- 
sand Romans,  and  twenty  thousand  allies,  exclusive  of  cav- 
alry, which  number,  in  those  ages,  formed  a  complete  army, 
when  both  consuls  joined  their  forces.  The  troops  of  the 
enemy  amounted  to  near  the  same  number.  He  thought 
the  juncture  extremely  favorable  for  him.  He  declared 
publicly,  that  all  the  officers  and  soldiers  Avere  desirous  of  a  • 
battle,  except  his  colleague,  whose  mind,  he  observed,  being 
more  affected  by  his  wound  than  his  body,  coiild  not  for 
that  reason  bear  to  hear  of  an  engagement.  But  still,  con- 
tinued Sempronius,  is  it  just  to  let  the  whole  army  droop 
and  languish  with  him  ?     What  could  Scipio  expect  more  ? 

»  Polyb.  1.  xsJii.  pp.  220-227.    Liv.  1.  xxi.  pp.  51-56 


THE    CARTHAGINIANS.  349 

Did  he  flatter  liimself  Avith  the  hopes  that  a  third  consul, 
and  a  new  army,  M'^ould  come  to  his  assistance  ?  Such  were 
the  expressions  he  employed,  both  among  the  soldiers,  and 
even  about  Scipio's  tent.  The  time  for  the  election  of  new 
generals  drawing  near,  Sempronius  Avas  afraid  a  successor 
would  be  sent  before  he  had  put  an  end  to  the  war  ;  and 
therefore  it  was  his  opinion,  that  he  ought  to  take  advantage 
of  his  colleague's  illness  to  secure  the  whole  honor  of  the 
victory  to  himself.  As  he  had  no  regard,  savs  Polybius, 
to  the  time  proper  for  action,  and  only  to  that  which  he 
thought  suited  his  own  interest,  he  could  not  fail  of  taking 
wrong  measures.  He  therefore  ordered  his  army  to  prepare 
for  battle. 

This  was  the  very  thing  Hannibal  desired,  holding  it  for 
a  maxim,  that  when  a  general  has  entered  a  foreign  country, 
or  one  possessed  by  the  enemy,  and  has  formed  some  great 
design,  that  such  an  one  has  no  other  refuge  left,  but  con- 
tinually to  raise  the  expectation  of  his  allies  by  some  fresh 
exploits.  Besides,  knowing  that  he  should  have  to  deal 
only  with  new-levied  and  inexperienced  troops,  he  was  de- 
sirous of  taking  cA^ery  advantage  possible  of  the  ardor  of 
the  Gauls,  who  were  extremely  desirous  of  fighting ;  and  of 
Scipio's  absence,  Avho,  by  reason  of  his  wound,  could  not  be 
present  in  the  battle.  Mago  A\'as  therefore  ordered  to  lie 
in  ambush  with  tAvo  thousand  men,  consisting  of  horse  and 
foot,  on  the  steep  banks  of  a  small  rivulet,  wliich  ran  be- 
tween the  two  camps,  and  to  conceal  himself  among  the 
bushes,  that  Avere  very  thick  there.  An  ambuscade  is  often 
safer  in  a  smooth  open  country,  but  full  of  thickets,  as  this 
was,  than  in  Avoods,  because  such  a  spot  is  less  apt  to  be 
suspected.  He  afterwards  caused  a  detachment  of  Numid- 
ian  caA'alry  to  cross  the  Trebia,  with  orders  to  advance  at 
break  of  day  as  far  as  the  very  barriers  of  the  enemy's 
camp,  in  order  to  provoke  them  to  fight ;  and  then  to  re- 
treat and  repass  the  river,  in  order  to  draAV  the  Romans 
after  them.  What  he  had  foreseen,  came  exactly  to  j^ass. 
The  fiery  Sempronius  immediately  detached  his  Avhole  cav- 
alry against  the  N^umidians,  and  then  six  thousand  light- 
armed  troops,  Avho  were  soon  followed  by  the  rest  of  the 
army.  The  Numidians  fled  designedly ;  upon  Avhich  the 
Romans  pursued  with  great  eagerness,  and  crossed  the 
Trebia  Avithout  resistance,  but  not  Avitlumt  great  difticulty, 
being  forced  to  wade  up  to  their  very  arm-pits  through 
the  rivulet,  which  was  SAvolleu  with  the  torrents  that  hud 


350  ANCIEXT    HISTORY. 

fallen  in  the  night  from  the  neighboring  mountains.  It 
was  then  about  the  winter-solstice,  that  is,  in  December. 
It  happened  to  snow  that  day,  and  the  cold  was  excessively 
piercing.  The  Romans  had  left  their  camp  fasting,  and 
without  taking  the  least  precaution  ;  whereas  the  Cartha- 
ginians had,  by  Hannibal's  order,  eat  and  drank  ])lentifu]ly 
in  their  tents  ;  had  got  their  horses  in  readiness,  nd)bed 
themselves  with  oil,  and  put  on  their  armor  by  the  fire-side. 

They  were  thus  prepared  when  the  fight  began.  The 
Romans  defended  themselves  valiantly  for  a  considerable 
time,  though  they  were  half  spent  with  hunger,  fatigue, 
and  cold  ;  but  their  cavalry  was  at  last  broken  and  put 
to  flight  by  that  of  the  Carthaginians,  which  much  ex- 
ceeded theirs  in  numbei«s  and  strength.  The  infantry  also 
were  soon  in  great  disorder.  The  soldiers  in  ambuscade 
sallying  out  at  a  proper  time,  rushed  suddenly  u])on  their 
rear,  and  completed  the  overthrow.  A  body  of  about  ten 
thousand  men  fought  their  Avay  resolutely  through  the  Gauls 
and  Africans,  of  whom  they  made  a  dreadful  slaughter ; 
but  as  they  could  neither  assist  their  friends,  nor  return  to 
their  camp,  the  way  to  it  being  cut  off  by  the  Numidian 
horse,  the  river  and  the  rain,  they  retreated  in  good  order 
to  Placentia.  Most  of  the  rest  lost  their  lives  on  the  banks 
of  the  river,  being  trampled  to  ]  ieces  by  the  elephants  and 
horses.  Those  who  escaped,  joined  the  body  above  men- 
tioned. The  next  night  Scipio  also  retired  to  Placentia. 
The  Carthaginians  gained  a  complete  victory,  and  their  loss 
was  inconsiderable,  except  that  a  great  number  of  their 
horses  were  destroyed  by  the  cold,  the  rain,  and  the  snow ; 
and  that,  of  all  their  ele])hants,  they  saved  but  one. 

In  Spain,  the  Romans  had  better  success,  in  tiiis  and  the 
following  campaign,*  for  Cn.  Scij)io  extended  his  conquests 
as  far  as  the  river  Iberus,t  defeated  Hanno,  and  made  him 
prisoner. 

Hannibal  took  the  opportunity,  Avhile  he  was  in  winter- 
quarters,  to  refresh  his  troops,  and  gain  the  affection  of  the 
natives.  For  this  purpose,  after  having  declared  to  the 
prisoners  he  had  taken  from  the  Roman  allies,  that  he  was 
not  come  with  the  view  of  making  war  upon  them,  but  to 
restore  the  Italians  to  their  liberty,  and  protect  them  against 
the  Romans,  he  sent  them  all  home  to  their  own  countries 
without  requiring  the  least  ransom. t 

•  Polyb.  1.  iii.  pp.  228,  229.    Liv.  1.  xxi.  n.  60,  61.  t  Or  Ebro. 

%  Polyb.  1.  iii.  p.  229. 


THE    CARTHAGIXIAXS.  351 

The  winter  was  no  sooner  over,  than  he  set  off  towards 
Tuscany,  whither  he  hastened  his  inarch  for  two  import- 
ant reasons.*  First,  to  avoid  the  ill  effects  which  would 
arise  from  the  ill-will  of  the  Gauls,  Avho  were  tired  with  the 
long  stay  of  the  Carthaginian  army  in  their  territories  ;  and 
impatient  of  bearing  the  whole  burden  of  a  war,  in  which 
they  had  engaged  with  no  other  view  than  to  carry  it  into 
the  country  of  their  common  enemy.  Secondly,  that  he 
might  increase,  by  some  bold  exploit,  the  reputation  of  liia 
arms  in  the  minds  of  all  the  inhabitants  of  Italy,  by  carry- 
ing the  vrar  to  the  very  gates  of  Rome,  and  at  the  same 
time,  reanimate  his  troops,  and  the  Gauls  his  allies,  by  the 
plunder  of  the  enemy's  territories.  But  in  his  march  over 
the  Appenines,  he  was  overtaken  with  a  dreadful  storm, 
Avhich  destroyed  great  numbers  of  his  men.  The  cold,  the 
rain,  the  wind  and  hail,  seemed  to  conspire  his  ruin  ;  so  that 
the  fatigues  which  the  Carthaginians  had  undergone  in 
crossing  the  Alps,  seemed  less  dreadful  than  these  they  now 
suffered.  He  therefore  mai*ched  back  to  Placentia,  wlierc 
he  again  fought  Sempronius,  who  had  returned  from  Kome. 
The  loss  on  both  sides  was  very  nearly  equal. 

While  Hannibal  was  in  these  winter-quarters,  he  hit  xipon 
a  stratagem  truly  Carthaginian. f  He  Avas  surrounded  M'lih 
fickle  and  inconstant  nations ;  the  friendship  he  had  con- 
tracted Avith  them  Avas  but  of  recent  date.  He  had  reason 
to  apprehend  a  change  in  their  disposition,  and  consequently 
that  attempts  Avould  be  made  upon  his  life.  To  secure 
himself,  therefore,  he  got  perukes  made,  and  clothes  suited 
to  eA'ery  age.  Of  these  he  sometimes  wore  one,  sometimes 
another ;  and  disguised  himself  so  often,  that  not  only  those 
who  saAV  him  transiently,  but  even  his  intimate  acquaint- 
ance, could  scarcely  knoAV  him. 

At  Rome,  Cn.  Servilius  and  C.  Flaminius  had  been  ap- 
pointed consuls,  t  Hannibal  having  advice  that  the  latter 
was  advanced  already  as  far  as  Arretium,  a  toAvn  of  Tus- 
cany, resoh-ed  to  go  and  engage  him  as  soon  as  possible. 
Tavo  Avays  being  shoAvn  him,  he  chose  the  shortest,  though 
the  most  troublesome,  nay,  almost  impassable,  by  reason  of 
a  fen  which  he  was  forced  to  go  through.  Here  the  army 
suffered  incredible  hardships.  During  four  days  and  three 
nights,  they  marched  half  leg  dee])  in  Avater,  and  conse- 
quently could  not  get  a  moment's  sleep.     Hannibal  himself 

*  lAv.  I.  xxi.  n.  52. 

+  Polyb.  1.  xxi.    Liv.  1.  xxil.  n.  1    Appian.  In  Bell.  Annib.  p.  .^16. 

t  A.  M.  3788.    A.  Kome,  532.    Poljb.  pp.  230,  231.    Liv.  1.  xxii.  ii.  2. 


352  ANCIENT    HISTORY. 

who  rode  upon  the  only  elephant  he  had  left,  could  hardly 
get  through.  His  long  want  of  sleep,  and  the  thick  vapors 
which  exhaled  from  that  marshy  place,  together  with  the 
unhealthfulness  of  the  season,  cost  him  one  of  his  eyes. 

BATTLK    or    TIinASYMEXE. 

Hannibal  thus  extricated,  almost  unexpectedly,  out  of 
this  dangerous  situation,  refreshed  his  troops,  and  then 
marched  and  pitched  his  camp  between  Avretium  and  Fe- 
sulae,  in  the  richest  and  most  fruitful  part  of  Tuscany.*  His 
first  endeavoi-s  were,  to  discover  the  genius  and  character 
of  Flaminius,  in  order  that  he  might  take  advantage  of  his 
errors,  which,  according  to  Polybius,  ought  to  be  the  chief 
study  of  a  general.  He  was  told  that  Flaminius  was  very 
self-couceited,  bold,  enterprising,  rash,  and  fond  of  glory. 
To  plunge  him  the  deeper  into  these  excess-s,  to  which  he  was 
naturally  prone, f  he  inflamed  his  impetuous  sjiirit,  by  lay- 
ing waste  and  burning  the  Avhole  country  in  his  sight. 

Flaminius  was  not  of  a  disposition  to  remain  inactive  in 
his  camp,  though  Hannibal  should  have  lain  still.  But  when 
he  saw  the  territories  of  his  allies  laid  Avaste  before  his  eyes, 
he  thought  it  would  reflect  dishonor  upon  him  should  he 
suffer  Hannibal  to  ravage  Italy  without  control,  and  even 
advance  to  the  very  walls  of  Rome,  without  meeting  any  re- 
sistance. He  rejected  with  scorn  the  prudent  counsels  of 
those  who  advised  him  to  wait  the  arrival  of  his  colleague ; 
and  to  be  satisfied  for  the  present  with  putting  a  stop  to  the 
devastation  of  the  enemy. 

In  the  mean  time  Hannibal  was  still  advancing  towards 
Rome,  having  Cortona  on  the  left  hand,  and  the  lake 
Thrasymene  on  his  right.  AVhen  he  saw  that  the  consul 
followed  close  after  him,  with  the  design  to  give  him  bat- 
tle, by  stopping  him  in  his  march  ;  having  observed  that 
the  ground  was  convenient  for  that  purpose,  he  also  began 
to  prepare  himself  for  battle.  The  lake  Thrasymene  and 
the  mountains  of  Cortona  form  a  narrow  defile,  which  leads 
into  a  large  valley,  lined  on  both  sides  with  hills  of  con- 
siderable height,  and  closed  at  the  outlet  by  a  steep  hill  of 
difficult  access.  On  this  hill,  Hannibal,  after  having  crossed 
the  valley,  came  and  encamped  with  the  main  body  of 
his  army;    posting  his  light-armed  infantry  in  ambuscade 

*  Polyb.  1.  ili.  pp.  231-238 

t  Apparebat  ferooiter  omnia  ac  praeproperfe  acturem.  Qiioque  proiiior  esset 
in  sua  Titia,  agitare  eum  atqueirritare  Pcepusparat.— Liv.  1,  xxii.  n.  5. 


THE    CAnTriAGTNtAXS.  353 

upon  the  hills  on  the  right,  and  part  of  his  cavalry  behind 
those  on  the  left,  as  far  almost  as  the  entrance  of  the  defile, 
through  which  Flaiainius  was  obliged  to  pass.  Accordingly, 
this  general,  wdio  followed  him  very  eagerly,  wdth  the  res- 
olution to  tight  him,  having  reached  the  defile  near  the 
lake,  was  forced  to  halt,  because  night  was  coming  on ;  but 
he  entered  it  the  next  morning  at  daybreak. 

Hannibal  having  permitted  him  to  advance  wnth  all  his 
forces  more  than  half  way  through  the  valley,  and  seeing 
the  Roman  vanguard  pretty  near  him,  he  sounded  the 
charge,  and  commanded  his  troops  to  come  out  of  their  am- 
buscade, that  he  might  attack  the  enemy,  at  the  same  time, 
from  all  quarters.  The  reader  may  guess  at  the  consterna- 
tion with  which  tlie  Romans  Avere  seized. 

They  were  not  yet  draw  n  up  in  order  of  battle,  neither 
had  they  got  their  arms  in  readiness,  Avhen  they  found  them- 
selves attacked  in  front,  in  rear,  and  in  flank.  In  a  moment 
all  the  ranks  were  put  in  disorder.  Flaminius,  alone  un- 
daunted in  so  universal  a  consternation,  animated  liis  sol- 
diers both  with  his  hand  and  voice  ;  and  exhorted  them  to 
cut  themselves  a  passage  with  their  swords  through  the 
midst  of  the  enemy.  But  the  tumult  which  reigned  every- 
where, the  dreadful  shouts  of  the  enemy,  and  a  heavy  fog 
prevented  his  being  seen  or  heard.  When  the  Romans, 
however,  saw  themselves  surrounded  on  all  sides,  either  by 
the  enemy  or  the  lake,  and  the  impossibility  of  saving  their 
lives  by  flight,  it  roused  their  courage,  and  both  parties  be- 
gan the  fight  wdth  astonishing  animosity.  Their  fury  was 
so  great,  that  not  a  soldier  in  either  army  perceived  an 
earthquake  which  happened  in  that  country,  and  buried 
whole  cities  in  ruins.  In  this  confusion,  Flaminius  being 
slain  by  one  of  the  Insubrian  Gauls,  the  Romans  began  to 
give  ground,  and  at  last  turned  and  fled.  Great  numbers, 
to  save  themselves,  leajx'd  into  the  lake  ;  while  others,  direct- 
ing their  course  to  the  mountains,  fell  into  the  enemy's 
hands  Avhoni  they  strove  to  avoid.  Only  six  thousand  cut 
their  way  throurh  the  conquerors,  and  retreated  to  a  place 
of  safety  ;  but  tlie  next  day  they  were  taken  prisoners.  In 
this  battle  fifteen  thousand  Romans  were  killed,  and  about 
ten  thousand  escaped  to  Rome,  by  different  roads.  Hanni- 
bal sent  back  the  Latins,  who  were  allies  of  the  Romans, 
into  their  own  country,  without  demanding  the  least  ran- 
som. He  commanded  search  to  be  made  for  the  body  of 
Flaminius  in  order  to  give  it  burial    but  it  could  not  bo 

23 


354  AXCIEXT    HISTORY. 

found.  He  afterwards  put  his  troops  into  quarters  of  re* 
freshnient,  and  solemnized  the  funerals  of  thiiry  oi  his  cL.ei 
officers,  who  were  killed  in  the  battle.  He  lost  in  all  but 
fifteen  hundred  men,  most  of  whom  were  Gauls. 

Immediately  after,  Hannibal  despatched  a  courier  to 
Carthage,  with  the  news  of  the  success  in  Italy.  This  caused 
the  greatest  joy  for  tlie  jiresent,  raised  the  most  ]>iomising 
hopes  with  regard  to  the  future,  and  revived  the  courage  of 
all  the  citizens.  They  now  prepared,  with  incredible  ardor, 
to  send  into  Italy  and  Spain  all  necessary  succors. 

Rome,  on  the  contrary,  was  filled  with  universal  gi-ief 
and  alarm,  as  soon  as  the  praetor  had  pronounced  from  the 
rostra  the  following  words.  We  have  lost  a  great  battle. 
The  senate,  studious  of  nothing  but  the  public  welfare, 
thought  that  in  so  great  a  calamity,  and  so  imminent  a  danger, 
recourse  must  be  had  to  extraordinary  remedies.  They 
therefore  appointed  Quintus  Fabius  dictator,  a  person  as 
conspicuous  for  his  wisdom  as  his  birth.  It  avus  the  custom 
at  Rome  that  the  moment  a  dictator  was  nominated,  all  au- 
thority ceased,  that  of  the  tribunes  of  the  people  excepted. 
M.  Minucius  was  appointed  his  general  of  horse.  We  are 
now  in  the  second  year  of  the  war. 

HANXIBAL's    COXDUCT    WaXII   RESPECT    TO   FABTTS. 

Hannibal,  after  the  battle  of  Thrasymene,  not  thinking 
it  yet  proper  to  march  directly  to  Rome,  contented  himself, 
in  the  mean  time,  with  laying  waste  the  country.*  He 
crossed  Umbria  and  Picenum ;  and  after  ten  days'  march, 
arrived  in  the  territory  of  Adria.f  He  got  a  very  consid- 
erable booty  in  this  march.  Out  of  his  implacable  enmity 
to  the  Romans,  he  commanded,  that  all  who  were  able  to 
bear  ai-ms  should  be  put  to  the  sword ;  and  meeting  no 
obstacle  anywhere,  he  advanced  as  far  as  Apulia,  jilunder- 
ing  the  countries  which  lay  in  his  way,  and  carrying  deso- 
lation wherever  he  came,  in  order  to  compel  the  nations  to 
disengage  themselves  from  their  alliance  with  the  Romans, 
and  to  show  all  Italy,  that  Rome  itself,  now  quite  dispirited, 
yielded  him  the  victory. 

Fabius,  followed  by  Minucius  and  four  legions,  had 
marched  from  Rome  in  quest  of  the  enemy,  but  with  a 
firm  resolution  not  to  let  him  take  the  least  advantage^  nor 
to  advance  one  step  till  he  had  first  reconnoitred  e\'ery 

•  Polvb.  ].  xxiii.  pp.  239-2.55.    Liv.  1.  xxii.  n.  !V  ?0. 
f  A  small  town,  which  gave  camo  to  the  Adriatic  tea. 


THE    CARTHAGIXIAXS.  355 

place ;  nor  hazard  a  battle,  till  he  should  be  sure  of  suc- 
cess. 

As  soon  as  both  armies  were  in  sight,  Hannibal,  to  ter- 
rify the  Roman  forces,  offered  them  battle,  by  advancing 
almost  to  the  intrenchments  of  their  camp.  But  finding 
every  tiling  quiet  there,  he  retired  ;  blaming  in  appearance 
the  outward  cowardice  of  the  enemy,  M-hom  he  upbraided 
with  having  at  last  lost  that  valor  so  natural  to  their  ances- 
tors ;  but  fretting  inwardly,  to  find  he  had  to  act  Avith  a 
general  of  so  different  a  genius  from  Sempronius  and  Flani- 
iuius  ;  and  that  the  Romans,  instructed  by  their  defeat,  had 
at  last  made  choice  of  a  commander  capable  of  opposing 
Hannibal. 

From  this  moment  he  perceived  that  the  dictator  would 
not  be  foi'midable  to  him  by  the  boldness  of  his  attacks,  but 
by  the  prudence  and  regularity  of  his  conduct,  which  might 
perplex  and  embarrass  hun  very  much.  The  only  circum- 
stance he  now  wanted  to  know  was,  whether  the  new  gen- 
eral had  resolution  enough  to  ])ursue  steadily  the  plan  he 
seemed  to  have  laid  down.  lie  endeavored,  therefore,  to 
rouse  him,  by  his  frequent  removals  from  place  to  place,  by 
laying  waste  the  lands,  plundering  the  cities,  and  burning 
the  villages  and  towns.  He,  at  one  time,  would  raise  his 
camp  with  the  utmost  precipitation  ;  and  at  another,  stop 
short  in  some  valley  out  of  the  common  route,  to  try 
whether  he  could  not  surprise  him  in  the  plain.  However, 
Fabius  still  kept  his  troops  on  the  hills,  but  without  losing 
sight  of  Hannibal ;  never  approaching  near  enough  to  come 
to  an  engagement,  nor  yet  keeping  at  such  a  distance,  as 
might  give  him  an  opportunity  of  escaping  him.  He  never 
suffered  his  soldiers  to  stir  out  of  the  camp,  except  to  for- 
age, and  not  even  on  those  occasions  without  a  numerous 
convoy.  If  ever  he  engaged,  it  was  only  in  slight  skir- 
mishes, and  so  very  cautiously,  that  his  troops  had  ahvays 
the  advantage.  This  conduct  revived,  by  insensible  degrees, 
the  courage  of  the  soldiers,  which  the  loss  of  three  battles 
had  entirely  damped  ;  and  enabled  them  to  rely,  as  they  had 
formerly  done,  on  their  valor  and  success. 

Hannibal,  having  got  immensely  rich  spoils  in  Campania, 
where  he  had  resided  a  considerable  time,  left  there  Avith 
his  army,  that  he  might  not  consume  the  proA'isions  he  had 
laid  up,  and  which  he  reservtd  for  the  winter  season. 
Besides,  he  could  no  longer  continue  in  a  country  of  gardens 
and  vineyards,  which  were  more  agi*eeabie  to  the  eye,  than 


356  AXCIEXT    HISTORY. 

useful  for  the  subsistance  of  an  army  ;  a  country  where  he 
Avould  have  been  forced  to  take  up  his  winter-quarters 
among  marshes,  rocks  and  sands ;  a\  hereas  the  Ivomans 
would  have  di-aAvn  plentiful  supjilies  from  Ca])ua,  and  the 
richest  parts  of  Italy.  He  therefore  resolved  to  settle  else- 
where. 

Fabius  naturally  supposed  that  Hannibal  would  be 
obliged  to  return  tlie  same  way  he  came,  and  that  he  might 
easily  annoy  him  during  his  march.  He  began  by  throwing 
a  considerable  body  of  ti'oops  into  Casilinum,  thereby  secur- 
ing that  small  town,  situated  on  the  Yulturnus,  Avhich  sep- 
arated the  territories  of  FaJernum  from  those  of  Cajnia ;  he 
afterwards  detached  four  thousand  men,  to  seize  the  only 
narrow  pass  through  wliich  Hannibal  could  come  out ;  and 
then,  according  to  his  usual  custom,  posted  himself  with  the 
remainder  of  the  army  on  tlie  hills  adjoining  the  road. 

The  Carthaginians  arrived,  and  encam])ed  in  the  plain 
at  the  foot  of  the  mountains.  And  now,  the  crafty  Cartha- 
ginians fell  into  the  same  snare  he  had  laid  for  Flammius  at 
the  defile  of  Thrasymene ;  and  it  seemed  impossible  for  him 
ever  to  extricate  himself  out  of  this  difficulty,  there  being 
but  one  outlet,  of  which  the  Rtnuans  were  possessed.  Fa- 
bius, fancying  himself  sure  of  liis  ])rey,  was  only  contriving 
how  to  seize  it.  He  flattered  himself  with  tlie  probable 
hopes  of  putting  an  end  to  the  war  by  this  single  battle. 
Nevertheless,  he  thought  fit  to  defer  tlie  attack  till  the  next 
day. 

Hannibal  perceived  that  his  own  artifi-ces  were  now 
employed  against  him.*  It  is  in  such  junctures  as  these,  that 
a  general  has  need  of  great  presence  of  mind,  and  unusual 
fortitude,  to  view  danger  in  its  utmost  extent,  without  being 
struck  with  the  least  dread  ;  and  to  find  out  sure  and  instant 
expedients,  without  deliberating.  The  Carthaginian  general 
immediately  caused  two  thousand  oxen  to  be  collected,  and 
ordered  small  bundles  of  vine  branches  to  be  tied  to  their 
horns.  He  then  commanded  the  branches  to  be  set  on  fire 
in  the  dead  of  night,  and  the  oxen  to  be  driven  with  violence 
to  the  top  of  the  hills,  where  the  Romans  were  encamyied. 
As  soon  as  these  creatures  felt  the  flame,  the  pain  puttiug 
them  in  a  rage,  they  flew  up  and  down  on  all  sides,  and  set 
fire  to  the  shrubs  and  bushes  they  met  in  their  way.  This 
squadron,  of  a  new  kind,  was  sustained  by  a  good  number  of 
light-armed  soldiers,  who  had  orders  to  seize  upon  the  sum- 

*  Xec  Annibalem  fefellit  suis  se  artibas  peti.— Liv. 


THE    CARTIIAGIXIANS.  357 

mit  of  the  mountain,  and  to  charge  the  enemy  in  case  they 
should  meet  them.  All  things  h:ip])ened  which  llanniljal 
had  foreseen.  The  Romans,  who  guarded  the  defile,  seeing 
the  fires  spread  over  tlie  hills  Avhich  were  ahove  them,  and 
imagining  that  it  was  Hannibal  making  his  escape  by  torch- 
light, quit  their  posts  and  run  to  the  mountains  to  oppose 
his  passage.  The  main  body  of  the  army  not  knowing  ^\■hat 
to  tliink  of  all  this  tumult,  and  Fabius  himself  not  daring  to 
stir,  as  it  was  excessively  dark,  for  fear  of  a  sur})rise,  "waited 
for  the  return  of  the  day.  Hannibal  seized  this  op])ortuniiy, 
marched  his  troops  and  the  S])oils  through  the  defile,  which 
was  now^  unguarded,  and  rescued  his  army  out  of  a  snare, 
in  which,  had  Fabius  been  but  a  little  more  vigorous,  it 
would  either  have  been  destroyed,  or  at  least  veiy  much 
weakened.  It  is  glorious  for  a  man  to  turn  his  veiy  errors  to 
his  advantage,  and  make  them  subservient  to  his  reputation. 

The  Carthaginian  army  returned  to  A])ulia,  still  pursued 
and  harassed  by  the  Romans.  The  dictator  being  obliged 
to  take  a  journey  to  Rome,  on  account  of  some  religious 
ceremonies,  earnestly  entreated  his  general  of  horse,  before 
his  departure,  not  to  fight  during  his  absence.  Minucius 
however  did  not  regard  either  his  advice  or  his  entreaties, 
but  the  very  first  opportunity  he  had,  while  part  of  Hanni- 
bal's troops  w^ere  foraging,  charged  the  rest,  and  gained 
some  advantage.  He  immediately  sent  advice  of  this  to 
Rome,  as  if  he  had  obtained  a  considerable  Aictory.  The 
news  of  this,  with  what  had  just  before  happened  at  the 
passage  of  the  defile,  raised  complaints  and  murmurs  against 
the  slow  and  timorous  circumspection  of  Fabius.  In  a  word, 
matters  were  carried  so  far,  that  the  Roman  ]:)eople  gave 
his  general  of  horse  an  equal  authority  Avith  liim ;  a  thing 
unheard  of  before.  The  dictator  was  upon  the  road  when 
he  received  advice  of  this,  for  he  had  left  Rome,  that  he 
might  not  be  an  eye-witness  of  what  w^as  contriving  against 
him.  His  constancy,  however  was  not  shaken.  He  was 
very  sensible,  that  though  his  authority  in  the  command  was 
divided,  yet  his  skill  in  the  art  of  war  was  not  so.*  This 
soon  became  manifest. 

Minucius,  grown  arrogant  with  the  advantage  he  had 
gained  over  his  colleague,  proposed  that  each  should  com- 
mand a  day  alternately,  or  even  a  longer  time.  But  Fabius 
rejected  this  proposal,  as  it  would  have  exposed  the  wliole 

*  Satis  fidens  liaiidqnaquam  cum  imperii  jure  artem  imperandi  sequatam. — Liv. 
1.  xiii.  n.  26. 


358  AXCIEXT    HISTORY. 

army  to  clanger  while  under  the  command  of  Minueius.  Pie 
therefore  chose  to  divide  the  troops,  in  order  that  it  might 
be  in  his  power  to  preserve,  at  least,  that  part  which  sliould 
fall  to  his  share. 

Hannibal,  fully  informed  of  all  that  passed  in  the  Roman 
camp,  was  overjoyed  to  hear  of  this  dissension  of  the  two 
commanders.  He  therefore  laid  a  snare  for  the  rash  Minu- 
eius, who  accordingly  plunged  headlong  into  it,  and  engaged 
the  enemy  on  an  eminence,  in  which  an  ambuscade  was  coa 
cealed.  But  his  troops,  being  soon  put  into  disorder,  were 
just  on  the  point  of  being  cut  to  pieces,  when  Fabius, 
alarmed  by  the  sudden  outcries  of  the  wounded,  called 
aloud  to  his  soldiers,  "  Let  us  hasten  to  the  assistance  of 
Minueius  ;  let  us  fly  and  snatch  the  victory  from  the  enemy, 
and  extort  from  our  fellow-citizens  a  confession  of  their 
fault."  This  succor  was  very  seasonable,  and  compelled 
Hannibal  to  sound  a  retreat.  The  latter,  as  he  was  retiring, 
said,  "That  the  cloud  which  had  been  long  hovering  on  the 
summit  of  the  mountains,  had  at  last  burst  Avith  a  loud 
crack,  and  caused  a  mighty  storm."  So  important  and  sea- 
sonable a  service  rendered  by  the  dictator,  opened  the  eyes 
of  Minueius.  He  accordingly  acknowledged  his  error,  re- 
turned immediately  to  his  duty  and  obedience,  and  showed 
that  it  is  sometimes  more  glorious  to  know  how  to  atone  for 
a  fault,  than  to  have  committed  it. 

THE    STATE    OF    AFFAIRS    IN    SPAIX. 

In  the  beginning  of  this  campaign,  Cn.  Scipio  having 
euddenly  attacked  the  Carthaginian  fleet,  commanded  by 
Hamilcar,  defeated  it,  and  took  twenty-five  ships,  with  a 
gi'eat  quantity  of  rich  spoils.*  This  victory  made  the  Ro- 
mans sensible  that  they  ought  to  be  ]>articularly  attentive 
to  the  affairs  of  Spain,  because  Hannibal  could  draw  con- 
siderable supplies  both  of  men  and  money  from  that  coun- 
try. Accordingly  they  sent  a  fleet  thither,  the  command  of 
Avhich  was  given  to  P.  Scipio,  who,  after  his  arrival  in  Spain, 
having  joined  his  brother,  did  the  commonwealth  very  great 
service.  Till  that  time  the  Romans  had  ncAcr  ventured  be- 
yond the  Ebro.  They  then  were  satisfied  with  having  gained 
the  friendship  of  the  nations  situated  between  that  river 
and  Italy,  and  confirming  it  by  alliances  ;  but  under  Publius, 
they  crossed  the  Ebro,  and  carried  their  arms  much  further 
up  into  the  country. 

*  Polyb.  1.  iii.  pp.  21V250.     Liv.  1.  xxii.  n.  19-22. 


THE    CARTHAGIXIAXS.  359 

The  circumstance  which  contributed  most  to  promote 
their  affairs,  was  the  treachery  of  a  Spaniard  in  Saguntum. 
Hannibal  had  left  there  the  children  of  the  most  distin- 
guished families  in  Spain,  whom  he  had  taken  as  hostages. 
Abelox  (for  so  this  Spaniard  was  called),  persuaded  Bostar, 
the  governor  of  the  city,  to  send  back  these  young  men  into 
their  country,  in  order,  by  that  means,  to  attach  tlie  inhab- 
itants more  firmly  to  the  Carthaginian  interest.  He  him- 
self was  charged  with  this  commission  ;  but  he  carried  them 
to  the  Romans,  who  afterwards  delivered  them  to  their  re- 
lations, and  by  so  acceptable  a  present,  acquired  their  amity. 

THE    BATTLE    OF    CAXN'^. 

The  next  spring,  C.  Terentius  Vari'o,  and  L.  ^milius 
Paulus,  were  chosen  consuls  at  Rome.*  In  this  campaign, 
which  was  the  third  of  the  second  Punic  war,  the  Romans 
did  what  had  never  been  practised  before,  viz. :  they  com- 
posed the  army  of  eight  legions,  each  consisting  of  five  thou- 
sand men,  exclusive  of  the  allies.  For,  as  we  have  already 
observed,  the  Romans  never  raised  but  four  legions,  each  of 
which  consisted  of  about  four  thousand  foot,  and  three  hun- 
dred horse.f  They  never,  except  on  the  most  important 
occasions,  made  them  consist  of  five  thousand  of  the  one, 
and  four  hundred  of  the  other.  As  for  the  troops  of  the 
allies,  the  number  of  their  infantry  Avas  equal  to  that  of 
the  legions,  but  they  had  three  times  as  many  horse.  Each 
of  the  consuls  had  commonly  half  the  troops  of  the  allies, 
with  two  legions,  that  they  might  act  separately  ;  and  all 
these  forces  were  very  seldom  used  at  the  same  time,  and 
in  the  same  expedition.  Here  the  Romans  had  not  only 
four,  but  eight  legions,  so  important  did  the  affair  appear  to 
them.  The  senate  even  thought  proper  that  the  two  con- 
suls of  the  foregoing  year,  Servilius  and  Attilius,  should 
serA'^e  in  the  army  as  proconsuls ;  but  the  latter  could  not  go 
into  the  tield,  in  consequence  of  his  great  age. 

Varro,  at  his  setting  out  from  Rome,  had  declared  openly 
that  he  would  fall  u)  on  the  enemy  the  very  first  opportu- 
nity, and  put  an  end  to  the  war;  adding,  that  it  would 
never  be  terminated,  as  long  as  men  of  the  character  of 
Fabius  should  be  at  the  head  of  the  Roman  armies.  An 
advantage  which  he  gained  over  the  Carthaginians,  of  whom 
near  seventeen  hundred  were  killed,  greatly  increased  his 

*A.  M.  3789.    A.  Rome,  5a3.    Polyb.  1.  ifi.  pp.  2.W-2f)R.    Liv.  1.  xxii.  n.  34-64. 
t  Polybius  supposes  only  two  huml-eil  hois  'in  eafli  legion  ;  but  J.   Lipsius 
thinks  that  this  is  a  niisiake  either  of  the  author  or  transcriber. 


300  AXCIEXT    niSTOKY. 

boldness  and  arrogance.  As  for  Hannibal,  lie  considered 
this  loss  as  a  real  advantage,  being  persuaded  tliat  it  Mould 
serve  as  a  bait  to  the  consul's  rashness,  and  urge  him  on  to 
a  battle,  which  he  anxiously  desired.  It  Avas  afterwards 
known,  that  Hannibal  was  reduced  to  such  n  scarcity  of  pro- 
visions, that  he  could  not  possibly  have  subsisted  ten  days 
longer.  The  Spaniards  were  already  meditating  to  leave 
him.  So  that  there  would  have  been  an  end  of  Hannibal 
and  his  army,  if  his  good  fortune  had  not  thrown  a  Varro 
in  his  way. 

Both  armies,  having  often  removed  from  place  to  place, 
came  in  sight  of  each  other  near  Canute,  a  little  town  in 
Apulia,  situated  on  the  river  Aufidus.  As  Hanniba.l  Avas 
encamped  in  a  level,  open  country,  and  his  cavaliy  much 
superior  to  that  of  the  Romans,  ^Emilius  did  not  think 
proper  to  engage  in  such  a  place.  He  was  for  draAving  the 
enemy  into  an  irregular  spot,  Avhere  the  infantry  miglit  have 
the  greatest  share  in  the  action.  But  his  colleague,  who 
was  wholly  inexperienced,  Avas  of  a  contrary  opinion.  Such 
is  the  disadvantage  of  a  dnaded  command  ;  jealousy,  a  dif- 
ference of  disposition,  or  a  diAcrsity  of  vicavs,  seldom  fail- 
ing to  create  a  dissension  betAveen  the  tAvo  generals. 

The  troops  on  either  side  Avere,  for  some  time,  contented 
with  slight  skirmishes.  But  at  last,  one  day  Avhen  Varro 
had  the  command,  for  the  two  consuls  took  it  by  turns,  pre- 
parations Avere  made  on  both  sides  for  battle.  -^Emilius  had 
not  been  consulted  ;  yet,  though  he  extremely  disapproved 
the  conduct  of  his  colleague,  as  it  Avas  not  in  his  pOAver  to 
preA'ent  it,  he  seconded  him  to  the  utmost. 

Hannibal,  after  having  pointed  out  to  his  soldiers  that 
being  superior  in  cavalry,  they  could  not  possibly  have 
pitched  upon  a  better  sjiot  for  fighting,  had  it  been  left  to 
their  choice,  thus  addressed  them :  "  Return  thanks  to  the 
gods  for  having  brought  the  enemy  hither,  that  you  may 
trium])h  over  them  ;  and  thank  me  also  for  having  reduced 
the  Romans  to  the  necessity  of  coming  to  an  engagement. 
After  three  great  victories,  won  successively,  is  not  the  re- 
membrance of  your  OAvn  actions  sufficient  to  mspire  you 
with  courage  ?  By  former  battles,  you  are  become  masters 
of  the  open  country,  but  this  Avill  put  you  in  possession  of 
all  the  cities,  and,  I  presume  to  say  it,  of  all  the  riches  and 
poAver  of  the  Romans.  It  is  not  Avords  that  Ave  Avant,  but 
actions.  I  trust  in  the  gods  that  you  shall  soon  see  my  prom- 
ises verified." 


THE    CARTIIAGINIAXS,  361 

The  two  armies  were  very  uneqiinl  in  number.  Tliat  of 
the  Romans,  inchiding  the  allies,  amounted  to  fourscore 
thousand  foot,  and  a  little  more  than  six  thousand  horse, 
and  that  of  the  Carthaginians  consisted  but  of  fort}' thou- 
sand foot,  all  well  disciplined,  and  of  ten  thousand  horse. 
-iEmilius  commanded  the  right  wing  of  the  Romans,  Vari'o 
tlie  left,  and  Servilius,  one  of  the  consuls  of  the  last  year, 
was  ))osted  in  the  centre.  Hannibal,  who  had  the  art  of 
taking  all  advantages,  had  posted  liimself  so  that  the  wind 
Vulturnus,  *  whicli  rises  at  certain  stated  times,  should 
blow  directly  in  the  faces  of  the  Romans  during  the  fight, 
and  cover  them  with  dust ;  then  keeping  the  ri\er  Aufidus 
on  his  left,  and  ])osting  his  cavalry  in  the  wings,  he  formed 
his  main  body  of  the  Spanish  and  Gallic  infantry,  wliicli  he 
posted  in  the  centre,  with  half  the  African  heavy  armed 
foot  on  their  right,  and  half  on  the  left,  on  the  same  line 
with  the  cavalry.  His  army  being  thus  drawn  uj),  he  put 
himself  at  the  head  of  th*e  Spanish  and  Gallic  infantry ;  and 
having  drawn  tliem  out  of  the  line,  advanced  to  begin  tlie 
battle,  rounding  his  front  as  he  advanced  nearer  the  enemy; 
and  extending  his  flanks  in  the  shajie  of  a  half-moon,  in 
order  that  he  might  leave  no  interval  between  his  main 
body  and  the  rest  of  the  line,  which  consisted  of  the  heavy- 
armed  infantry,  who  had  not  moved  from  their  posts. 

The  fight  soon  began,  and  the  Roman  legions  that  were 
in  the  Avings,  seeing  tlieir  centre  warmly  attacked,  advanced 
to  charge  the  enemy  in  flank.  Hannibal's  main  body,  after 
a  brave  resistance,  finding  themselves  furiously  attacked  on 
all  sides,  gave  way,  being  overpowered  by  numbers,  and 
retired  through  tlie  interval  they  had  left  in  the  centre  of 
the  line.  Tlie  Romans  having  pursued  them  thither  with 
eager  confusion,  the  two  wings  of  the  African  infantry, 
which  wei'e  fresli,  well  armed,  and  in  good  order,  wheeled 
about  on  a  sudden  towards  that  void  space  in  which  the 
Romans,  who  were  already  fatigued,  had  thrown  themselves 
in  disorder,  and  attacked  them  vigorously  on  both  sides, 
without  leaving  them  time  to  recover  themselves,  or  leaving 
them  ground  to  form.  In  the  mean  time,  the  two  wings  of 
the  cavalry,  having  defeated  those  of  the  Romans,  which 
were  much  inferior  to  them,  and,  in  order  to  pursue  the 
broken  and  scattered  squadrons,  having  left  only  as  many 
forces  as  were  necessary  to  keep  them  from  rallying,  ad- 

*  A  violent  buviiinc  wind,  blowing  south  soutli-cast.  wln<h.  in  this  flat  and 
saiiily  country,  raised  clouds  of  hot  dust,  and  blinded  ami  choked  the  Uouians. 


362  ANCIENT    HISTORY. 

vanced  and  charged  the  rear  of  the  Roman  infantry,  which, 
being  surrounded  at  once  on  every  side  by  the  enemy's  horse 
and  foot,  was  all  cut  to  pieces,  after  havino;  fonght  with  un- 
paralleled bravery.  Emilias,  being  covered  Avith  the 
wounds  he  had  received  in  the  fight,  was  afterwards  killed 
by  a  body  of  the  enemy,  to  whom  he  was  not  known  ;  and 
with  him  two  quaestors,  one-and-twenty  military  tribunes, 
many  who  had  been  either  consuls  or  prretors  ;  Servilius, 
one  of  the  last  year's  consuls,  Minucius,  the  late  general  of 
horse  to  Fabius,  and  fourscore  senators.  Above  seventy 
thousand  men  fell  in  this  battle;*  and  the  Carthaginians, 
so  great  was  their  fury,t  did  not  give  over  the  slaughter, 
till  Hannibal,  in  the  very  heat  of  it,  called  out  to  theni 
several  times,  Stoj)^  soldiers  ;  spare  the  vanquished.  Ten 
thousand  men,  who  Iiad  been  left  to  guard  the  camp,  surren- 
dered themselves  prisoners  of  war  after  tiie  battle.  Varro, 
the  consul,  retired  to  Venusia,  Mith,  only  seventy  horse  ;  and 
about  four  thousand  men  escaped  into  the  neighboring  cities. 
Thus  Hannibal  remained  master  of  the  field,  he  being  chief- 
ly indebted  for  this,  as  well  as  for  his  former  victories,  to 
the  superiority  of  his  cavalry  over  that  of  the  Romans.  He 
lost  four  thousand  Gauls,  fifteen  hundred  Spaniards  and 
Africans,  and  two  hundred  horse. 

Maharbal,  one  of  the  Carthaginian  generals,  advised 
Hannibal  to  march  directly  to  Rome,  promising  him,  that 
within  five  days  they  should  sup  in  the  capitol.  Hannibal 
answering,  that  it  was  an  affair  which  required  mature  ex- 
amination, "  I  see,"  replied,  Maharbal,  "  that  the  gods  have 
not  endowed  the  same  man  with  every  talent.  You,  Han- 
nibal, know  how  to  conquer  but  not  to  make  the  best  use  of 
a  victor3^"  % 

It  is  ])retended  that  this  delay  saved  Rome  and  the  em- 
pire. Many  authors,  and  among  them  Livy,  charge  Hanni- 
bal, on  this  occasion,  with  being  guilty  of  a  capital  error. 
But  others,  more  reserved,  are  not  for  condemning,  without 
evident  proofs,  so  renowned  a  general,  who,  in  the  rest  of 
his  conduct,  was  never  wanting,  either  in  prudence  to  make 
choice  of  the  best  expedients  or  in  readiness  to  put  his 
designs  in  execution.  They  are,  moreover,  inclined  to  judge 
favorably  of  him,  from  the  authority,  or  at  least  the  silence, 

*  Livyle-sens  very  mui-h  the  number  of  tlie  slain,  makiuf;  them  amount  but  to 
about  forty-three  thousand.    But  Polybius  ousjht  rather  to  be  believed. 

t  Duo  maxinii  exercitus  caesi  ad  hostium  satietatem.  donee  Anuibal  dicei-et 
militi  suo,  Paree  ferro. — Flor  1.  1.  c.  fi. 

t  Turn  Maharbal:  Kon  omnia  nimirum  eideni  Dii  dedere.  Vincere  scis,  Anni- 
bal,  victcriA  uti  uescis.— Liv.  1.  xxii.  ii.  ol. 


THE    CARTHAGIXIANS.  363 

of  Polybius,  who,  speaking  of  the  memorable  consequences 
of  this  celebrated  battle,  says,  that  the  Carthaginians  were 
firmly  persuaded,  that  they  should  possess  themselves  of 
Rome  at  the  first  assault  ;  but,  then,  he  does  not  mention 
how  this  could  possibly  have  been  effected,  as  th;it  city  was 
very  populous,  warlike,  strongly  fortified,  and  defended  Avith 
a  garrison  of  two  legions ;  nor  does  he  anywhere  give  the 
least  hint  that  such  a  project  Avas  feasible,  or  that  Hannibal 
did  wrong  in  not  attempting  to  put  it  in  execution. 

And,  indeed,  if  we  examine  matters  more  narrowly,  Ave 
shall  find,  that  according  to  the  common  maxims  of  war,  it 
could  not  be  undertaken.  It  is  certain  that  Hannibal's 
whole  infantry,  before  the  battle,  amounted  but  to  forty 
thousand  men  ;  and  as  six  thousand  of  these  had  been  slain 
in  the  action,  and  doubtless  many  more  either  wounded  or 
disabled,  there  could  remain  but  six  or  scA'cn-and-twenty 
thousand  foot  for  service.  ]^ow  this  number  was  not  sufti- 
cient  to  invest  so  large  a  city  as  Rome,  which  had  a  river 
mnning  through  it ;  nor  to  attack  it  in  form,  because  they 
had  neither  engines,  ammunition,  nor  any  other  things 
necessary  for  carrying  on  a  siege.*  For  want  of  these, 
Hannibal,  even  after  his  victory  at  Thrasymene,  miscarried 
in  his  attempt  upon  Spoletum  ;  and  soon  after  the  battle  of 
Cannae,  was  forced  to  raise  the  siege  of  Casilinum,  though  a 
city  of  little  note  or  strength.  It  cannot  be  denied,  that,  had 
he  miscarried  on  the  present  occasion,  nothing  less  could 
have  been  expected,  than  that  he  must  have  been  irrecovera- 
bly lost.  However,  to  form  a  judgment  of  this  matter,  a 
man  ought  to  be  a  soldier,  and  should  perhaps  have  been 
upon  the  spot.  This  is  an  old  dispute,  on  which  none  but 
those  Avho  are  perfectly  well  skilled  in  the  art  of  war  should 
pretend  to  give  their  opinion. 

Soon  after  the  battle  of  Cannaa,  Hannibal  despatched  his 
brother  Mago  to  Carthage,  with  the  news  of  his  victory ;  f 
and  at  the  same  time  to  demand  succors,  in  order  that  he 
might  be  enabled  to  put  an  end  to  the  Avar.  Mago,  on  liis 
arrival,  made,  in  full  senate,  a  lofty  speech,  in  which  he  ex- 
tolled his  brother's  exploits,  and  displayed  tlie  great  ad- 
vantages he  had  gained  over  the  Romans.  And,  to  give  a 
more  lively  idea  of  the  greatness  of  the  victory,  by  speaking 
in  some  measure  to  the  eye,  he  poured  out  in  the  middle  of 
the  senate  a  bushel  of  gold  rings,  t  which  had  been  taken 

*  Liv.  1.  xxii.  n.  9.    Ibid.  1.  xxiii.  ii.  18.  t  Liv.  1.  xxiii.  u.  11-14. 

t  Piiny,  1.  xxxiii.  e.  1,  ?:iys.  that  then'  were  three  bushels  ssiit  to  Carthage. 
Livy  observes,  that  Komu  aiit'.ior  ■•  makc.Uieiii  ainoiiiit  to  three  bushels  and  a  half, 
but  he  thinks  it  most  probable  that  there  was  but  oue,  1.  xxxiii.  c.  12. — Flonis,  1. 
ii.  c.  16,  makes  it  two  bushelB. 


364  AXCIENT   HISTORY. 

from  the  fingers  of  such  of  the  Roman  nobility  as  had  fallen 
in  the  battle  of  Cannae.  He  concluded  with  demanding 
money,  provisions,  and  fresh  troops.  All  the  spectators 
were  struck  with  an  extraordinary  joy,  upon  which  Imilcon, 
a  warm  advocate  for  Hanuibul,  fancying  lie  now  had  a  fair 
opportunity  to  insult  Hanno,  the  chief  of  the  o])posite  faction, 
asked  him,  whether  he  was  still  dissatisfied  with  the  war  they 
were  carrying  on  against  the  Romans,  and  was  for  having 
Hannibal  delivered  up  to  them  ?  Hanno,  without  discovering 
the  least  emotion,  replied,  that  he  was  still  of  the  same  mind, 
and  that  the  victories  they  so  much  boasted,  sujjposing  them 
real,  could  not  give  him  joy,  but  only  in  pro])ortion  as  they 
should  be  made  subservient  to  an  advantageous  peace  ;  he 
then  undertook  to  prove,  that  the  miglity  exploits,  on  which 
they  insisted  so  much,  Avere  wholly  chimerical  and  imaginary. 
"  I  have  cut  to  pieces,"  says  he,  continuing  Mago's  speech, 
"  the  Roman  armies  ;  send  me  some  troops.  What  more 
could  you  ask,  had  you  been  conquered  'i  I  have  twice 
seized  upon  the  enemy's  camp,  full,  no  doubt,  of  provisions 
of  every  kind. — Send  me  provisions  and  money.  Could  you 
have  talked  otherwise,  had  you  lost  your  camp?"  He  then 
asked  Mago,  whether  any  of  the  Latin  nations  were  come 
over  to  Hannibal,  and  whether  the  Romans  had  made  him 
any  proposals  of  peace  ?  To  this,  3Iago  answering  in  the 
negative  ;  "  I  then  perceive,"  replied  Hanno,  "  that  we 
are  no  farther  advanced  than  when  Hannibal  first  landed 
in  Italy."  The  inference  he  drew  from  hence  was,  that 
neither  men  nor  money  ought  to  be  sent.  But  Hannibal's 
faction  prevailing  at  that  time,  no  regard  was  ])aid  to  Han- 
no's  remonstrances,  which  were  considered  mei'cly  as  the 
effect  of  prejudice  and  jealousy ;  and  accordingly,  orders 
were  given  for  levying  the  su])plies  of  men  and  money  wdiich 
Hannibal  required.  Mago  set  out  immediately  for  Spain, 
to  raise  twenty-four  thousand  foot,  and  four  thousand  horse, 
in  that  country  ;  but  these  levies  were  afterwards  stopped, 
and  sent  another  way,  so  eager  was  the  opposite  faction  to 
counteract  the  designs  of  a  general  whom  they  utterly 
abhorred.  In  Rome,  a  consul  who  had  fled  was  thanked 
because  lie  had  not  despaired  of  the  commonwealth  ;  but  at 
Carthage,  people  were  almost  angry  with  Hannibal  for  being 
victorious.*  Hanno  could  never  forgive  him  the  advantages 
he  liad  gained  in  this  war,  because  he  had  undertaken  it  in 
opposition  to  his  counsel.     Thus,  being  more  jealous  for  tho 

*  I)e  St.  Evremond. 


THE    CARTIIAGINIAXS.  365 

honor  of  his  OAvn  opinions  than  for  the  good  of  his  conntry, 
and  a  greater  enemy  to  the  Carthaginian  general  than  to  tlie 
Romans,  he  did  all  that  lay  in  liis  power  to  prevent  future 
successes,  and  to  frustrate  those  already  acquii'ed. 

HANXIBAL    TAKES    UP    HIS    WIXTER-QUARTERS    IX  CAPUA. 

The  battle  of  Cannae  subjected  the  most  powerful  nations 
of  Italy  to  Hannibal,*  drew  over  to  his  interest  Graicia 
Magna,!  with  the  city  of  Tarentum  ;  and  so  wrested  from 
the  Romans  their  most  ancient  allies,  among  whom  the 
Capuans  held  the  first  i-ank.  This  city,  by  the  fertility  of 
its  soil,  its  advantageous  situation,  and  the  blessings  of  a 
long  peace,  had  risen  to  great  wealth  and  power.  Luxury, 
and  a  flow  of  ])leasures,  the  usual  attendants  on  wealth,  had 
corrupted  the  minds  of  its  citizens,  who  from  their  natural 
disposition,  were  but  too  much  inclined  to  voluptuousness 
and  all  excesses. 

Hannibal  made  choice  of  this  city  for  his  Avinter-quar- 
ters.t  Here  it  was  that  his  soldiers,  who  had  sustained  tlie 
most  grievous  toils,  and  braved  the  most  formidable  dangers, 
were  overthrown  by  delights  and  a  profusion  of  all  things, 
into  which  they  plunged  with  the  greater  eagerness,  as  they, 
till  then,  had  been  strangers  to  them.  Their  courage  was  so 
greatly  enerAated  in  this  bewitching  I'etirement,  that  all 
tlieir  after  efforts  were  owing  rather  to  the  fame  and  splen- 
dor of  their  former  victories,  than  to  their  present  strength. 
When  Hannibal  marched  his  forces  out  of  the  city,  they 
would  have  been  taken  for  other  men,  and  the  reverse  of 
those  who  had  so  lately  marched  into  it.  Accustomed, 
during  the  winter  season,  to  commodious  lodgings,  to  ease 
and  j)lenty,  they  were  no  longer  able  to  bear  hunger,  thirst, 
long  marches,  watchings,  and  the  other  toils  of  war ;  not  to 
mention,  that  all  obedience,  all  discipline,  were  entirely  hiid 
aside. 

I  only  transcribe  on  this  occasion  from  Livy,  who,  if  he 
may  be  credited,  thinks  Hannibal's  stay  at  Capua  a  reproach 
to  his  conduct ;  and  j^retends  that  there  he  was  guilty  of  an 

*  Liv.  1.  xxiii.  n.  4-13. 

t  Cjeternm  quum  Grseci  omiiem  fere  Oram  maritimam  ooloniis  s-iis  e  GriBcia 
deductis,  obsider«iit,  &c.  Bui  after  the  Greeks  had,  by  tbeir  colonies,  po.-sessed 
tliemselves  of  a!mo>t  aU  ilie  maritime  coast,  this  very  country,  together  with 
Sicily,  was  called  Grsecia  Magna,  &e.— Cluver.  Gcograp'h.  1.  iii.  c.  30. 

t  Ibi  partem  majorem  bieniis  exercitum  in  tectis  habiiit :  adverus  omnia  hu- 
mana  mala  t^^peiac  din  durantem,  bonis  inexportum  atque  iiisictuni.  Ita.iue 
quos  iTuUa  mali  vicerat  vis,  perdidere,  iiiniia  bona  ac  voluptates  inmiodicse.  et 
CO  impeiisidus,  quo  avidlus  ex  indoleiitia  in  eas  se  merserant. — i.iv.  ].  xxiii.  u.  12.' 


866  AJTCIEKT   HISTORY. 

infinitely  greater  error,  than  when  he  neglected  to  mai'ch 
directly  to  Rome  after  the  battle  of  Cannse.  For  this  delay, 
says  Livy,  might  seem  only  to  have  retarded  his  victory  ; 
whereas  this  last  misconduct  rendered  him  absolutely  inca- 
pable of  ever  defeating  the  enemy.*  In  a  word,  as  Marcellus 
afterwards  judiciously  observed,  Capua  was  to  the  Car- 
thginians  and  their  general,  what  Canna;  had  been  to  the 
Romans. t  There  their  martial  genius,  their  love  of  discip- 
line, wei'e  lost :  there  their  former  fame,  and  their  almost 
certain  hopes  of  future  glory,  vanished  at  once.  And,  in- 
deed, from  thenceforth  the  affairs  of  Hannibal  rapidly  ad- 
vanced to  their  decline ;  fortune  declared  in  favor  of  pru- 
dence, and  victory  seemed  now  reconciled  to  the  Romans. 

I  know  not  whether  Livy  has  reason  to  impute  all  these 
fatal  consequences  to  the  delicious  abode  of  Ca])ua.  If  we 
examine  carefully  all  the  circumstances  of  this  history,  we 
shall  be  hardly  able  to  persuade  ourselves,  that  the  little 
progress  which  was  afterwards  made  by  the  arms  of  Hanni- 
bal ought  to  be  ascribed  to  Capua.  It  might,  indeed,  have 
been  one  cause,  but  this  would  be  a  very  inconsiderable  one  : 
and  the  bravery  with  which  the  forces  of  Hannibal  afterwards 
defeated  the  armies  of  consuls  and  praetors;  the  towns  they 
took  even  in  sight  of  the  Romans  ;  their  maintaining  their  con- 
quests so  vigorously,  and  staying  fourteen  years  after  this  in 
Italy,  in  spite  of  the  Romans ;  all  these  circumstances  may 
induce  us  to  believe,  that  Livy  lays  too  great  a  stress  on  the 
delights  of  Capua. 

The  real  cause  of  the  decay  of  Hannibal's  affairs  was 
owing  to  his  want  of  necessary  recruits  and  succors  from 
Carthage.  After  Mago's  speech,  the  Carthaginian  senate 
had  judged  it  necessary,  in  order  to  carry  on  the  conquests 
in  Italy,  to  send  thither  a  considerable  i-einforcement  of 
Numidian  horse,  forty  elephants,  and  a  thousand  talents  ; 
and  to  hire,  in  Spain,  twenty  thousand  foot,  and  four  thou- 
sand horse,  to  reinforce  their  armies  in  Spain  and  Italy. t 
Mago  however,  could  obtain  an  order  but  for  tAvelve  thou- 
sand foot,  and  two  thousand  five  hundred  horse :  and  even 
when  he  was  just  going  to  march  to  Italy  with  an  army  so 
much  inferior  to  that  which  had  been  promised  him,  he  was 
countermanded    and  sent  to   Spain. §       So   that   Hannibal, 

*  nia  enim  cuuctatio  distulisse  modo  victoriam  videri  potuit,  hie  error  vires 
ademisse  ad  viiieeiiduin.— Liv.  1.  xxiii.  n.  18. 

t  Capuaiu  Annibali  Cannaa  fiiisse  :  ibi  virtutem  bellicam,  ibi  militarem  dm- 
dplinam,  ibi  pra;terili  temporis  fimi-im.  ibi  spcni  futuri  cxtiuctam— rLiv.  1.  .xxiit 
n.  45.  t  Liv.  1.  xxxiii.  k.  13.  §  Ibid.  n.  32. 


THE    CARTIIAGIXIANS.  867 

after  these  mighty  promises,  had  neither  infantry,  cavah-y, 
elephants,  nor  money  sent  him,  but  Avas  left  to  his  own  re- 
sources. His  army  was  now  reduced  to  twenty-six  thousand 
foot,  and  nine  thousand  horse.  How  could  it  be  possible 
for  him,  with  so  inconsidei'able  an  army,  to  seize,  in  an 
enemy's  country,  on  all  the  advantageous  posts ;  to  awe  his 
new  allies,  to  preserve  his  old  conquests,  and  form  new 
ones  ;  and  to  keep  the  field  with  advantage  against  two 
armies  of  the  Romans,  which  were  recruited  every  year  ? 
This  was  the  true  cAuse  of  the  declension  of  HannibaFs 
affairs,  and  of  the  ruin  of  those  of  Carthage.  Were  the 
part  where  Polybius  treats  of  this  subject  extant,  we  doubt- 
less shotild  find,  that  he  lays  a  greater  stress  on  this  cause, 
than  on  the  luxurious  delights  of  Capua. 

THE    TRANSACTIONS    RELATING    TO    SPAIN    AND    SARDINIA. 

The  two  Scipios  continued  in  the  command  of  Spain, 
and  their  arms  were  making  a  considerable  progress  there, 
when  Asdrubal,  who  alone  seemed  able  to  cope  with  them, 
received  orders  from  Carthage  to  march*  into  Italy  to  the 
relief  of  his  brother.*  Before  he  left  Spain,  he  wrote  to  the 
senate  to  convince  them  of  the  absolute  necessity  of  their 
sending  a  general  in  his  stead,  who  possessed  abilities  ade- 
quate to  oppose  the  Romans.  Imilcon  was  therefore  sent 
thither  with  an  army  ;  and  Asdrubal  commenced  his  march 
in  order  to  join  his  brother.  The  news  of  his  departure  was 
no  sooner  known  than  the  gi'eatest  part  of  Spain  was  sub- 
dued by  the  Scipios.  These  two  generals,  animated  by  such 
signal  success,  resolved  to  prevent  him,  if  possible,  from 
leaving  Spain.  They  considered  the  danger  to  which  the 
Romans  would  be  exposed,  if,  being  scarce  able  to  resist 
Hannibal  only,  they  should  be  attacked  by  the  two  brothers 
at  the  head  of  two  powerful  armies.  They  therefore  jnirsued 
Asdrubal,  and  coming  up  with  him  forced  him  to  fight  against 
liis  inclination.  Asdrubal  was  overcome  ;  and  so  far  from 
being  able  to  continue  his  march  for  Italy,  he  found  that  it 
would  be  impossible  for  him  to  continue  with  any  safety  in 
Spain. 

The  Carthaginians  had  no  better  success  in  Sardinia. 
Designing  to  take  advantage  of  some  rebellions  they  had 
fomented  in  that  country,  they  lost  twelve  thousand  men  in 
a  battle  fought  with  the  Romans,  who  took  a  still  greater 
number   of  prisoners,  among  whom  were   Asdrubal,  sur- 

♦  A.  M.  8790.    A.  Koiue,  53i.    Liv.  xxiii.  u.  26-30,  32,  JC,  11. 


<{68  ANCIENT    HISTORY. 

named  Calvus,  Hanno,  and  Mago.*  who  were  distinguished 
by  their  birth  as  well  as  military  exploits, 

THE  ILL  SUCCESS  OF  HANNIBAL.       THE  SIEGES  OF   CAPUA    AND 

ROME. 

From  Hannibal's  abode  in  Capua,  the  Carthaginian  af- 
fairs in  Italy  no  longer  supj)orted  their  reputation. t  ^I. 
Marcellns,  fii-st  as  praetor,  and  afterwards  as  consul,  had 
contributed  very  much  to  this  revolution.  He  harassed 
Hannibal's  army  on  every  occasion,  seized  upon  his  quarters, 
forced  him  to  raise  sieges,  and  even  defeated  him  iu  several 
engagements  ;  so  that  lie  was  called  the  sword  of  Rome,  as 
Fabius  had  before  been  called  its  buckler. 

But  what  most  affected  the  Carthaginian  general,  was  to 
see  Cai)ua  besieged  by  the  Romans. J  In  order,  therefore, 
to  preserve  his  re])utation  among  his  allies,  by  a  vigorous 
support  of  those  who  held  the  chief  rank  as  such,  he  flew 
to  the  relief  of  that  city,  brought  forward  his  forces,  at- 
tacked the  Romans,  and  fought  several  battles  to  oblige 
them  to  raise  the  siege.  At  last,  seeing  all  his  measures 
defeated,  he  marched  hastily  towards  Rome,  in  order  to 
make  a  powerful  di version. §  He  had  some  hopes,  in  case 
he  could  have  an  oj>portunity,  iu  the  first  consternation,  to 
storm  some  ])artof  the  city,  of  drawing  the  Roman  generals, 
with  all  tlieir  forces,  from  the  siege  of  Capua,  to  the  relief 
of  their  capital ;  he  flattered  himself,  at  least,  that  if  for  the 
sake  of  continuing  the  siege,  they  should  divide  their  forces, 
their  weakness  might  then  offer  an  occasion,  either  to  the 
Capuans  or  himself,  of  engaging  and  defeating  them.  Rome 
was  struck,  but  not  confounded.  A  }»roposal  being  made 
by  one  of  the  senators,  to  recall  all  the  armies  to  succor 
Rome  ;  P^ibius  declared  that  it  would  be  a  disgrace  for 
them  to  be  terrified,  and  forced  to  change  their  measures, 
upon  every  motion  of  Hannibal.  ||  They  therefore  contented 
themselves  with  only  recalling  part  of  the  army,  and  one 
of  the  generals,  Q.  Fulvius,  the  proconsul,  from  the  siege. 
Hannibal,  after  making  some  devastations,  drew  up  liis 
army  in  order  of  battle  before  the  city,  and  the  consul  did 
the  same.  Both  sides  were  preparing  to  signalize  them- 
selves in  a  battle,  of  which  Rome  was  to  be  the  recomi^ense^ 

*  Not  Hainiibal's  brother. 

t  A.  M.  37!il.     A.  Koiii".  5S?>.     Liv.  1.  xxiii.  ii.  41-40  ;  1.  xxvi.  ii.  .'H6. 
tA.M.  «7ft3.    A.  Rome,  5.17.  §  A.  M.  37!H.    A.  Rome,  538. 

II  Flagitiosum  esse  terreriac  cireumagia<l  omiies  Aiinibalis  conuninatioiies.-— 
Liv.  1.  xxvi.  11. 8. 


THE    CARTHAGIXIAXS.  369 

when  a  violent  storm  obliged  them  to  separate.  They  were 
no  sooner  returned  to  their  respective  camps,  than  the  face 
of  the  heavens  grew  calm  and  serene.  The  same  happened 
frequently  afterwards,  insomxich  that  Hannibal,  believing 
that  there  was  something  su])ernatural  in  the  event,  said, 
according  to  Livy,  that  sometimes  his  own  will,  and  some- 
times fortune,  would  not  sufier  him  to  take  Rome.* 

But  the  cii'cumstance  Avhich  most  surj^rised  and  intimi- 
dated him,  was  the  news  that  Avhile  he  lay  encamped  at  one 
of  the  gates  of  Rome,  the  Romans  had  sent  out  recruits  for 
the  army  in  Spain  at  another  gate  ;  and  at  the  same  time 
disposed  of  the  ground  whereon  he  was  encamped,  notwith- 
standing which  it  had  been  sold  for  its  full  value,  such  oj^en 
contempt  stung  Hannibal  to  the  quick :  he,  therefore,  on 
the  other  hand,  exposed  to  sale  the  shops  of  the  goldsmiths 
round  the  forum.  After  this  bravado  he  retired,  and,  in  his 
inarch,  plundered  the  rich  tem'ple  of  the  goddess  Feronia.f 

Capua,  thus  left  to  itself,  held  out  but  very  little  longer. 
After  such  of  its  senators  as  had  been  principals  in  the  re- 
volt, and  consequently  could  not  expect  any  quarter  from 
the  Romans,  had  put  themselves  to  a  truly  tragical  death,  t 
the  city  surrendered  at  discretion.  The  success  of  this 
siege,  which,  by  the  happy  consequences  attending  it,  proved 
decisive,  and  gave  the  Romans  a  visible  superiority  over  the 
Carthaginians,  displayed  at  the  same  time,  how  formidable 
the  power  of  the  Romans  was,  §  when  they  undertook  to 
piinish  their  perfidious  allies ;  and  the  feeble  protection 
which  Hannibal  could  afford  his  friends,  at  a  time  when 
they  most  wanted  it. 

THE  DEFEAT  AXD  DEATH  OP  THE  TWO  SCIPIOS  IN  SPAi:!^, 

The  face  of  affairs  was  very  much  changed  in  Spain.  || 

•  Audita  vox  Annibalis  fertur,  potiundse  eibi  urbis  Eomse,  motlo  mentem 
nondari,  modo  fortiinam. — Liv.  1.  xxvi,  n.  11. 

t  Feronia  was  the  goddess  of  groves,  and  there  was  one  with  a  temple  in  it 
dedicated  to  her,  at  the  foot  of  the  nioiiiitain  Soraete.  Strabo,  speaking  of  the 
grove  where  this  goddess  was  woi-shipped,  says,  that  a  sacritice  was  offered  anna- 
ally  to  her  in  it ;  and  that  her  \otarie8,  inspired  by  this  goddess,  walked  unhurt 
over  burning  coals.  There  are  still  extant  some  medals  of  Augustus,  in  which 
this  goddess  is  represented  with  a  crown  on  her  head. 

X  Villius  Virius,  the  chief  of  tliis  conspiracy,  after  having  represented  to  the 
Capuan  senate,  the  severe  treatment  whith  his  country  might  expect  from  the 
Komans,  prevailed  upon  twenty-seven  senators  to  go  with  him  to  his  own  house, 
where,  after  eating  a  plentifuldinner.  and  heating  themselves  with  wine,  they 
all  drank  poison.  Then,  taking  tJieir  last  fartwell.  some  withdrew  to  their  own 
houses,  others  stayed  with  Virius  ;  and  all  expired  before  the  gates  were  opened 
to  the  Romans. — Liv.  1.  xxvi.  ii.  16. 

§  Confessio  expreesa  iiosti,  quanta  vis  in  Romania  ad  expetendas  poenas  ab 
infidelibus  sociis,  et  quara  nihil  iu  Aiiuibale  auxilii  ad  receptos  iu  fidem  tuendos 
esset.— Liv.  1.  xxvi.  n.  16. 

D  A.  M.  3793.    A.  Rome,  537.    Liv.  1.  xxv.  u.  32-39. 

24 


370  A:yciEXT  history. 

The  Carthaginians  had  three  armies  in  that  couTitry  ;  one 
commanded  by  Asdrubal,  the  son  of  Gisco  ;  tlie  second  by 
Asbrubal,  son  of  Ilamilcar  ;  and  a  third  under  Maoo,  who 
had  joined  the  first  Asdrubal.  The  two  Scipios,  Cneusaud 
Publius,  were  for  dividing  their  forces,  and  attacking  the 
enemy  separately,  which  Avas  the  cause  of  theii-  ruin  ;  if  ac- 
cordingly was  agreed  that  Cneus,  Avith  a  small  number  of 
Romans,  and  thirty  thousand  Celtiberians,  should  march 
against  Asdrubal  the  son  of  Hamilcar  ;  while  Publius,  with 
the  remainder  of  the  forces,  composed  of  Romans  and  the 
allies  of  Italy,  should  advance  against  the  other  two  gen- 
erals. 

Publius  w^as  vanquished  first.  Masinissa,  elated  with  the 
victories  he  had  lately  obtained  over  Syphax,  had  joined  the 
two  leaders  whom  Publius  was  to  oppose  ;  and  was  to  be 
soon  followed  by  Indibilis,  a  powerful  Spanish  ]!rince.  The 
armies  came  to  an  engagement.  The  Romans,  being  thus 
attacked  on  all  sides  at  once,  made  a  brave  resistance  as  long 
as  they  had  their  general  at  their  head  ;  but  the  moment  he 
fell,  the  few  troops  which  had  escaped  the  slaughter,  secured 
themselves  by  flight. 

The  three  victorious  armies  marched  immediately  in 
quest  of  Cneus,  in  order  to  put  an  end  to  the  war  by  his 
defeat.  He  was  already  more  than  half  vanquished,  by  the 
desertion  of  his  allies,  who  ail  forsook  him,  and  left  to  the 
Roman  generals  this  important  instruction,  viz. :  never  to  let 
their  own  forces  be  exceeded  in  number  by  those  of  foreign- 
ers.* He  had  reason  to  believe  that  his  brother  was  slain, 
and  his  army  defeated,  on  seeing  such  great  bodies  of  the 
enemy  arrive.  He  survived  hin>  but  a  short  time,  being 
killed  in  the  engagement.  These  tAvo  great  men  were 
equally  lamented  by  their  citizens  and  allies  ;  and  the  Span- 
iards bewailed  their  memory  on  account  of  the  justice  and 
moderation  of  their  conduct. 

These  extensive  countries  seemed  now^  inevitably  lost, 
but  the  valor  of  L.  Marcius,t  a  jjrivate  ofHcer  of  the  eques- 
trian order,  preserved  them  to  the  Romans.  Shortly  after 
this,  the  younger  Scijdo  was  sent  thither,  Avho  fully  avenged 
the  death  of  his  father  and  uncle,  and  restored  the  affairs  of 
the  Romans  in  Spain  to  their  former  flourishing  condition. 

*  Id  quidem  cavendura  semper  RomaDis  ducibiis  erit,  excniplaque  h:ec  vera 
pro  doeumentis  liabeiida.  Ne  ita  extenils  credant  auxilliis,  ut  non  plus  sui 
roboris  siiarnniqne  propiie  virium in  oastris  habeant — Liv.  ii.  'Si. 

t  He  attacked  the  Carthaj^nians,  who  had  divided  themselves  into  two  camps, 
and  were  secure,  as  they  thought,  from  any  immediate  attempt  of  tlie  Romans  ; 
killed  thirty-seven  thousand  of  them  ;  took  one  thouJ-and  eight  hundred  prison- 
ers, and  brought  off  immense  plunder.— Liv.  1.  xxv.  n.  39. 


I 


THE    CARTHAGINIAXS.  371 

THE  DEFEAT  AND  DEATH  OF  ASDRUBAL. 

One  unforeseen  defeat  ruined  all  the  measures,  and 
blasted  all  the  hopes  of  Kannibal  with  regard  to  Italy.*  The 
consuls  of  this  year,  which  was  the  eleventh  of  the  second 
Punic  war  (for  I  pass  over  several  events  for  brevity's 
sake),  were  C.  Claudius  Nero  and  M.  Livius.  The  latter 
had  for  his  province  Cisalpine  Gaul,  where  he  was  to  oppose 
Asdrubal,  who,  it  was  reported,  was  preparing  to  pass  the 
Alps.  The  former  commanded  in  the  country  of  the  Bru- 
tians  and  in  Lucania,  that  is,  in  the  opposite  extremity  of 
Italy,  and  Avas  there  making  head  against  Hannibal. 

The  passage  of  the  Alps  gave  Asdrubal  very  little  trouble, 
because  his  brother  had  cleared  the  way  for  him,  and  all  the 
nations  were  disposed  to  receive  him.  Some  time  after  this 
he  despatched  couriers  to  Hannibal,  but  they  were  inter- 
cepted. Nero  found  by  their  letters,  that  Asdrubal  was 
hastening  to  join  his  brother  in  Umbria.  In  a  conjuncture 
of  so  delicate  and  important  a  nature  as  this,  when  the  safety 
of  Rome  lay  <it  stake,  he  thought  himself  at  liberty  to  dis- 
pense with  the  established  rules  of  his  duty,  for  the  welfare 
of  his  country.!  In  consequence  of  this,  it  was  his  opinion, 
that  stich  a  bold  and  unexj)ected  blow  ought  to  be  struck,  as 
might  be  capable  of  terrifying  the  enemy,  by  marching  to 
the  relief  of  his  colleague,  in  order  to  charge  Asdrubal  unex- 
pectedly with  their  united  forces.  This  design,  if  the  several 
circumstances  of  it  be  thoroughly  examined,  will  appear 
exceedingly  remote  from  imprudence.  To  prevent  the  two 
brothers  from  joining  their  ai'mies,  was  to  save  the  state. 
Very  little  would  be  hazarded,  even  though  Hannibal  should 
be  informed  of  the  absence  of  the  consul.  From  his  army, 
which  consisted  of  forty-two  thousand  men,  he  drew  out 
but  seven  thousand  for  his  own  detachment,  which  indeed 
were  the  flower  of  liis  troops,  but  at  the  same  time,  a  very 
inconsiderable  part  of  them.  The.  rest  remained  in  the 
camp,  which  was  advantageously  situated,  and  strongly 
fortified.  Now,  could  it  be  supposed  that  Hannibal  would 
attack,  and  force  a  camp,  defended  by  thirty-five  thousand 
men? 

Nero  set  out,  without  giving  his  soldiers  the  least  notice 
of  his  design.  When  he  advanced  so  far,  tliat  it  might  be 
communicated  without  any  danger,  he  told  them,  that  he  was 

•  A.  M.  3798.  A.  Rome,  512.  Polyb.  1.  xi.  pp.  622-625.  Liv.  1.  xxvii.  pp.  35- 
39,51. 

t  No  general  \va.s  allowed  to  leave  his  own  province,  to  go  into  that  of  an- 
other. 


372  ANCIENT    HISTORY. 

leading  them  to  certain  victory ;  that  in  war  all  things  de- 
pended upon  reputation  ;  that  the  bare  rumor  of"  tlieir 
arriA-al  would  disconcert  all  the  measures  of  the  Carthagin- 
ians; and  that  the  whole  honor  of  this  battle  woulJ  fall  to 
them. 

Tliey  marched  with  extraordinary  diligence,  and  joined 
the  other  consul  in  the  night,  but  did  not  encamp  separately 
Ijhe  better  to  hnpose  upon  the  enemy.  The  troops  on  their 
arrival  joined  those  of  Livius.  The  army  of  Fortius  tlie 
praetor  was  encamped  near  that  of  the  consul,  and  in  the 
morning  a  council  of  war  was  held.  Livius  was  of  opinion, 
that  it  might  be  proper  to  allow  the  troops  some  days  to 
refresh  themselves,  but  Nero  besought  him  not  to  ruin,  by 
delay,  an  enterprise  to  which  despatch  could  only  give  suc- 
cess ;  and  to  take  advantage  of  the  error  of  the  enemy,  absent 
as  well  as  present.  This  advice  was  complied  A\ith,  and 
accordingly  the  signal  for  battle  was  given.  Asdrubal,  ad- 
vancing to  his  foremost  ranks,  discovered  by  several  circum- 
stances, that  fresh  troops  were  arrived  ;  and  he  did  not 
doubt  but  that  they  belonged  to  the  other  consul.  This 
made  him  conjecture  that  his  brother  had  sustained  a  con- 
siderable loss,  and,  at  the  same  time,  fear  that  he  was  come 
too  late  to  his  assistance. 

After  making  these  reflections,  he  caused  a  retreat  to  be 
sounded  and  his  army  began  to  march  in  great  disorder. 
Night  overtaking  him,  and  his  guides  deserting,  he  was  uji- 
certain  which  way  to  go.  He  marched  at  random  along 
the  banks  of  the  river  JVIetaurus,*  and  Avas  preparing  to 
cross  it,  when  the  three  armies  of  the  enemy  came  up  with 
him.  In  this  extremity,  he  saw  it  would  be  impossible  for 
him  to  avoid  coming  to  an  engagement ;  and  therefore  did 
every  thing  which  could  be  expected  from  the  presence  of 
mind  and  valor  of  a  great  captain.  He  seized  an  advan- 
tageous post,  and  drew  uj)  his  forces  on  a  narroAV  spot,  Avhich 
gave  him  an  opportunity  of  posting  his  left  wing,  the  weakest 
part  of  his  army,  in  such  a  manner,  that  it  could  neither  be 
attacked  in  front,  nor  charged  in  flank  ;  and  of  giving  to  his 
main  battle  and  right  wing  a  greater  depth  than  front.  After 
this  hasty  disposition  of  his  forces,  he  posted  himself  in  tlie 
centre,  and  first  marched  to  attack  the  enemy's  left  Aving  ; 
Avell  knowing  that  all  Avas  at  stake,  and  that  he  must  either 
conquer  or  die.  The  battle  lasted  a  long  time,  and  Avas  oT>- 
stinately  disputed  on  both  sides.  Asdrubal,  especially  sig- 
*  Now  called  Metaro. 


THE    CARTHAGIXIAXS.  373 

nalized  himself  in  this  engagement,  and  added  now  glory  to 
that  lie  had  already  acquired  by  a  series  of  brilliant  actions. 
He  led  on  his  soldiers,  trembling  and  quite  dispirited,  against 
an  enemy  superior  to  them  both  in  numbers  and  resolution. 
He  animated  them  by  his  words,  supported  them  by  his 
exa7n})le,  and,  with  entreaties  and  menaces,  endeavored  to 
bring  back  those  who  fled  ;  till,  at  last,  seeing  that  victory 
declared  for  the  Romans,  and  being  unable  to  survive  the 
loss  of  so  many  thousand  men,  who  had  quit  their  country 
to  follow  his  fortune,  he  rushed  at  once  into  the  midst  of  a 
Roman  cohort,  and  thei-e  died  in  a  manner  worthy  the  son 
of  Hamilcar,  and  the  brother  of  Hannibal. 

This  was  the  most  bloody  battle  the  Carthaginians  had 
fought  during  this  war;  and,  whether  we  consider  the  death 
of  the  general,  or  the  slaughter  made  of  the  Carthaginian 
forces,  it  may  be  looked  upon  as  a  retaliation  for  the  battle 
of  Cannae.  The  Carthaginians  lost  fifty-five  thousand  men,* 
and  six  thousand  j^risoners.  The  Romans  lost  eight  thousand, 
and  were  so  weary  of  slaughter,  that  some  person  telling 
Livius,  that  he  might  very  easily  cut  to  pieces  a  body  of  the 
enemy  who  were  flying ;  It  is  Jit,  says  he,  that  some  should 
survive,  that  they  may  carry  the  ?iews  of  this  defeat  to  the 
Carthayiniatis. 

Nero  set  out  upon  his  march  on  the  very  night  Avhich 
followed  the  engagement.  Through  all  places  where  he 
passed,  in  his  return,  he  was  welcomed  by  shouts  of  joy  and 
loud  acclamations,  instead  of  those  fears  and  uneasiness 
which  his  coming  had  occasioned.  He  arrived  in  his  camp 
the  sixth  day.  Asdrubal's  head  being  thrown  into  that  of  the 
Carthaginians,  informed  Hannibal  of  his  brother's  unhappy 
fate.  Hannibal  perceived,  by  this  cruel  stroke,  the  fortune 
of  Carthage  :  Jt  is  finished,  says  he;  I  will  no  longer  send 
triumphant  messages  to  Carthage.  In  losing  Asdrubal,  I 
have  lost  at  once  all  my  hope,  all  m,y  good  fiorticne.'f  He 
afterwards  retired  to  the  extremities  of  the  country  of  the 
Brutians,  where  he  assembled  all  his  forces,  who  found  it  a 
very  difiicult  matter  to  subsist  there,  as  no  provisions  were 
sent  them  from  Carthage. 

•  According  to  Polybius,  the  loss  amoimted  to  but  ten  thousand  men,  and 
that  of  the  Romans  to  two  thousand. — L,  xi.  p.  !S70.    Edit.  Gronov. 

t  Horace  makes  him  speak  thus,  in  the  beautiful  ode  where  this  defeat  is  de- 
scribed. 

Carthagini  jam  non  ego  nuntioa 
Mittam  superbos.    Occjdit,  ocojdit 
Spes  omnis,  et  fortuna  nogtri 
Nominis,  Asdrubale  interempto.^Jjib.  vi,  Od.  4, 


374  ANCIENT    IIISTOKV. 

SCIPIO    CONQUERS    ALT.    SPAIN;    IS    APPOINTED    CONSUL,    AND 
SAILS    INTO    AFRICA.       HANNIBAL    IS    RECALLED. 

The  affairs  of  the  Carthaginians  were  equally  unfortunate 
in  Spain.*  The  prudent  activity  of  young  Seijiio  had  re- 
stored the  Roman  affairs  in  that  country  to  llicir  former 
flourishing  state,  as  the  courageous  delay  of  Fabius  had  before 
done  in  Italy.  The  three  Carthaginian  generals  in  Spain, 
Asdrubal,  son  of  Gisco,  Hanno,  and  Mago,  having  been  de- 
feated with  their  numerous  armies  by  the  Romans,  in  several 
engagements,  Scipio  at  last  ])ossessed  himself  of  Spain,  and. 
subjected  it  entirely  to  the  Roman  power.  It  was  at  this 
time  that  Masinissa,  a  very  powerful  African  prince,  went 
over  to  the  Romans ;  and  Syphax,  on  the  contrary,  to  the 
Carthaginians. 

Scipio,  on  his  return  to  Rome,  was  declared  consul,  being 
then  thirty  years  of  age.f  He  had  P.  Licinius  Crassus  for 
his  colleague.  Sicily  was  allotted  to  Scipio,  with  permission 
to  cross  into  Africa,  if  he  found  it  convenient.  lie  set  out 
with  all  imaginable  expedition  for  his  province  ;  while  his  col- 
league was  to  command  in  the  country  to  which  Hannibal 
had  retired. 

The  taking  of  New  Carthage,  where  Scipio  had  displayed 
all  the  prudence,  the  courage,  and  capacity  which  could 
have  been  expected  from  the  greatest  generals,  and  the  com- 
plete conquest  of  Spain,  were  more  than  sufficient  to  immor- 
talize his  name  :  but  he  had  considered  these  as  only  so 
many  steps  by  which  to  climb  to  a  nobler  enterprise,  and  this 
was  the  conquest  of  Africa.  Accoi'dingly  he  crossed  over 
thither,  and  made  it  the  seat  of  war. 

The  devastation  of  the  country ;  the  siege  of  Utica,  one 
of  the  strongest. cities  of  Africa ;  the  entire  defeat  of  the  two 
armies  under  Syphax  and  Asdrubal,  whose  camp  was  burnt 
by  Scipio;  and  afterwards  the  taking  of  Syphax  himself  pris- 
soner,  who  was  the  most  powerful  resource  the  Carthaginians 
had  left ;  all  these  things  forced  them  at  last  to  turn  their 
thoughts  to  peace.  They  thereupon  deputed  thirty  of  their 
principal  senators,  Avho  were  selected  for  that  purpose,  out  of 
the  powerful  body  at  Carthage,  called  the  council  ofthehurir- 
drecl.  Being  introduced  into  the  Roman  general's  tent,  they 
threw  themselves  prostrate  on  the  earth  (such  Avas  the  cus- 
tom of  their  country),  spoke  to  him  in  terms  of  great  sub- 

*  A.  M.  3799.     A.  Rome,  .543.     Pplyb.  \.  xi.  p.  650,  et  L  xiv.  pp.  C77-6S7.  eti. 
XT.  pp.  689-<)94.    Liv.  1.  xxviii.  ii.  i-4,  16,  38,  40-46,  L  xxix.  n.  24-36,  L  xxx.  ii.  20-28. 
tA.M.  3800.    A.  Rome,  544. 


THK    CAKTIIAGIXIAXS.  o  I  H 

mission,  accusing  Hannlbul  as  the  author  of  all  their  calami- 
ties, and  promising,  in  the  name  of  the  senate,  an  implicit 
obedience  to  whatever  the  Romans  should  please  to  ordain. 
Scipio  answered,  that  though  he  was  come  into  Africa,  not 
for  peace  l)ut  conquest,  he  would  however  grant  them  a  ]ieace, 
upon  condition  that  they  should  deliver  up  all  the  prisoners 
and  deserters  to  the  Romans  ;  that  they  should  recall  their 
armies  out  of  Italy  and  Gaul ;  should  never  set  foot  again  in 
Spain ;  should  retire  out  of  all  the  islands  between  Italy  and 
Africa ;  should  deliver  up  all  their  ships,  except  twenty,  to 
the  victor ;  should  give  the  Romans  five  hundred  thousand 
bushels  of  wheat,  three  hundred  thousand  of  barley,  and  pay 
fifteen  thousand  talents  :  that  in  case  they  were  pleased 
with  these  conditions,  they  then  might  send  ambassadors  to 
the  senate.  The  Carthaginians  feigned  a  compliance,  but 
this  was  only  to  gain  time  till  Hannibal  sliould  be  returned. 
A  truce  was  then  granted  to  the  Carthaginians,  who  imme- 
diately sent  deputies  to  Rome;  and  at  the  same  time,  an  ex- 
press to  Hannibal,  to  order  his  return  into  Africa. 

He  was  then,  as  was  observed  before,  in  the  extremity 
of  Italy.*  Here  he  received  the  orders  from  Carthage, 
which  he  could  not  listen  to  without  groans,  and  almost 
tears ;  and  was  exasperated  almost  to  madness,  to  see  him- 
self thus  forced  to  quit  his  prey.  An  exile  could  not  have 
shown  more  regret  at  leaving  his  native  country,  than  Han- 
nibal did  in  qui^tting  that  of  an  enemy.t  He  often  turned 
his  eyes  wistfully  to  Italy,  accusing  gods  and  men  of  his 
misfortunes,  and  calling  down  a  thousand  curses,  says  Livy, 
upon  himself,  for  not  having  marched  directly  to  Rome  after 
the  battle  of  Cannae,  while  his  soldiers  were  still  reeking 
with  the  blood  of  its  citizens.  | 

At  Rome,  the  senate,  greatly  dissatisfied  with  the  ex- 
cuses made  by  the  Carthaginian  deputies,  in  justification  of 
their  republic,  and  the  ridiculous  offer  of  their  adhering,  in 
its  name,  to  the  treaty  of  Lutatius,  thought  proper  to  refer 
the  decision  of  the  Avhole  to  Scipio,  who,  being  on  the  spot, 
could  best  judge  what  conditions  the  welfare  of  the  state  re- 
quired. 

*  A.  M.  3802.     A.  Ttoms.S'e. 

t  Raro  quenquam  aliiim  pntviam  exilU  cansa  reHnqnentem  magis  mcpstum 
abii<-e  feruiit,  oiiam  Amiibalem  hostiii'ii  t<>rra  excedentem.  Respexisset  s«pe 
Italise  littora,  et  fleos  honiliiesque  afcusantem.  in  se  qiioqiie  ac  suum  ipsius  caimt 
execratum,  "  Quod  non  cruentum  ab  Canneusi  victoria  luilitem  Rotiiam  duxis- 
set."— Liv.  1.  XXX.  11. 20.  .  ^^ 

t  Livy  supposes,  however,  that  this  delay  was  a  capital  error  m  HaniUDal, 
which  be  himself  afterwards  regretted.  r 


S76  AXCIEXT   HISTORY. 

■■i:  About  the  same  time,  Octavius  the  jjrcstor,  sailing  from 
Sicily  Avith  two  hundred  vessels  of  burden,  was  attacked 
near  Carthage  by  a  A'iolent  storra,  Avhich  dis])ersed  his  licet. 
The  citizens,  unwilling  to  see  so  rich  a  prey  escape  them, 
demanded  importunately  tliat  the  Carthaginian  fleet  might 
sail  out  and  seize  it.  The  senate,  after  a  faint  resistance, 
complied.  Asdrubal,  sailing  out  of  the  harbor,  seized  the 
greatest  part  of  the  Roman  sliips,  and  brought  them  to 
Carthage,  although  the  truce  was  still  subsisting. 

Sci])io  sent  deputies  to  the  Carthaginian  senate,  to  com- 
plain of  this,  but  they  were  slightly  regarded.  Hannibal's 
approach  had  revived  their  courage,  and  filled  them  with 
great  hopes.  The  depufies  were  even  in  great  danger  of 
being  ill-treated  by  the  populace.  They  therefore  demanded 
a  convoy,  which  was  granted,  and  accordingly  two  ships  of 
the  republic  attended  them ;  but  the  magistrates,  who  were 
absolutely  against  peace,  and  determined  to  rene\v'  the  war, 
gave  private  orders  to  Asdrubal,  who  was  with  the  fleet 
near  Utica,  to  attack  the  Roman  galley  when  it  should  ar- 
rive in  the  river  Bagrada,  near  the  Roman  camj),  Avhere  the 
convoy  was  ordered  to  leave  them.  He  obeyed  the  order, 
and  sent  out  two  galleys  against  the  ambassadors,  who, 
nevertheless,  made  their  escajje,  but  with  difficulty  and 
danger. 

This  was  a  fresh  subject  for  a  war  between  the  two  na- 
tions, who  were  now  more  animated,  or  rather  more  exaspe- 
rated, one  against  the  other,  than  ever ;  the  Romans,  from 
the  strong  desire  they  had  to  revenge  so  base  a  perfidy,  and 
the  Carthaginians,  from  a  firm  pex'suasion  that  they  were 
not  now  to  expect  a  peace. 

At  the  same  time,  Laelius  and  Fulvius,  who  carried  the 
full  powers  with  which  the  senate  and  people  of  Rome  had 
invested  Scipio,  arrived  in  the  camp,  accompanied  by  the 
deputies  of  Carthage.  As  the  Carthaginians  had  not  only 
infringed  the  truce,  but  violated  the  law  of  nations,  in  the 
persons  of  the  Roman  ambassadors,  it  was  natural  that  their 
principals  should  order  the  Carthaginian  deputies  to  be 
seized  by  way  of  reprisal.  Scipio,  liowever,*  more  attentive 
to  the  Roman  generosity  than  to  the  demerits  of  the  Car- 
thaginians, in  order  not  to  deviate  from  the  principles  and 

*  "E(r«07re  TO  Trap'  aVTW  trvAAo'yt^d.uei'O?,  ov;^  ovtio  ti  Sfov  7ra9elv  Kapxr}SovCov^)  (05 
Ti  Seov  vv  Trpaf  XI  'Puj/Aai'ou9. — Polyb.  1.  XV.  p.  965     Edit.  Gronov. 

Qiiibiis  Scipio  ;  Etsi  non  indiiciarum  niodo  fides,  sed  etiam  jus  gentium  in 
legaLis  violatum  e.=set  ;  tainen  iiec  nihil  nee  iiistitutis  populi  Romani  nee  sola 
moribus  indigmun  in  iis  facturum  efese. — Liv.  1.  xxx.  n.  25. 


THE    CARTHAGIXIAXS.  377 

maxims  of  his  own  countrymen,  noi*  his  own  character,  dis- 
missed the  deputies,  without  offering  them  the  least  injury. 
So  astonishing  an  instance  of  moderation,  and  at  such  a 
juncture,  terrified  the  Carthaginians,  and  even  put  them  to 
the  blusli ;  and  made  Hannibal  himself  entertain  a  still  higher 
idea  of  a  general,  who,  to  the  dishonorable  practices  of  his 
enemies,  opposed  a  rectitude  and  magnanimity,  still  more 
worthy  of  admiration  than  all  liis  military  virtues. 

In  the  mean  time,  Hannibal,  being  strongly  importuned 
by  his  fellow-citizens,  advanced  into  the  country  ;  and  ar- 
riving at  Zama,  which  is  five  days'  march  from  Carthage,  en- 
camped there.  He  then  sent  out  spies  to  observe  tiie  ])0S- 
ture  of  the  Romans.  Scipio  having  seized  these,  so  far  from 
punishing  them,  only  commanded  them  to  be  led  about  the 
Roman  camp,  that  they  might  take  an  exact  survey  of  it, 
and  then  sent  them  back  to  Hannibal.  The  latter  knew  very 
well  whence  so  noble  an  assurance  flowed.  After  the  strange 
reverses  he  had  met  with,  he  no  longer  expected  that  for- 
tune would  be  again  propitious.  While  every  one  was  ex- 
citing him  to  give  battle,  he  alone  meditated  a  peace.  He 
flattered  himself  that  the  conditions  of  it  would  be  more 
honorable  for  him,  as  he  was  at  the  head  of  an  army,  and  as 
the  fate  of  war  might  still  appear  uncertain.  He  therefore 
sent  to  desire  an  interview  w'lth  Scipio,  which  accordingly 
was  agreed  to,  and  the  time  and  i:>lace  fixed. 

THE  INTERVIEW  BETWEEN    HANXIBAL  AND    SCIPIO  IN  AFRICA, 
FOLLOWED  BY  A  BATTLE. 

These  two  generals,  who  were  not  only  the  most  illus- 
trious of  their  own  age,  but  worthy  of  being  ranked  with  the 
most  renowned  princes  and  warriors  that  had  ever  lived, 
meeting  at  the  place  appointed,  maintained  for  some  time  a 
deep  silence,  as  though  they  were  astonished,  and  struck 
with  mutual  admiration  at  the  sight  of  each  other.*  At  last 
Hannibal  spoke ;  and,  after  having  praised  Scipio  in  the 
most  artful  and  delicate  manner,  lie  gave  a  very  lively  de- 
scription of  the  ravages  of  the  war,  and  the  calamities  in 
which  it  had  involved  both  the  victors  and  the  vanquished. 
He  conjured  him  not  to  suffer  himself  to  be  dazzled  by  the 
splendor  of  his  victories.  He  represented  to  him,  that  how- 
ever successful  he  might  have  hitherto  been,  he  ought  to 
tremble  at  the  inconstancy  of  fortune ;  that  without  going 

•A.M.  3803.    A.  Rome,  517.    Polyb.  L  xv.  pp.  694-703.    Liv.  1.  xxx.  n.  29,  35. 


378  AXCIEXT    HISTORV. 

far  back  for  examples,  lie  himself,  M'ho  was  then  speaking 
to  him,  was  a  glaring  proof  of  this  :  that  Scipio  was  at  that 
time  what  himself,  Hannibal,  had  been  at  Thrasymene  and 
Caimfe  :  that  he  ought  to  make  a  better  use  of  opportunity 
than  himself  had  done,  and  consent  to  ponce,  now  when  it 
was  in  his  power  to  propose  the  conditions  of  it.  He  con- 
cluded with  declaring,  that  the  Carthaginians  would  wil- 
lingly resign  Sicily,  Sardinia,  Spain,  and  all  the  islands  be- 
tween Africa  and  Italy,  to  tlie  Romans.  That  they  must  be 
forced,  since  such  was  the  will  of  the  gods,  to  conime  them- 
selves to  Africa ;  while  they  should  see  the  Komans  extend- 
ing their  conquests  in  the  most  remote  regions,  and  obliging 
all  nations  to  pay  obedience  to  their  laws. 

Scipio  answered  in  a  few  words,  but  not  with  lfc«?s  dignity. 
He  reproached  the  Carthaginians  for  their  perfidy,  in  plun- 
dering the  Roman  galleys  before  the  truce  was  expired.  He 
imputed  to  them  only,  and  to  their  injustice,  all  the  calami- 
ties with  which  the  two  wars  had  been  attended.  After 
thanking  Hannibal  for  the  admonition  he  gave  him,  with  re- 
gard to  the  uncertainty  of  human  events,  he  concluded  with 
desiring  him  to  prepare  for  battle,  unless  he  chose  rather 
to  accept  of  the  conditions  that  had  been  already  proposed ; 
to  which  he  observed,  some  others  would  be  added,  in  order 
to  punish  the  Carthaginians  for  having  violated  the  truce. 

Hannibal  could  not  prevail  upon  himself  to  accept  these 
conditions,  and  the  generals  separated  with  the  resolution  to 
decide  the  fate  of  Carthage  by  a  general  battle.  Each  com- 
mander exhorted  his  troops  to  fight  valiantly.  Hannibal 
enumerated  the  victories  he  had  gained  over  the  Romans, 
the  generals  he  had  slain,  the  armies  he  had  cut  to  pieces, 
Scipio  represented  to  his  soldiers,  the  conquests  of  both  the 
Spains,  his  successes  in  Africa,  and  the  tacit  confession  their 
enemies  themselves  made  of  their  weakness,  by  thus  coming 
to  sue  for  peace.  All  this  he  spoke  with  the  tone  and  air  of 
a  conqueror.*  Never  were  motives  more  calculated  to  ex- 
cite troops  to  behave  gallantly.  This  day  was  to  complete 
the  glory  of  the  one  or  the  other  of  the  generals,  and  to  de- 
cide whether  Rome  or  Carthage  should  prescribe  laws  to  all 
other  nations. 

I  shall  not  undertake  to  describe  the  order  of  the  battle, 
nor  the  valor  of  the  forces  on  both  sides.  The  reader  will 
naturally  suppose,  that  two    such  experienced  generals  did 

•  Celsns  hsec  corpore,  vultuque  ita  laeto,  ut  vicisse  jam  crederes,  ilicebat.-- 
lav.  1.  XXX,  11.  32. 


TIIR    CARTHAGINIANS.  379 

not  forget  any  circumstance  which  could  contribute  to  the 
victory.  The  Carthaginians,  after  a  very  obstinate  fight, 
were  obliged  to  fly,  leaving  twenty  thousand  men  on  the 
field  of  battle,  and  the  like  number  of  prisoners  were  taken 
by  the  Romans.  Hannibal  escaped  in  the  tumult,  and  en- 
tering Carthage,  owned  that  he  was  irrecoverably  ovei- 
thrown,  and  that  the  citizens  had  no  other  choice  left,  but  to 
accept  of  peace  on  any  conditions.  Scipio  bestowed  great 
eulogiums  on  Hannibal,  chiefly  with  regard  to  his  capacity 
in  taking  advantages,  his  manner  of  drawing  up  his  army, 
and  giving  his  orders  in  the  engagement;  and  affirmed,  that 
Hannibal  had  this  day  sur])assed  himself,  although  fortune 
had  not  answered  his  valor  and  conduct. 

With  regard  to  himself,  he  well  knew  how  to  make  a 
proper  advantage  of  his  victory,  and  the  consternation  with 
which  he  had  filled  the  enemy.  He  commanded  one  of  his 
lieutenants  to  march  his  land  army  to  Carthage,  and  pre- 
pared in  person  to  conduct  the  fleet  thither. 

He  was  not  far  from  the  city,  when  he  met  a  vessel  cov- 
ered with  streamers  and  olive-branches,  bringing  ten  of  the 
most  considerable  persons  of  the  state,  as  ambassadors  to  im- 
plore his  clemency.  He  however  dismissed  them  without 
making  any  answer,  and  bid  them  come  to  him  at  Tunis, 
where  he  should  halt.  The  deputies  of  Carthage,  being 
thirty  in  number,  came  to  him  at  the  place  appointed,  and 
sued  for  peace  in  the  most  submissive  terms.  He  then  called 
a  council,  the  majority  of  which  was  for  razing  Carthage, 
and  treating  the  inhabitants  with  the  utmost  severity.  But 
the  consideration  of  the  time  which  must  necessarily  be  era- 
ployed  before  a  city  so  strongly  fortified  could  be  taken,  and 
Scipio's  fear  that  a  successor  to  him  might  be  appointed 
while  he  should  be  employed  in  the  siege,  made  him  incline  to 
clemency. 

A  PEACE  CONCLUDE!)  BETWEEN  THE  CARTHAGINIANS  AND  THE 
ROMANS.       THE  END  OF  THE  SECOND  PUNIC  WAR. 

The  conditions  of  the  peace  dictated  by  Scipio  to  the 
Carthaginians  were  "  that  the  Carthaginians  were  to  con- 
tinue free,  and  preserve  their  laws,  their  territories,  and  the 
cities  they  possessed  in  Africa  before  the  war ;  *  that 
they  should  deliver  up  to  the  Romans  all  deserters,  slaves, 
and  captives   belonging   to  them  ;    all   their  ships,  except 

•  Polyb.  1.  XV.  pp.  704-707.    Liv.  1.  xxx.  u.  36-44. 


380  AXCIENT    HISTORY. 

ten  triremes ;  all  their  tame  elephants,  and  that  tliey  should 
not  train  up  any  more  for  war  ;  that  they  should  not  make 
war  out  of  Africa,  nor  even  in  that  country,  witliout  first 
obtaining  leave  for  that  purpose  from  tlie  Koman  ])cople  ; 
should  restore  to  Masinissa  all  they  had  taken  from  liim 
or  his  ancestors  ;  should  furnish  money  and  corn  to  the 
Koman  auxiliaries,  till  their  amhassadoi's  should  be  returned 
from  Rome ;  should  pay  to  the  Romans  ten  tliousand  Eu- 
boic  talents  *  of  silver,  ir.  fifty  annual  j)ayments ;  and  give 
a  hundred  hostages,  wlio  should  be  nominated  by  Scij)io. 
And  in  order  that  they  might  have  time  to  send  to  Rome, 
it  was  agi'eed  to  grant  them  a  truce,  upon  condition  that 
they  should  restore  the  ships  taken  during  the  former  war, 
without  which  they  were  not  to  expect  either  a  truce  or 
a  peace." 

When  the  deputies  returned  to  Carthage,  they  laid  be- 
fore the  senate  the  conditions  dictated  by  Scipio.  But  they 
appeared  so  intolerable  to  Gisco,  that  i-ising  u]),  he  made  a 
speech,  in  order  to  dissuade  the  citizens  from  accepting  a 
peace  on  such  shameful  terms.  Hannibal,  provoked  at  the 
calmness  with  which  such  an  orator  was  heard,  took  Gisco 
by  the  arm,  and  dragged  him  from  his  seat.  A  behavior 
so  outrageous,  and  so  remote  from  the  manners  of  a  free 
city,  like  Carthage,  raised  a  universal  murmur.  Hannibal 
was  vexed  with  himself  when  he  reflected  on  what  he  had 
done,  and  immediately  made  an  apology  for  it.  "  As  I  left," 
says  he,  "  your  city  at  nine  years  of  age,  and  did  not  I'eturn 
to  it  till  after  thirty-six  years'  absence,  I  liad  full  leisure  to 
learn  the  arts  of  war,  and  flatter  myself  that  I  have  made 
some  improvement  in  them.  As  for  your  laws  and  customs, 
it  is  no  wonder  I  am  ignorant  of  them,  and  I  thei-efore  de- 
sire you  to  instruct  me  in  them."  He  then  expatiated  on 
the  necessity  they  were  under  of  concluding  a  peace.  He 
added,  that  they  ought  to  thank  the  gods  for  having 
prompted  the  Romans  to  grant  them  a  peace  even  on  these 
conditions.     He  urged  on  them  the  importance  of  their  unit- 

*  Ten  thcusaiul  Atiic  talents  make  thirty  millions  French  money.  Ten 
thousand  Euboic  talenta  make  something  more  ihan  iweiity-eight  millions,  tliirty- 
thrt'e  thousand  livres;  because,  according  lo  Budseus,  tlieKuboic  talent  is  erjui'v- 
alent  but  to  fifty-six  Minte  and  sometlnng  more,  wliereas  ihe  Attic  talent  is 
worth  sixty  Mina; .    Or  Otherwise  thus  calculated  In  English  money  : 

According  to  Bud;¥us.  the  Euboic  talent  is 56  Mina;." 

56  Minaj  reduced  to  English  money L.  175,  or  S777- 

Consequently  10,000  Euboic  talents  make E.  l,75o,00f),  or  $7.77(i,i«K). 

So  that  the  Cartliaginians  paid  annually L.  35,(»0n,  or     i?ir)5,4oo. 

This  calculation  is  as  near  the  truth" as  it  can  well  be  J)rought,  the  Euboic 
talent  being  somethiug  more  than  56  Mime. 


THE    CARTHAGTXIAXS,  381 

ing  in  opinion,  and  of  not  giving  an  opportunity,  by  their 
divisions,  for  the  ])eo])le  to  take  an  affair  of  this  iiature  under 
their  cognizance.  The  whole  city  came  OA'cr  to  his  opinion, 
and  accordingly  the  ])eace  was  accepted.  The  senate  nuide 
Scipio  satisfaction  v.'ith  regard  to  the  ships  demanded  by 
him,  and  after  obtaining  a  truce  for  three  months,  sent  am- 
bassadors to  Rome. 

These  Carthaginians,  who  were  all  venerable  for  their 
years,  and  dignity,  were  admitted  immediately  to  an  audi- 
ence. Asdrubal,  surnamed  Hocdus,  who  was  still  an  irre- 
concilable enemy  to  Hannibal  and  his  faction,  spoke  first  : 
and  after  having  excused,  to  the  best  of  his  poAver,  the  peo- 
ple of  Carthage,  by  imputing  the  rujjture  to  the  ambition  of 
some  particular  persons,  he  added,  that  had  the  Cartha- 
ginians listened  to  his  counsels,  and  those  of  Hanno,  they 
would  have  been  able  to  grant  the  Romans  the  peace  for 
which  they  now  were  obliged  to  sue.  "  But,"  continued 
he,  "  wisdom  and  pros])ei-ity  are  very  rarely  found  togetlier. 
The  Romans  are  invincible,  because  they  never  suffer  them- 
selves to  be  blinded  by  good  fortune.  And  it  would  be  sur- 
prising should  they  act  otherwise.  Success  dazzles  those 
only  to  whom  it  is  new  and  unusual,  Avhereas  the  Romans 
ai'e  so  much  accustomed  to  conquer,  that  they  are  almost 
insensible  to  the  charms  of  victory  ;  and  it  may  be  said  for 
their  glory,  that  they  have  extended  their  empire,  in  some 
measure,  more  by  the  humanity  they  have  shown  to  the  con- 
quered, than  by  conquest  itself."  *  The  other  ambassadors 
spoke  with  a  more  plaintive  tone  of  voice,  and  represented 
the  calamitous  state  to  Avhich  Carthage  W'as  about  to  be  re- 
duced, and  the  grandeur  and  power  from  which  she  had 
fallen. 

The  senate  and  people,  being  equally  inclined  to  ]ieace, 
sent  full  powers  to  Scipio  to  conclude  it,  left  the  conditions 
to  that  general,  and  pei-mitted  him  to  march  back  his  army, 
after  the  treaty  should  be  ratified. 

The  ambassadors  desired  leave  to  enter  the  city  to  re- 
deem some  of  their  prisoners,  and  they  found  about  two 
hundred  whom  they  desired  to  ransom.  But  the  senate  sent 
them  to  Scipio,  with  orders   that  they   should  be  restored 

*  Raro  sinuil  liominibus  boiiain  fortiniam  Vonaniqne  iiieiitpni  dari.  Populum 
Romanum  eo  invii-tum  esse  quod  in  seciiudis  rebus  sapei-e  et  eoiisulere  niemiiie- 
rit.  Kt  hercle  miraiidum  liiisse  si  aliter  facereiit.  Kx  iiisoleiitia,  quibus  )!•  va 
bona  foriima  sit,  impotentes  betitias  insaiiire ;  populo  Uoniano  usitata  ac  i»f)po 
obsoleta  ex  victoria  gaudia esse;  ac  plus  peiie  parcendo victis,  quam  viuceiido, 
Imperiam  auxisse.— Liv.  1.  xxx.  n.  42. 


382  ANCIEXT   HISTORY. 

without  any  pecuniary  consideration,  in  case  a  peace  should 
be  conckided. 

The  Carthaginians,  on  the  return  of  the  ambassadors, 
concluded  a  peace  Avith  Scipio  on  the  terms  he  himself  had 
prescribed.  They  then  delivered  up  to  liim  more  than  five 
hundred  ships,  all  which  he  burnt  in  sight  of  Carthage ;  a 
lamentable  sight  to  the  inhabitants  of  that  ill-fated  city  !  He 
struck  off  the  heads  of  the  allies  of  the  Latin  name,  and 
hanged  all  the  citizens  who  were  surrendered  to  him,  as 
deserters. 

When  the  time  for  the  payment  of  the  first  tax  imposed 
by  the  treaty  was  expired,  as  the  funds  of  the  government 
were  exhausted  by  this  long  and  expensive  war,  the  diffi- 
culty which  would  be  found  in  levying  so  great  a  simi,  threw 
the  senate  into  a  melancholy  silence,  and  many  could  not  re- 
frain even  from  tears.  It  is  said,  that  at  this  Hannibal 
laughed,  and  when  reproached  by  Asdrubal  Iloedus,  for  thus 
iusulting  his  country  in  the  affliction  Avhich  he  had  brought 
upon  it,  "  were  it  possible,"  says  Hannibal,  "  for  my  heart 
to  be  seen,  and  that  as  clearly  as  my  countenance,  you  Avould 
then  find  that  this  laughter,  Avhich  offends  so  much,  flows 
not  from  an  intemperate  joy,  but  from  a  mind  almost  dis- 
tracted with  the  public  calamities.  But  is  this  laughter 
more  unseasonable  than  your  unbecoming  tears?  Then, 
ought  you  to  have  wept,  Avhen  your  arms  were  ingloriously 
taken  from  you,  your  ships  burned,  and  you  were  forbidden 
to  engage  in  any  foreign  wars.  This  was  the  mortal  blow 
which  laid  us  prostrate.  We  are  sensible  of  the  public 
calamity  so  far  only  as  we  have  a  personal  concern  in  it,  and 
the  loss  of  our  money  gives  us  the  most  poignant  sorrow. 
Hence  it  was,  that  when  our  city  was  made  the  spoil  of  the 
victor ;  Avhen  it  was  left  disarmed  and  defenceless  amidst  so 
many  powerful  nations  of  Africa,  who  had  at  that  time 
taken  the  field,  not  a  groan,  not  a  sigh  was  heard.  But  now, 
when  you  are  called  on  for  a  poll-tax  you  weep  and  lament, 
as  if  all  were  lost.  Alas  !  I  only  wish  that  the  subject  of  this 
day's  fear  do  not  soon  appear  to  you  the  least  of  your  mis- 
fortunes." 

Scipio,  after  all  things  wei'e  concluded,  embarked  to 
return  to  Italy.  He  arrived  at  Rome  through  crowds  of 
people,  whom  curiosity  had  drawn  together  to  behold  his 
march.  The  most  magnificent  triumph  that  Rome  had  ever 
seen  was  decreed  him,  and  the  surname  of  African  us  was  be. 
stowed  upon  that  great  man ;  an  honor  till  then  unknown. 


THE    CARTHAGINIAXS. 


383 


r 


no  person  before  liim  having  assumed  the  name  of  a  van- 
quished nation.  Such  was  the  couchision  of  the  second 
Punic  war,  after  having  lasted  seventeen  years.* 

A    SHORT    REFLECTIOX    OX    THE    GOVEUNMEXT    OF  CARTHAGE, 
IN    THE    TIME    OF    THE    SECOXD    PUXIC    WAR. 

I  shall  conclude  the  particulars  which  relate  to  the  sec- 
ond Punic  war,  with  a  reflection  of  Poly  hi  us,  which  will 
show  the  difference  between  the  two  commonwealths,  f  It 
may  be  affirmed,  in  some  measure,  that  at  the  beginning  of 
the  second  Punic  war,  and  in  Hannibal's  time,  Carthage  was 
in  its  decline.  The  flower  of  its  youth,  and  its  sjirightly 
vigor,  were  already  diminished.  It  had  begun  to  fall  fi-om 
its  exalted  pitch  of  ])ower,  and  was  inclining  towards  its 
ruin ;  whereas  Rome  was  then,  as  it  were,  in  its  bloom  and 
strength  of  life,  and  rapidly  advancing  to  the  conquest  of 
the  universe.  The  reason  of  the  declension  of  the  one,  and 
the  rise  of  the  other,  is  taken  by  Polybius  tVom  the  different 
form  of  government  established  in  these  commonwealths,  at 
the  time  we  are  now  speaking  of.  At  Carthage,  the  com- 
mon people  had  seized  upon  the  sovereign  authority  with 
regard  to  public  affairs,  and  the  advice  of  their  ancient  men 
or  magistrates,  was  no  longer  listened  to  ;  all  affairs  were 
transacted  by  intrigue  and  cabal.  Not  to  mention  the  ar- 
tifices which  the  faction  opposed  to  Hannibal  employed, 
during  the  whole  time  of  his  command,  to  perplex  him  ;  the 
single  instance  of  burning  the  Roman  vessels  during  a  truce, 
a  perfidious  action  to  which  the  common  people  compelled 
the  seniHe  to  lend  their  name  and  assistance,  is  a  proof  of 
Polybius'  assertion.  On  the  contrary,  at  this  very  time,  the 
Romans  paid  the  highest  regard  to  their  senate,  that  is,  to  a 
body  composed  of  the  greatest  sages ;  and  their  old  men 
were  listened  to  and  revered  as  oracles.  It  is  well  known 
that  the  Roman  people  were  exceedingly  jealous  of  their 
authority,  and  especially  in  that  part  of  it  which  related  to 
the  election  of  magistrates,  t  A  century  of  young  men,  who 
by  lot  were  to  give  the  first  vote,  which  generally  directed 
ail  the  rest,  had  nominated  two  consuls.  On  the  bare  re- 
monstrance of  P''abius,§  who  represented  to  the  people,  that 

*  A .  M.  3804.    A.  Carth.  646.    A.  Rome,  548.    Ant;  J.  C.  200. 

t  Lib.  vl.  pp.  JO',  -ifn.  t  Liv.  1.  xxiv.  ii.  8,  9. 

§  Quilibet  luuitHrum  reetorumque  traiiquillo  mari  gabeniare  potest ;  ubi 
BKva  oita  tempestas  est.  ac  turbato  mari  rapitur  veuto  iiavis,  turn  viro  et  guber- 
jiatore  opus  est.  Non  traiiquino  navigamiis,  sefl  jam  aliquot  prooellis  submersi 
pene  sumns.  Itaque  quis  a4  gubernacula  sedeat  summa  cura  providenduiu  a« 
prseeuvendum  nobis  «sK' 


384  AJfCIEXT   HISTORY. 

in  a  tempest,  like  that  with  M'hich  Rome  was  then  strns:^- 
gling,  the  most  able  pilots  ought  to  be  chosen  to  steer  their 
common  ship,  the  republic ;  the  century  returned  to  their 
suffrages,  and  nominated  other  consuls.  Polvbius,  from  this 
disparity  of  government,  infers  that  a  ])eo])le,  thus  guided 
by  the  prudence  of  old  men,  could  not  fail  of  prevailing  over 
a  state  which  was  governed  M'holly  by  the  giddy  multitude. 
And  indeed,  the  Romans,  under  the  guidance  of  the  Avise 
counsels  of  their  senate,  gained  at  last  the  superiority  with 
regard  to  the  war  considered  in  general,  though  they  were 
defeated  in  several  particular  engagements,  and  established 
their  power  and  grandeur  on  the  ruin  of  their  rivals. 

THE    INTERVAL    BETWEEN    THE     SECOND     AND     THIRD    PUNIC 

AVARS. 

The  events  relating  to  Carthage  during  this  period,  are 
not  very  remarkable,  although  it  includes  more  than  fifty 
years.  They  may  be  reduced  to  two  heads,  one  of  which 
relates  to  tlie  person  of  Hannibal,  and  the  other  to  some 
particular  differences  between  the  Carthaginians  and  Masi- 
nissa,  king  of  the  Numidians.  We  shall  treat  both  sejiarate- 
ly,  but  not  extensively. 

SECTION    I. CONTINUATION    OF    THE    HISTORY  OF    HANNIBAL. 

When  the  second  Punic  war  Avas  ended,  by  the  treaty  of 
peace  concluded  with  Scipio,  Hannibal,  as  he  himself  ob- 
served in  the  Cai'thaginian  senate,  was  forty-five  years  of 
age.  What  Ave  have  further  to  say  of  this  great  man,  in- 
cludes the  space  of  tAventy-fiA'e  years.  ^ 

HANNIBAL  UNDERTAKES  AND  COMPLETES  THE  REFOHMATION 
OP  THE  COURTS  OF  JUSTICE,  AND  THE  TREASURY  OF 
CARTHAGE. 

After  the  conclusion  of  the  peace,  Hannibal,  at  least  in 
the  beginning,  Avas  greatly  respected  in  Carthage,  Avhere  he 
filled  the  first  emjilojTnents  of  the  state  with  honor  and  ap- 
plause. He  headed  the  Carthaginian  forces  in  some  wars 
against  tlie  Africans :  but  the  Romans,  to  whom  the  very 
name  of  Hannibal  gave  uneasiness,  discontented  at  seeing 
him  in  arms,  made  'complaints  on  that  account,  and  accord- 
ingly he  Avas  recalled  to  Carthage.* 

On  his  return  he  was  appointed  prtetor,  AA'hich  seems  to 

♦  Corn-  Nep.  iii  Aiinib.  c.  7. 


THE    CARTHAGINIAKS.  385 

have  been  a  very  considerable  emplojinent,  as  well  as  of 
great  anthority.*  Carthage  is  therefore,  with  regai'd  to 
him,  becoiiiiiiG:  a  new  theatre,  as  it  Avere,  on  which  he  will 
disjjlay  A'irtues  and  qualities  of  a  quite  different  nature  from 
those  we  liave  hitheilo  admired  in  him,  and  which  will  finish 
the  ])icture  of  this  illustrious  man. 

Eagerly  desirous  of  restoi'ing  the  affairs  of  his  afflicted 
country  to  their  former  hajipy  condition,  he  was  jiersuaded 
that  the  two  most  ])owerfid  methods  to  make  a  state  floui'ish 
were,  an  exact  and  e(}ual  distriV>ution  of  justice  to  the  ]>eo- 
ple  in  general,  and  a  faithful  mnnagement  of  the  ])ublic 
finances.  The  former,  by  preservuig  nn  eqtiality  among  the 
citizens,  and  making  them  enjoy  such  a  delightful,  undis- 
turbed liberty,  under  the  })rotection  of  the  laws,  as  fully 
secures  their  honor,  their  lives  and  properties,  unites  the  in- 
di\  iduals  of  the  commonwealth  more  closely  together,  and 
attaches  them  more  firmly  to  the  state,  to  which  they  owe 
the  preservation  of  all  that  is  most  dear  and  valuable  to 
them.  The  latter,  by  a  faithful  administration  of  the  pub- 
lic revenues,  supplies  punctually  the  several  wants  and 
necessities  of  the  state,  keeps  in  reserve  a  never-failing 
resoui-ce  for  sudden  emergencies,  and  j^revents  the  people 
from  being  burdened  with  new  taxes,  which  are  rendered 
necessary  by  extravagant  })rofusion,  and  which  chiefly  con- 
tribute t*)  make  men  harbor  an  aversion  for  government. 

Hannibal  saw  with  great  concern  the  irregularities  which 
had  crept  equally  into  the  administration  of  justicfe  and  the 
management  of  the  finances.  Upon  his  being  nominated 
praetor,  as  his  love  for  regularity  and  order  made  him  un- 
easy at  eveiy  deviation  from  it,  and  prompted  him  to  use 
his  utmost  endeavors  for  its  restoration  ;  he  had  the  courage 
to  attempt  the  reformation  of  this  double  abuse,  which  drew 
after  it  a  numberless  multitude  of  others,  without  dreading 
either  the  animosity  of  the  old  faction  that  opposed  him,  or 
the  new  enmity  which  his  zeal  for  the  republic  must  neces- 
sarily create. 

The  judges  exercised  the  most  cruel  rapine  with  im- 
punity.f  They  were  so  many  ])etty  tyrants,  who  disposed,  in 
an  arbitrary  manner,  of  the  lives  and  fortunes  of  the  citizens, 
without  thei'e  being  the  least  possibility  of  putting  a  stop  to 
their  injustice.  Because  they  held  their  commissions  for 
life,  and  mutually  supported  one  another.  Hannibal,  as 
praitor,  summoned  before  his  tribunal  an  officer  belonging 

*  A.  il.  3810.  A.  Rome,  iiW.  t  -Liv.  1.  xxxiii.  u.  46. 

25 


386  ANCIENT    HISTORY. 

to  tlie  bench  of  judges,  who  openly  abused  his  power.  Livy 
tells  us  that  he  was  a  quaestor.  This  officer,  who  was  in  the 
opposite  faction  to  Hannibal,  and  had  already  assumed  all 
the  pride  and  haughtiness  of  the  judges  among  whom  he 
was  to  be  admitted  at  the  expiration  of  his  ])resent  office, 
insolently  refused  to  obey  the  summons.  Hannibal  was  not 
of  a  disposition  to  suffer  an  affront  of  this  nature  tamely. 
Accordingly,  he  caused  him  to  be  seized  by  a  lictor,  and 
brought  him  before  the  assembly  of  the  peo])le.  There,  not 
satisfied  with  levelling  his  resentment  against  this  single 
officer,  he  impeached  the  whole  bench  of  judges  ;  whose  in- 
supportable and  tyrannical  pride  was  not  restrained,  either 
by  the  fear  of  the  laAvs,  or  a  reverence  for  the  magistrates. 
And,  as  Hannibal  perceived  that  he  was  heard  with  j)leasure, 
and  that  the  lowest  and  most  inconsiderable  of  the  people 
discovered  on  this  occasion  that  they  were  no  longer  able  to 
bear  the  insolent  pride  of  these  judges,  who  seemed  to  have 
a  design  upon  their  liberties;  he  proposed  a  law,  which  ac- 
cordingly passed,  by  which  it  was  enacted,  that  new  judges 
should  be  chosen  annually ;  with  a  clause  that  none  should 
continue  in  office  beyond  that  term.  This  law,  at  the  same 
time  that  it  acquired  him  the  friendship  and  esteem  of  the 
l^eople,  drew  upon  him  pi-oportionably  the  hatred  of  the 
greatest  jiart  of  the  grandees  and  nobility. 

He  attempted  another  reformation,  which  created  him 
new  enemies,  but  gained  him  great  honor.*  The  public 
revenues  were  either  squandered  away  by  the  negligence  of 
those  Avho  had  the  management  of  them,  or  were  plundered 
by  the  chief  men  of  the  city,  and  the  magistrates  ;  so  that 
money  being  wanted  to  j)ay  the  annual  tribute  due  to  the 
Romans,  the  Carthaginians  were  going  to  levy  it  upon  the 
people  in  general.  Hannibal,  entering  into  a  full  detail  of 
the  public  revenues,  ordered  an  exact  estimate  to  be  laid  be- 
fore him ;  inquired  in  what  manner  tiiey  had  been  applied 
to  the  employments  and  ordinary  expenses  of  the  state  ; 
and  having  discovered  by  this  inquiry,  that  the  public  funds 
had  been  in  a  great  measure  embezzled  by  the  fraud  of  the 
officers  who  had  the  management  of  them,  he  declared  and 
promised,  in  a  full  assembly  of  the  people,  that  without 
laying  any  new  taxes  upon  individuals,  the  republic  should 
hereafter  be  enabled  to  pay  the  tribute  due  to  the  Romans ; 
and  he  was  as  good  as  his  word.  The  farmers  of  the 
revenues,  whose   plunder  and  rapine  he  had  publicly  de- 

*  Liv.  1.  xxxiii.  u.  46,  47. 


THE    CARTIIAGIXIANS,  387 

tected,  having  accustomed  themselves  liitherto  to  fatten 
upon  the  spoils  of  their  country,  exclaimed  vehemently 
against  these  regulations,*  as  if  their  own  pro|)erty  had  l,>een 
forced  out  of  their  hands,  and  not  the  sums  of  which  they 
had  defrauded  the  public. 

THE  EETREAT  AXD  DEATH  OF  HAXXIBAL. 

This  double  reformation  of  abuses  raised  great  clamors 
against  Hannibal, t  His  enemies  were  writing  incessantly  to 
the  chief  men,  or  their  friends,  at  Rome,  to  inform  them, 
that  he  was  carrying  on  a  secret  correspondence  with  Anti- 
ochus,  knig  of  Syria;  that  he  frequently  received  couriers 
from  him  ;  and  that  this  prince  had  privately  despatched 
agents  to  Hannibal,  to  concert  with  him  measures  for  car- 
rying on  the  war  he  Avas  meditating  :  that  as  some  animals 
are  so  extremely  fierce,  that  it  is  impossible  ever  to  tame 
them  ;  in  like  manner,  this  man  Avas  of  so  turbulent  and  im- 
placable a  spirit  that  he  could  not  brook  ease,  and  there- 
fore would,  sooner  or  later,  break  out  again.  These  in- 
formations were  listened  to  at  Rome  ;  and  as  the  trans- 
actions of  the  preceding  war  had  been  begun  and  carried 
on  almost  solely  by  Hannibal,  they  appeared  the  more 
probable.  However,  Sci])io  strongly  opposed  the  violent 
measures  which  the  senate  were  about  to  take  on  their  receiA- 
ing  this  intelligence,  by  representing  it  as  derogatory  to  the 
dignity  of  the  Roman  p-eople,  to  countenance  the  hatred  and 
accusations  of  Hannibal's  enemies  ;  to  support,  with  their 
authority,  tlieir  unjust  passions ;  and  obstinately  to  juirsue 
him  even  to  the  Aery  heart  of  his  country  ;  as  though  tlie 
Romans  had  not  humbled  him  sufficiently,  in  driving  liim 
out  of  the  field,  and  forchig  him  to  lay  down  his  arms. 

But,  iiotAvithstanding  these  prudent  remonstrances,  the 
senate  appouited  three  commissioners  to  go  and  make  their 
complaints  to  Carthage,  and  to  demand  that  Hannibal  should 
be  delivered  up  to  them.  On  their  arrival  in  that  city, 
though  other  things  were  speciously  pretended,  yet  Hanni- 
bal Avas  perfectly  sensible  that  he  only  Avas  the  object.  The 
evening  being  come,  he  conA^eyed  himself  on  board  a  sliij), 
which  he  had  secretly  provided  for  that  purpose ;  on  Avhich 
occasion  he  bcAvailed  his  country's  fate  more  than  his  oAvn. 
/Scepius  patricB  quant  suos  eventus  miseratus.     This  Avas 

*  Turn  vero  isti  qiios  paverat  per  aliquot  aniios  publicus  peeulatiiP,  v<»lut 
bonis  ereptis,  noii  furtr)  eorinn  maiiibiis  extorto,  incensi  Pt  irati,  Koniauos  iv  A.n» 
nibalern,  et  ipsos  causam  odii  qiiaerentes,  insligabaut.— Liv. 
t  Liv.  1.  ixxUi.  n.  •15-4U. 


388  ANCIENT    HISTORY. 

the  ei_£^hth  year  after  the  conclusion  of  tlip  peace.  The  first 
place  lie  landed  at  was  Tyre,  where  he  was  received  as  in 
his  second  country,  and  had  all  the  honors  paid  him  Avhich 
were  due  to  his  exalted  merit.  After  stayiniji;  some  days 
here,  he  set  out  for  Antioch,  which  the  king  had  lately  left, 
and  from  thence  waited  upon  him  at  Ephcsus.*  The  ar- 
rival of  so  renowned  a  general  ga^e  great  ])leasure  to  the 
king,  and  did  not  a  little  contribute  to  determine  him  to 
engage  in  war  against  Rome;  for  hitherto  he  had  a|)peared 
wavering  and  uncertain  on  that  head.  In  this  city,  a 
philosopher,  who  was  looked  upon  as  the  greatest  orator  of 
Asia,  had  the  imprudence  to  harangue  before  Hannibal  on 
the  duties,  of  a  gener.-d,  and  the  rules  of  the  military  art. f 
The  speech  charmed  the  whole  au<lience.  But  Hannibal, 
being  asked  his  opinion  of  it,  "  I  have  seen,"  says  he,  "many 
old  dotards  in  my  life,  but  this  exceeds  them  all."  t 

The  Carthaginians,  justly  fearing  that  Hannibal's  escape 
would  certainly  draAv  upon  them  the  arms  of  the  Romans, 
sent  them  advice  that  Hannibal  was  withdrawn  to  Antio- 
chus.  §  The  Romans  were  very  much  disturl>ed  at  this 
news,  and  the  king  might  have  turned  it  extremely  to  liis 
advantage,  had  he  known  how  to  make  a  j)roper  use  of  it. 

The  first  counsel  that  Hannibal  gave  him  at  this  time, 
and  which  he  frequently  repeated  afterwards,  was,  to  make 
Italy  the  seat  of  war.  |j  He  required  a  hundred  shi])S,  elev- 
en or  twelve  thousand  land-forces,  and  offered  to  take  upon 
himself  the  command  of  the  fleet ;  to  cross  into  Africa,  in 
order  to  cn«ca;;e  the  Carthaginians  in  the  war;  and  after- 
wards  to  make  a  descent  upon  Italy,  during  which  tlie  king 
himself  should  be  ready  to  cross  over  with  his  army  into 
Italy,  whenever  it  should  be  thought  con\enient.  This  was 
the  only  thing  proper  to  be  done,  and  the  king  very  much 
approAed  the  })roposal  at  first. 

Hannibal  thought  it  would  be  expedient  to  prepare  his 
friends  at  Carth.age,  in   order  to   eng.age   thera  the  more 

»A.  M.  3S12.     A.  Rome,  556.  t  Cic  da  Ora'.  I.  ii.  ii.  75,  76. 

t  Hie  Pa-iiii»  libere  respoiulisse  fertuv,  I'luUos  sc  deliros  seiies  sajpo  vidisse: 
sed  qui  ina«£is  <) uain  Phonnio  deliiarei  \iUisse  iieininein-  StxjbiBus,  Semi.  lii. 
gives,  the  following  account  of  this  mutter :  '.\i'yi.^a\  ax-oiitja?  'S.to'kov  tuos 
€ni\etp6vt'T0';  on  6  (ro(i)0'!  jnoi'o?  <rTpaT»jy09  ea-riv,  eyeXao't,  vO'Xi^'ot/  a&vvanoi'  ^tfat 
€KT05    T^9  ^l    ipyioi'    e/xireipta;    -riji"    €1"    tovtok;  c'Ti(Tr7}'t.fv  e\ei.v     i.  r'.,  HaiDlibal,  liear- 

iiig  a  Stoic  philosoplier  inulertake  fo  prove  that  the  wise  man  was  '.he  only  gen- 
eral, laughed,  as  thinking  it  impossible  for  a  man  to  have  any  skill  in  war,  witli- 
out  being  long  practised  in  it. 

§  The.v  did  more,  for  they  sent  two  siiijjs  to  pursue  Hannibal,  and  bring  him 
back  ;  th  if  sold  off  liis  goods,  razeil  his  house,  and,  by  a  public  decree,  declurcd 
him  a;i  exile.  Such  was  the  gratitude  tiie  Carthaginians  showed  to  the  greatest 
general  tliey  ever  h-ad.— Corn.  Nep.  Ln  Vita  Aiiiiib.  c.  7. 

jj  Liv.  l.xxxiv.  u.  60. 


THE    CAUTHAGIXTAXS.  3S9 

strongly  in  his  interest.*  The  communication  by  letters  is 
not  only  unsafe,  but  also  gives  an  imperfect  idea  of  things, 
and  is  never  sufficiently  particular.  He  therefore  despatched 
a  trusty  person  with  ample  instructions  to  Carthage.  This 
man  had  no  sooner  arrived  in  the  city  th:m  his  business  was 
suspected.  Accordingly  he  was  watched  and  followed  ;  and 
at  last  orders  were  issued  for  his  being  seized.  He,  how- 
ever, prevented  the  vigilance  of  his  enemies,  and  escaped  in 
the  night;  after  having  fixed,  in  sever;d  public  ])laces,  pa- 
pers which  fully  declared  the  occasion  of  his  cf)ming  among 
them.  The  senate  immediately  sent  advice  of  this  to  the 
Romans. 

Villius,  one  of  the  deputies  who  had  been  sent  into  Asia 
to  inquire  into  the  state  of  affairs  there,  and,  if  possible,  to 
discover  the  real  designs  of  Antiochus,  found  Hannibal  in 
Ephesus.f  He  had  many  conferences  with  him,  paid  him 
several  visits,  and  speciously  affected  to  show  him  a  ])artic- 
ular  esteem  on  all  occasions.  But  his  chief  aim,  by  all  this 
artificial  behavior,  was  to  make  him  be  suspected,  and  to 
lessen  his  credit  with  the  king,  in  which  he  succeeded  but 
too  well.^: 

Some  authors  affirm  that  Scipio  was  joined  in  this  em- 
bassy ;  and  they  even  relate  the  conversation  which  that 
general  had  with  Hannibal.  §  They  tell  us  that  the  Ro- 
man having  asked  him  who,  in  his  opinion,  was  the  greatest 
captain  that  had  ever  lived  ;  he  answered,  Alexander  the 
Great,  because,  with  a  handful  of  Macedonians,  he  had  de- 
feated numberless  armies,  and  carried  his  conquests  into 
countries  so  very  remote  that  it  seemed  scarcely  ])ossible  for 
any  man  only  to  travel  so  far.  Being  afterwards  asked  to 
whom  he  gave  the  second  rank,  he  answered,  to  Pyrrhus, 
for  this  king,  says  Himnibal,  first  understood  the  art  of 
pitching  a  camp  to  advantage  ;  no  commander  had  ever 
made  a  more  judicious  choice  of  his  posts,  was  better  skilled 
in  drawing  up  his  forces,  or  was  more  happy  in  winning  the 
affection  of  foreign  soldiers  ;  insomuch  that  exen  the  people 
of  Italy  were  more  desirous  to  have  liim  for  their  governor 
than  the  Romans  themselves,  though  they  had  so  long  been 

*  Ibid.  11.  61. 

t  A.  M.  ;}813.     A.  Roin:3.  557.     Liv.  1.  xxw.  it.  1 1.      Polvb.  1.  lii.  pp.  166.  167. 

t  Polybius  represents  this  applicaiio  i  of  Villius  to  Hannibal,  as  a  preuiedi- 
tatert  design,  in  order  to  render  him  8uspecte<l  to  .Vntiochus,  bet-aiise  of  his  inti- 
macy with  a  Uoiiiiin.  I.ivy  owns,  that  the  affair  siiin-eeded  as  if  it  had  been  de- 
.signed  ;  l>ut,  ai  the  same  time,  lie  gives,  f o  ■  a  very  obvious  reason,  another  turn 
to  this  conversation,  and  cays  lliat  no  more  was  intended  by  it  Uian  to  sound  Hail- 
nib;il,  and  to  remove  any  fears  or  apprehensions  lie  miirlit  be  under  from  tho 
Bomau3.  §  Liv.  1.  xxxv.  n.  2-1,    Plutarch,  iu  yita  i'lamiii.  &c. 


390  AXCIEXT    HISTORY. 

subject  to  them.  Scipio  proceeding,  asked  him  next  whom 
he  looked  upon  as  the  third  captain  ;  on  Avhich  decision 
Hannibal  made  no  scruple  to  give  the  preference  to  l.nnsclf. 
Here  Scipio  could  not  forbear  laughing :  "•  but  what  would 
you  have  said,"  continued  Scipio,  "  had  you  conquered 
me?" — "I  would,"  replied  Hannibal,  "have  ranked  myself 
above  Alexander,  Pyrrhus,  and  all  the  generals  the  world 
ever  produced."  Scij)io  was  not  insensible  to  so  refined  and 
delicate  a  flattery,  which  he  by  no  means  ex})ected  ;  and 
which,  by  giving  liini  no  rival,  seemed  to  insinuate  that  no 
captain  was  worthy  of  being  put  in  comparisoji  Avith  him. 

The  answer,  as  told  by  Plutarch,*  is  less  witty,  and  not 
so  probable.  In  this  author,  Hannibal  gives  Pyrrhus  the 
first  place,  Scipio  the  second,  and  hunseli  the  third. 

Hannibal,  sensible  of  the  coldness  Avith  Avhich  Antio- 
c'lus  received  him  ever  since  his  conferences  Avith  Yilliusor 
Scipio,  took  no  notice  of  it  for  some  time,  and  seemed  in- 
sensible of  it.  But  at  last  lie  thought  it  advisable  to  come 
to  an  explanation  with  the  king,  and  to  open  his  nriiid  freely 
to  him.  "  The  hatred,"  says  he,  "  Avhich  I  bear  to  the  Ro- 
mans, is  known  to  the  Avhole  Avorld.  I  bound  myself  to  it 
by  an  oath,  from  my  most  tender  infancy.  It  Avas  this  ha- 
tred that  made  me  draAv  the  sword  against  Pome  during 
thirty-six  years.  It  was  that,  even  in  times  of  ])eace,  Avhich 
drove  me  from  my  native  country,  and  forced  me  to  seek 
an  asylum  in  your  dominions.  For  ever  guided  and  fired 
by  the  same  passion,  should  my  hopes  be  ehided,  I  Avill  fly 
to  CA'ery  part  of  the  globe,  and  rouse  uj)  all  nations  against 
the  Romans.  I  hate  them,  AAnll  hate  them  eternally ;  and 
know  that  they  bear  me  no  less  animosity.  So  long  as  you 
shall  continue  in  the  resolution  to  take  up  arms  against  tliat 
people,  you  may  rank  Hannibal  in  the  number  of  your  best 
friends.  But  if  other  counsels  incline  you  to  peace,  I  de- 
clare to  you  once  for  all,  address  yourself  to  others  for 
counsel,  and  not  to  me."  Such  a  speech,  Avhich  came  from 
his  heart,  and  ex])ressed  the  greatest  sincerity,  struck  the 
king,  and  seemed  to  remove  all  his  suspicions  ;  so  that  lie 
now  resolved  to  giA'e  Hannibal  command  of  part  of  liis 
fleet.f 

But  Avhat  mischief  is  beyond  the  poAver  of  flattery  to 
produce  in  courts,  and  in  the  minds  of  princes?  Antiochus 
was  told  "that  it  Avas  imprudent  in  him  to  put  so  much 
confidence  in  Hannibal,  an  exile,  a  Cai'thaginian,  whose  for- 

*  Plut.  in  Pyrrlio,  p.  687.  t  Uv.  lib.  xxxv.  n.  19. 


THE    CARTIIAGIXIAXS.  391 

tune  or  genius  might  suggest,  in  one  day,  a  thoiisand  differ- 
ent projects  to  him  ;  that  besides,  this  very  fame  which 
Hannibal  had  acquired  in  war,  and  which  he  considered  as 
his  peculiar  inheritance,  was  too  great  for  a  man  A\ho  fought 
only  under  the  ensigns  of  another  ;  that  none  but  the  king 
ought  to  be  the  general  and  conductor  of  the  war  ;  and  that 
it  was  incumbent  on  him  to  draw  upon  himself  only  the 
eyes  and  attention  of  all  men  ;  whereas,  should  Hannibal  be 
employed,  he,  a  foreigner,  would  have  the  glory  of  all  victo- 
ries ascribed  to  him."  *  N'o  minds,  says  Livy,  on  this  occa- 
sion, are  more  susceptible  of  envy,  than  those  whose  merit  is 
below  their  birth  and  dignity  ;  such  persons  ahoays  abhor- 
ring virtue  and  worth  in  others,  for  this  reason  only,  be- 
cause they  are  strange  and  foreign  in  themselves.^  This 
observation  was  fully  verified  on  this  occasion.  Antiochus 
had  been  taken  on  liis  weak  side ;  a  low  and  sordid  jealousy, 
which  is  the  defect  and  chai'acteristic  of  little  minds,  extin- 
guished every  generous  sentiment  in  that  monarch.  Hanni- 
bal was  now  slighted  and  laid  aside  ;  he,  howcAcr,  Avas 
greatly  revenged  on  Antioclius  by  the  ill  success  this  prince 
met  with,  who  showed  how  unfortunate  that  king  is,  whose 
soul  is  accessible  to  envy,  and  his  ears  open  to  the  poisonous 
insinuation  of  flatterers. 

In  a  council  lield  some  time  after,  to  which  Hannibal, 
for  form's  sake,  was  admitted,  he,  when  it  come  to  his  turn 
to  speak,  endeavored  chiefly  to  prove,  that  Philip  of  JNIace- 
don  ought,  on  any  terms,  to  be  invited  into  the  alliance  of 
Antiochus,  which  was  not  so  difficult  as  might  be  imagined. 
"  With  regai'd,"  says  Hannibal,  "to  the  operations  of  the 
war,  I  adhere  immovably  to  my  first  opinion  ;  and  had  my 
counsels  been  listened  to  befoi-e,  Tuscany  and  Liguria  would 
now  be  all  in  a  flame,  had  Hannibal,  a  name  that  strikes 
terror  into  the  Romans,  been  in  Italy.  Though  I  should 
not  be  very  well  skilled  as  to  other  matters,  yet  the  good 
and  ill  success  I  have  met  with,  must  necessarily  have 
taught  me  sufficiently  how  to  camy  on  a  war  against  the 
Romans.  I  have  nothing  now  in  my  power,  but  to  give 
you  my  counsel,  and  offer  you  my  service.  May  the  gods 
give  success  to  all  your  undertakings."  Hannibal's  s})eech 
was  received  with  applause,  but  not  one  of  his  counsels  were 
put  in  execution.  X 

*  Liv.  1.  XXXV.  11.  42,  4.3. 

t  Nulla  ingeiiia  tarn  prona  ad  invidiam  sunt,  qiiani  eoriim  qui  genus  ac  foiv 
tnnam  sunni  animis  noii  lequaut,  in  viitutem  et  bouum  alieiium  oderuiit. 
X  liiv.  1.  xxxvi.  u.  7. 


392  ANCIENT   HISTORY, 

Antioclius,  imposed  upon  and  lulled  to  sleej)  l)y  his  flat- 
terers, remained  quiet  at  E])hosus,  after  tlie  lioinans  had 
driven  him  out  of  Greece  ;  not  once  imag-ining  that  they 
would  ever  invade  liis  dominions.*  Hannibal,  who  was 
now  restored  to  faA'or,  was  for  ever  assuring-  him,  that  the 
war  would  soon  be  removed  into  Asia,  and  tliat  he  would 
see  the  enemy  at  his  gates  :  that  lie  must  resolve  either  to 
abdicate  his  throne,  or  vigorously  ojjjiose  a  ])eo]jle  who 
grasped  at  the  emj^ire  of  the  -world.  This  discourse  waked, 
in  some  measure,  the  king  out  of  his  lethargy,  and  prompted 
him  to  make  some  weak  efforts.  But,  as  his  conduct  was 
unsteady,  after  sustaining  a  great  many  considerable  losses, 
he  was  forced  to  terminate  the  war  by  an  ignominious 
peace  ;  one  of  the  articles  of  which  was,  that  he  should 
deliver  up  Hannibal  to  the  Romans.  The  latter,  however, 
did  not  give  him  an  o])portunity  to  jnit  it  into  execution, 
retiring  to  the  island  of  Crete,  to  consider  there  what  course 
would  be  best  for  him  to  take. 

The  riches  he  had  brought  with  liim,  of  which  tJie  people 
of  the  island  had  got  some  notice,  had  like  to  have  j)roved 
his  ruin.f  Hannibal  was  never  wanting  in  stratagems,  and 
he  had  occasion  to  employ  them  now,  to  save  both  himself 
and  his  treasure.  He  filled  several  vessels  with  molten  lead, 
which  he  just  covered  with  gold  and  silver.  These  he  de- 
posited in  the  temple  of  Diana,  in  pi'esence  of  several 
Cretans,  to  whose  honesty,  he  said,  he  confided  all  his 
treasure.  A  strong  guard  was  then  posted  on  the  temple, 
^nd  Hannibal  left  at  full  liberty,  from  a  supposition  that  his 
riches  Avas  secured.  But  he  had  concealed  them  in  hollow 
statues  of  brass,  |  which  he  always  carried  along  with  him. 
And  then,  embracing  a  favorable  opportunity  he  had  of 
making  his  escape,  he  fled  to  the  court  of  Prusias,  king  of 
Bithynia.  § 

It  appears  from  history,  that  he  made  some  stay  in  the 
court  of  this  prince,  who  soon  engaged  in  war  with  Eume- 
nes,  king  of  Pergamus,  a  professed  friend  to  the  Romans. 
By  the  aid  of  Hannibal,  the  trooj)S  of  king  Prusias  gained 
several  victories  by  land  and  sea. 

He  employed  a  stratagem  of  an  extraordinary  kind,  in  a 
sea  fight.  II     The  enemy's  fleet  consisting  of  more  ships  than 

*  Liv.  1.  xxxvi.  11.  41.    t  Corn.  Nep.  in  Annnib.  c.  9,  10.    Justin.  1.  xxxii.  c.  4. 

t  These  statues  were  thrown  out  by  him,  in  a  pla<c  of  public  resort,  as  things 
of  little  value.— (jcrn.  Xep. 

§  A.  M.  3820.  A.  Itouie,  564.  Corn.  "Nep.  in  Annib.  c.  10,  11.  Jnstin.  1.  xxxiij. 
C.  4.  y  JuBtiu.  1.  xx.xii.  c.  i.    Corn.  Nep.  in  Yit-  Annib. 


r 


THE    CARTHAGINIANS.  oDS 

his,  he  had  recourse  to  artifice.  He  put  into  earthen  A'essels 
all  kinds  of  serpents,  and  ordered  these  vessels  to  be  thrown 
into  the  enemy''s  ships.  His  chief  aim  in  this  was  to  destroy 
Eumencs,  and  for  that  purpose  it  was  necessnry  for  him  to 
find  out  which  ship  he  was  on  hoard  of.  This  Hannibal 
discovered,  by  sendino;  out  a  boat,  upon  pretence  of  convey- 
ing a  letter  to  him.  Having  gained  his  point  thus  far,  he 
ordered  liis  commanders  of  the  respective  vessels  to  direct 
the  greatest  force  of  their  attacks  against  Eumenes'  ship. 
They  obeyed,  and  would  have  taken  it,  had  he  not  outsaded 
liis  pursuers.  The  rest  of  the  shijis  of  Pergamus  sustained 
the  fight  with  great  vigor,  till  the  earthen  vessels  had  been 
thrown  into  them.  At  first  they  only  laughed  at  this,  and 
were  very  mucli  surprised  to  find  such  wea])ons  em])loyed 
against  them.  But  seeing  themselves  surrour.d'd  with  ser- 
pents Avhich  flew  out  of  these  vessels  when  they  broke  to 
pieces,  they  were  seized  with  dread,  retired  in  disorder,  and 
yielded  the  victory  to  the  enemy. 

Services  of  so  important  a  nature  seemed  to  secure  for 
ever  to  Hannibal  an  undisturbed  asylum  at  that  prince's 
court.  The  Romans,  however,  would  not  suffer  him  to  be 
easy  there,  but  deputed  Q.  Flaminius  to  Prusias,  to  complain 
of  the  protection  he  gave  Hannibal.*  The  latter  readily 
conjectured  the  motive  of  this  embassy,  and  therefore  did 
not  wait  till  his  enemies  had  an  opi)ortunity  of  delivering 
him  up.  At  first  he  attempted  to  secure  himself  by  flight, 
but  perceiving  that  the  seven  secret  outlets  Avhich  he  had 
contrived  in  his  palace  were  all  seized  by  the  soldiers  of 
Prusias,  who,  by  this  jK^'fidy,  was  desii-ous  of  making  his 
court  to  the  Romans,  he  ordered  the  poison,  Avhich  he  had 
long  kept  for  this  melancholy  occasion,  to  be  brought  him ; 
and,  taking  it  in  his  hand,  "  let  us,"  said  he,  "  free  the 
Romans  from  the  disquiet  with  which  they  have  been  so 
long  tortured,  since  they  have  not  ])atience  to  wait  for  an 
old  man's  death.  The  victory  which  Flaminius  giiins  over 
a  naked,  and  betrayed  man,  will  not  do  him  much  honor. 
This  single  day  will  be  a  lasting  testimony  of  the  great 
degeneracy  of  the  Romans.  Their  ftithers  sent  notice  to 
Pyrrhus,  to  desire  he  would  beware  of  a  traitor  who  intend- 
ed to  poison  him,  and  that  at  a  time  when  this  prince  was  at 
war  with  them  in  the  very  centre  of  Italy  ;  but  their  sons 
have  deputed  a  person  of  consular  dignity  to  instigate 
Prusias  impiously  to  murder  one  who  is  not  only  his'friend, 
*  A.  M.  3822.    A.  Rome,  566.    Liv.  1.  xxxix .  n.  51. 


394  AXCTEXT    HISTORY. 

but  his  guest."  After  calling  down  curses  upon  Prusias,  and 
having  invoked  the  gods,  the  protectors  and  avengers  of  the 
sacred  rights  of  hospitality,  he  swallowed  the  poison,  and 
died  at  seventy  years  of  age.* 

This  year  was  remarkable  for  the  death  of  three  great 
men,  Hannibal,  Philopoemen,  and  Scipio,  wlio  it  is  worthy 
of  notice  all  died  out  of  their  native  countries,  in  a  manner 
far  froin  corresponding  to  the  glory  of  tlieir  actions.  The 
two  first  died  by  poison :  Hannibal  was  betrayed  by  his 
host ;  and  Philopoemen,  being  taken  prisoner  in  a  battle 
against  the  Messinians,  and  thrown  into  a  dungeon,  was 
forced  to  swallow  a  dose  of  poison.  As  to  Scipio,  he  ban- 
ished himself,  to  avoid  an  unjust  prosecution  which  was 
carrying  on  against  him  at  Rome,  and  ended  his  days  in  a 
kind  of  obscurity. 

THE  CHARACTER  AXD  EULOGIUM  OF  HAXXIBAL. 

This  Avould  be  the  proper  place  for  representing  the  ex- 
cellent qualities  of  Hannibal,  who  reflected  so  much  glory 
on  Carthage.  But,  as  I  have  attenrpted  to  draw  his  charac- 
ter elsewhere,!  and  to  give  a  just  idea  of  him,  by  making  a 
comparison  between  him  and  Scipio,  I  think  it  unnecessary 
to  give  his  eulogium  at  large  in  this  place. 

Persons  who  devote  tliemselves  to  the  profession  of 
arms,  cannot  spend  too  much  time  in  the  study  of  tins  great 
man,  Avho  is  looked  upon,  by  the  best  judges,  as  the  most 
complete  general,  in  almost  every  respect,  that  ever  the 
world  produced. 

During  the  whole  seventeen  years  (the  time  the  war 
lasted),  two  errors  only  are  objected  to  him  ;  first,  his  not 
marching,  immediately  after  the  battle  of  Cannag,  his  vic- 
torious army  to  Rome,  in  order  to  besiege  that  city;  second- 
ly, his  suffering  their  courage  to  be  softened  and  enervated, 
during  their  winter-quarters  in  Capua ;  errors,  which  only 
show  that  great  men  are  not  so  in  all  things,  surnmi  enhn 
sunt  homhies  tamen  ;  %  and  which,  perhaps,  may  be  partly 
excused. 

*  Plutarch,  according  to  his  custom,  assigns  him  three  different  deaths. 
Some,  says  he,  relate,  tliat  having  wrapptd  his  tloak  about  his  neck,  he  ordered 
his  servant  to  fix  his  knees  against  Lis  biiltocks,  and  not  to  leave  twisting  till  he 
liad  strangled  him.  Others  say,  that  in  iniiia;ion  of  Themistooles  and  Midas, 
he  drank  bull's  i.lood.  Livy  tells  dS,  that  Hannibal  drank  a  poison  which  he 
always  <arried  about  him  ;  and  taking  the  cup  into  his  hands,  cried,  "  Let  ua 
free,"  &c. — In  Via  Flaminii. 

t  Vol.  II.  of  the  method  of  studying  and  teaching  the  Belles  Letties. 

X  Quiuciil, 


THE    CARTHAGINIANS.  395 

But  then,  for  these  two  errors,  what  a  multitii^le  of  shin- 
ing qualities  appear  in  Hannibal !  How  extensive  were  his 
views  and  designs,  even  in  his  most  tender  years  !  What 
greatness  of  soul!  what  intrepidity!  what  presence  of  mind 
must  he  have  possessed,  to  be  able,  even  in  the  fire  and  heat 
of  action,  to  take  all  advantages !  With  what  surprising 
address  must  he'  have  managed  the  minds  of  men,  that 
amidst  so  great  a  variety  of'nations  as  composed  his  army, 
who  often  Avere  in  want  both  of  money  and  provisions,  his 
camp  M^as  not  once  disturbed  with  an  insurrection,  either 
against  himself  or  any  of  his  generals !  With  what  equity, 
what  moderation,  must  he  have  behaved  towards  his  new 
allies,  to  have  ])revailed  so  far,  as  to  attach  them  inviolably 
to  his  service,  though  he  was  reduced  to  the  necessity  of 
making  them  sustain  almost  the  whole  burden  of  the  w^ar, 
by  quartering  his  army  upon  them,  and  levying  contribu- 
tions in  their  several  countries  I  In  fine,  now  fruitful  must 
he  have  been  in  expedients,  to  be  able  to  carry  on,  for  so 
many  years,  the  war  in  a  remote  country,  in  spite  of  the 
violent  opposition  made  by  a  powerful  domestic  faction, 
which  refused  him  supplies  of  every  kind,  and  thwarted  him 
on  all  occasions  !  It  may  be  affirmed,  that  Hannibal,  during 
the  whole  series  of  this  war,  seemed  the  only  proj)  of  the 
state,  and  the  soul  of  every  part  of  the  emj)ire  of  the  Car- 
thaginians, who  could  never  believe  themselves  conquered, 
till  Hannibal  confessed  that  he  himself  was  so. 

But  that  man  must  know  the  character  of  Hannibal  very 
imperfectly,  who  should  consider  him  only  at  the  head  of 
armies.  The  particulars  we  learn  fi'om  history,  concerning 
the  secret  intelligence  he  held  with  Philip  of  Macedon  ;  the 
wise  counsels  he  gave  to  Antiochus,  king  of  Syria ;  the 
double  regulation  he  introduced  in  Carthage,  with  regard  to 
the  management  of  the  public  revenues  and  the  administra- 
tion of  justice,  ])rove  that  he  was  a  great  statesman  in  every 
respect.  So  superior  and  universal  was  his  genius,  that  it 
took  in  all  parts  of  government ;  and  so  great  were  his 
natural  abilities,  that  he  was  capable  of  acquitting  himself 
in  all  the  various  functions  of  it  Avith  glory.  Hannibal  shone 
as  conspicuously  in  the  cabinet  as  in  the  field ;  equally  able 
to  fill  civil  or  military  employments.  In  a  word,  he  united 
in  his  own  person,  the  different  talents  and  merits  of  all  pro- 
fessions, the  sword,  the  gown,  and  the  finances. 

He  had  some  learning ;  and  though  he  was  so  much  em- 
ployed in  military  labors,  and  engaged  in  so  many  wars,  he, 


396  AJfOIEJfT    HISTORY. 

however,  fonnd  leisure  to  cultivate  the  muses.*  Several 
smart  repartees  of  Hanni])al,  which  have  been  transmitted 
to  us,  show  that  he  had  a  great  fund  of  natural  Avit ;  and 
this  he  improved,  by  the  most  polite  education  that  could 
be  bestowed  at  that  time,  in  such  a  republic  as  Carthasre. 
He  spoke  Greek  tolerably  well,  and  wrote  several  1  ooks  in 
that  language.  His  preceptor  M^as  a  Lacedaemonian  (Solsius), 
who,  with  Philcnius,  another  Lacedaemonian,  accompanied 
him  in  all  his  expeditions.  Both  these  undertook  to  write 
the  history  of  this  renowned  warrior. 

With  regard  to  his  religion  and  moral  conduct,  he  was 
not  so  profligate  and  wicked  as  he  is  represented  liy  Livy ; 
"cruel  even  to  inhumanity;  more  perfidious  ih;n  a  Cartha- 
ginian ;  regardless  of  truth,  of  ]irobity,  of  the  sacred  ties  of 
oaths ;  fearless  of  the  gods,  and  utterly  void  of  religion." 
Inhumana  crudelitas,  perfidia  plusquam  Pnnica  :  niliil 
veri,  nihil  sancti^  ntdius  deum  mefuy,  nullum  Jus  Jurandum^ 
nulla  relif/io.f  According  to  Polybius,  he  rejected  a  bar- 
barous proposal  that  a\  as  made  to  him,  before  he  entered 
-Italy,  of  eating  human  flesh,  at  a  time  when  his  army  was 
in  absolute  want  of  jirovisions.  t  Some  years  after,  so  far 
from  treating  with  barbarity,  as  he  was  advised  to  do,  the 
dead  body  of  Sempronius  Gracchus,  which  Mago  had  sent 
him,  he  caused  his  funeral  obsequies  to  be  solemnized  in 
presence  of  the  whole  army.§  We  have  seen  him,  on  many 
occasions,  showing  the  highest  reverence  for  the  gods  ;  and 
Justin,  who  copied  Trogus  Pompeius,  an  author  Avorlhy  of 
credit,  observes  that  he  always  showed  uncommon  wisdom 
and  continence,  with  regard  to  the  great  number  of  women 
taken  by  him  during  the  course  of  so  long  a  war  ;  insomuch, 
that  no  one  would  have  imagined  he  had  been  born  in  Af- 
rica, where  incontinence  is  the  predominant  vice  of  the 
country.  Pudicitiamqtie  eum  tantum  inter  tot  captivas 
habuisse,  ut  in  Africa  nuturn  qiiivis  negaret.  || 

His  disregard  of  wealth  at  a  time  when  he  had  so  many 
opportunities  to  enrich  himself,  by  the  plunder  of  the  cities 
he  stormed,  and  the  nations  he  subdued,  shows,  that  he 
knew  the  true  and  genuine  use  which  a  general  ought  to 
make  of  riches,  A'iz. :  to  gain  th.e  affection  of  his  soldiers, 
and  to  attach  allies  to  his  interest,  by  diffusing  his  benefi- 
cence  on   proper   occasions,  and   not  being  sparing  in  his 

•  Atque  liic  taiitus  vir,  tantis  lue  beUis  distractus,  noimiliil  tiimporis  tribuit 
Uteris,  &c. — Corn.  Nep.  in  Vita  Aniiib.  cap.  l.S.  t  Lib.  xxi-  ii.  4. 

+  Excerpt,  e  Polyb.  p.  33.  §  Kxcerpt   1  Dio»l.  p.  282.     Liv.  1.  xxv.  n.  17. 

11  Lib.  xxxiii.  c.  4. 


THE    CARTHAGTXIAXS.  307 

rewards;  a  very  essential  quality,  but  very  uncoinmon  in  a 
commander.  The  only  use  Hannibal  made  of  money  was 
to  purchase  success ;  firmly  ])crsuaded,  tliat  a  man  wlio  is  at 
the  her.d  of  affairs  is  sufficiently  recompensed  by  the  glory 
deri^■ed  from  victory. 

He  always  led  a  very  regular,  austere  life  ;  and  even  in 
times  of  peace,  and  in  the  midst  of  Carthage,  when  he  was 
invested  with  the  first  dignity  of  the  citj',  Ave  are  told  that 
he  never  used  to  recline  himself  on  a  bed  at  meals,  as  was 
the  custom  in  those  ages,  and  drank  but  very  little  wino.* 
So  regular  and  uniform  a  life  may  serve  as  an  illustrious 
example  to  our  commanders,  who  often  include  among  the 
privileges  of  war,  and  the  duty  of  officers,  the  keeping  of 
splendid  tables,  and  luxurious  living. 

But,  notwithstanding  those  eulogiums,  I  do  not,  how- 
ever, pretend  to  justify  entirely  all  the  errors  and  defects 
with  which  Hannibal  is  charged.  Though  he  possessed  an 
assemblage  of  the  most  exalted  qualities,  it  cannot  be  denied 
tliat  he  had  some  little  tincture  of  the  vices  of  his  country : 
and  that  it  would  be  difficult  to  excuse  some  actions  and  cir- 
cumstances of  his  life.  Polybius  observes,  that  Hannibal 
was  accused  of  avarice  in  Carthage,  and  of  cruelty  in 
Rome.f  He  adds,  on  the  same  occasion,  that  })eo])le  were 
very  much  divided  in  o])inion  concerning  liim  ;  and  it  would 
be  no  wonder,  as  he  had  made  himself  so  many  enemies  in 
both  cities,  that  they  should  have  drawn  him  in  disadvan- 
tageous colors.  But  Polybius  is  of  ojnnion,  that  though  it 
should  be  taken  for  granted,  that  all  the  defects  with  Avhich 
lie  is  charged  are  true,  we  yet  ought  to  conclude,  that  they 
were  not  so  much  owing  to  his  nature  and  dis]>osition,  as  to 
tlie  difficulties  with  which  he  was  surrounded  in  the  course 
of  so  long  and  laborious  a  war;  and  to  the  complacency  he 
was  obliged  to  sliow  to  the  general  officers,  whose  assistance 
he  absolutely  wanted  for  the  execution  of  his  various  enter- 
prises ;  and  whom  he  was  not  always  able  to  restrain,  any 
more  than  he  could  the  soldiers  who  fought  under  them. 

SECTION    n. DISSENSIONS    BETWEEN    THE    CARTHAGINIANS 

AND    MASINISSA,    KING    OF    NUMIDIA. 

Among  the  conditions  of  the  peace  granted  to  the  Car- 

*  Cibi  potionisqiie,  desiderio  iiaturali,  iion  voluptate,  modus  finitus — Liv.  1. 
xxi.  11.  4. 

Constat  Aiiiiibalem  iiec  tuiu  cam  Romano  toiiantem  beUo  Italia  coiitremuit, 
liec  cum  reversus  Carthagliiem  siimmnm  impeiium  tenuit.  aiit  cubantem 
cceiia8tse,aut  plus  quam  Kcxtario  vini  indulsissc. — Justin.  1.  xxxii.  c.  4. 

t  Exceipt.  e  Polyb.  pp.  3 1,  37. 


AXCIEXT    HISTORY. 

thaginians,  there  Avas  one  which  imported,  that  they  shouM 
restore  to  Masinissa  all  the  territories  and  cities  he  ]iossessed 
before  the  war  ;  and  Scipio,  to  reward  the  zeal  and  fidelity 
which  that  monarch  had  shown  with  regard  to  the  Romans, 
had  also  added  to  his  dominions  those  of  Syphax.  This 
presently  afterwards  gaA'e  rise  to  dis]>utes  and  quai'rels  be- 
tween the  Carthaginians  and  Xumidians. 

These  two  princes,  Sy])hax  and  Masinissa,  were  both 
kings  in  Xumidia,  but  reigned  in  different  parts  of  it.  The 
subjects  of  Syphax  were  called  Masajsuli,  and  their  capital 
was  Cirtha.  Those  of  Masinissa  were  the  Massyli  ;  but 
both  these  nations  are  better  known  by  the  name  of  Numid- 
ians,  which  was  common  to  them.  Their  principal  strength 
consisted  in  their  cavalry.  They  always  rode  without  sad- 
dles, and  some  even  without  bridles,  whence  Yirgil  called 
them  Nutnidm  infrcuni* 

In  the  beginning  of  the  second  Punic  Avar,  Syphax  adhe- 
ring to  the  Romans,  Gala,  the  father  of  Masinissa,  to  check 
the  career  of  so  powerful  a  neighbor,  thought  it  liis  interest 
to  join  the  Carthaginians,  and  accordingly  sent  out  against 
Syphax  a  powerful  army,  under  the  conduct  of  his  son,  at 
that  time  but  seventeen  years  of  age.  f  Syphax  being  over- 
come in  a  battle,  in  Avhich  it  is  said  he  lost  thirty  thousand 
men,  escaped  into  Mauritania.  The  face  of  things,  hoAv- 
ever,  Avas  afterwards  greatly  changed. 

Masinissa,  after  his  father's  death,  Avas  often  reduced  to 
the  brink  of  ruin;  being  driven  from  his  kingdom  by  an 
xisur]>er ;  closely  ])ursued  by  Syphax ;  in  danger  every  in- 
stant of  falling  into  the  hands  of  his  enemies  ;  and  destitute 
of  forces,  money,  and  almost  every  thing.  X  He  Avas  at  that 
time  in  alliance  Avith  the  Romans,  and  the  friend  of  Sci])io, 
with  Avhom  he  liad  an  intervicAV  in  Spain.  His  misfortunes 
Avould  not  permit  him  to  bring  gi-eat  succors  to  that  general. 
When  Lfelius  arrived  in  Africa,  Masinissa  joined  him  Avith 
a  few  liorse,  and  from  that  tiine  Avas  iuA'iolably  attached  to 
the  Roman  interest.  §  Syjihax,  on  the  contrary,  having 
maiTied  the  famous  Sophonisba,  daughter  of  Asdrubal,  Avent 
OA'er  to  the  Carthaginians. 

The  fortune  of  these  two  princes  noAV  underAvent  a  final 
change.  ||  Syphax  lost  a  great  battle,  and  Avas  taken  ali\e 
by  the  enemy.  Masinissa,  the  A'ictor,  besieged  Cirtha,  his 
capital,  and  took  it.     But  he  met  AA'ith  a  greater  danger  in 

*  ^n.  1.  iv.  ver.  41.         +  Liv.  1.  xxiv.  n.  48,  49.         %  Liv.  1.  xxix.  n.  29-at. 
§  lav- 1.  XMX.  u.Zi.         II  Liv.  1.  xxx.  u.  11, 12. 


THK    CAHTHAGIXIANS,  399 

that  city  than  he  had  faced  in  the  fiehl,  in  the  charms  and 
endearments  of  Sophonisba,  which  he  was  unable  to  resist. 
To  secure  this  ])rincess  to  himself  he  married  her ;  but  a 
few  daj^s  after,  he  was  obliged  to  send  her  a  dose  of  poison, 
as  her  nuptial  present ;  this  being  the  only  way  left  him  to 
keep  his  jiromise  with  his  queen,  and  preserve  her  from  the 
power  of  the  Romans. 

This  was  a  great  fault  in  itself,  and  must  necessarily 
have  disobliged  a  nation  that  was  so  jealous  of  its  authority  : 
but  this  young  prince  repaired  it  gloriously  by  the  signal 
services  he  afterwards  rendered  Scipio.  We  observed, 
that  after  the  defeat  and  capture  of  Syphax,  the  dominions 
of  this  pi-ince  were  bestowed  upon  him  ;  and  that  'the  Car- 
thaginians Avere  forced  to  restore  all  he  possessed  before.* 
This  gave  rise  to  the  divisions  we  are  now  about  to  relate. 

A  territory  situated  towards  the  sea-side,  near  the  Lesser 
Syrtis,  was  the  subject  of  those  contests. f  The  country 
was  very  rich,  and  the  soil  extremely  fruitful,  a  proof  of 
which  is,  that  the  city  of  Leptis  only,  which  belonged  to 
that  territory,  paid  daily  a  talent  to  the  Carthaginiims,  by 
way  of  tribute.  Masinissa  had  seized  part  of  this  ter- 
ritory. Each  side  des})atched  deputies  to  Rome,  to  ])lead 
the  cause  of  their  superiors  before  the  senate.  This  as- 
sembly thought  })roper  to  send  Scipio  Africanus,  with  two 
other  commissioners,  to  examine  the  controversy  u])on  the 
spot.  However,  they  returned  without  coming  to  any  res- 
olution, and  left  the  business  in  the  same  uncertain  state  in 
which  tliey  had  found  it.  Possibly  they  acted  in  this  manner 
by  order  of  the  senate,  and  had  received priAate  instructions 
to  favor  Masinissa,  Avho  Avas  then  j)ossessed  of  the  district 
in  question. 

Ten  years  after,  ucav  commissioners  haA'ing  been  aj)- 
pointed  to  examine  the  same  affair,  they  acted  as  the  former 
had  done,  and  left  the  Avhole  undetermined. J 

After  the  like  distance  of  time,  the  Carthaginians  again 
brouglit  their  complaint  to  the  senate,  but  with  greater  im- 
portunity than  before.  §  They  represented,  that  besides 
the  territories  at  first  in  dispute,  Masinissa  had  during  the 
two  preceding  years,  dispossesed  them  of  upAvards  of  sev- 
enty toAvns  and  castles  :  that-  their  hands  Avere  bound  up 
by  the  article  of  the  last  treaty,  Avhich  forbade  their  mak- 
ing Avar  upon   any  of  the  allies  of  the  Romans  ;  that  they 

*  Liv.  1.  XXX.  n.  44.  t  Liv.  1.  xxxiv.  n.  62. 

t  A.  M.  3823.    A.  Rome,  56T.    LiT.  1.  xi.  n.  17- 

§  A.  M.  3833.    A.  Kome,  577.    Liv.  1.  xlii.  n.  23,  24. 


400  AXCIENT    HISTORY. 

could  no  longer  bear  the  insolence,  the  avarice,  and  cruelty 
of  that  prince  ;  that  they  were  deputed  to  Rome  with  three 
requests,  whicli  they  desired  might  be  immediately  complied 
with,  viz. :  either  to  get  orders  to  have  the  affair  exmnined 
and  decided  by  the  senate ;  or,  secondly,  that  they  might 
be  permitted  to  repel  force  by  force,  and  defend  themselves 
by  arms;  or,  lastly,  that  if  favor  was  to  prevail  over  justice, 
they  then  entreated  the  Romans  to  specify,  once  for  all, 
which  of  tlie  Carthaginian  lands  they  were  desirous  sliould 
be  vested  in  Masinissa,  that  they,  by  this  means,  might 
hereafter  know  what  they  had  to  depend  on  ;  and  that  the 
Roman  peo])le  would  have  some  regard  to  them,  at  a  time 
when  this  prince  set  no  other  bounds  to  his  pretensions,  than 
his  insatiable  avarice.  The  deputies  concluded  with  be- 
seeching the  Rinnans,  that  if  the  Carthaginians  had  been 
guilty  of  any  crimes  with  regard  to  them,  since  the  conclu- 
sion of  the  last  peace,  that  they  themselves  would  punish 
them  for  it ;  and  not  give  them  up  to  the  wild  caprice  of  a 
prince,  by  whom  their  liberties  were  made  ]irecarious,  and 
their  lives  insup])ortable.  After  ending  their  speech,  being 
pierced  with  grief,  they  fell  jirostrate  u})on  the  earth,  and 
burst  into  tears  ;  a  scene  that  moved  all  vslio  were  ju'csent 
to  compassion,  and  raised  a  violent  hatred  against  Masinissa. 
Gulussa,  his  son,  who  was  then  ])resent,  being  asked  what 
he  had  to  reply,  answered,  that  his  father  had  not  given 
him  any  instructions,  not  knowing  that  any  thing  Would  be 
laid  to  his  charge.  He  only  desired  tlie  senate  to  reflect, 
that  the  circumstance  Avhich  drew  all  this  hatred  u]5on  him 
from  the  Carthaginians,  was  tlie  inviolable  fidelity  with 
which  lie  had  always  been  attached  t  >  them.  The  senate, 
after  hearing  both  sides,  answered,  that  they  were  inclined 
to  do  justice  to  that  party  to  whom  it  was  due  ;  that  Gulussa 
should  set  out  immediately  with  their  orders  to  his  father, 
who  thereby  was  commanded  to  send  deputies  with  those  of 
Carthage ;  that  they  would  do  all  that  lay  in  their  ])ower  to 
serve  him,  but  not  to  the  prejudice  of  the  Carthaginians  ; 
that  it  was  but  just  the  ancient  limits  should  be  ])reserA'ed  ; 
and  that  it  was  far  from  being  the  intention  of  the  Romans, 
to  have  the  Carthaginians  dispossessed,  during  the  peace,  of 
those  territories  and  cities  which  had  been  left  them  by 
tlie  treaty.  The  deputies  of  both  powers  were  tlien  dis- 
missed with  the  usual  presents. 

All  the  assurances,  however,  were  but  mere  words.     It 
is  i)lain  that  the  Romans  did  not  once  endeavor  to  satisfy 


THE    CARTHAGIXIAiyS.  401 

the  Carthaginians,  or  do  them  tlie  least  justice  ;  and  tliat 
they  ])rotracted  the  business,  on  ])urposc  to  give  Masinissa 
an  o])portunity  to  establish  himself  in  his  usurpation,  and 
weaken  his  enemies.* 

*  A  new  deputation  was  sent  to  examine  the  affair  upon 
the  spot,  and  Cato  was  one  of  the  commissioners,  f  On 
their  arrival,  they  asked  the  ])arties  if  they  v\'ere  Avilling  to 
abide  by  their  determination.  Masinissa  readily  complied. 
The  Carthaginians  answered,  that  they  had  a  fixed  rule  to 
which  they  adhered,  and  that  this  was  the  treaty  which  had 
been  concluded  with  Scipio,  and  desired  that  their  cause 
might  be  examined  with  all  possible  rigor.  They  there- 
fore could  not  come  to  any  decision.  The  deputies  visited 
all  the  country,  and  found  it  in  a  veiy  good  condition, 
especially  the  city  of  Carthage  ;  and  they  were  surprised  to 
see  it,  after  being  involved  in  such  a  calamity,  again  raised 
to  so  exalted  a  jdtch  of  power  and  grandeur.  The  senate 
was  told  of  this,  immediately  on  the  return  of  the  deputies ; 
and  declared  that  Rome  could  never  be  in  safety,  so  long  as 
Carthage  shoidd  subsist.  From  this  time,  whatever  affair 
was  debated  in  the  senate,  Cato  always  added  the  following 
words  to  his  opinion,  J  conclude  that  Carthage  owjlit  to  he 
destroyed.  This  grave  senator  did  not  give  himself  the 
trouble  to  prove,  that  bare  jealousy  of  the  growing  poAver 
of  a  neighboring  state  is  a  sufficient  cause  for  destroying  a 
city,  contrary  to  the  faith  of  treaties.  But  Scipio  Nasica 
was  of  o))inion,  that  the  ruin  of  this  city  would  draw  after 
it  that  of  their  commonwealth ;  because  the  Romans,  having 
then  no  rival  to  fear,  would  quit  the  ancient  severity  of  their 
manners,  and  abandon  themselves  to  luxury  and  pleasures, 
the  never-failing  subverters  of  the  most  flourishing  empires. 
In  the  mean  time  divisions  broke  out  in  Carthage.  % 
The  popular  faction,  having  now  become  su])erior  to  that  of 
the  grandees  and  senatoi-s,  sent  forty  citizens  into  banish- 
ment;  and  bound  the  peojile  by  an  oath,  never  to  suffer  the 
least  mention  to  be  made  of  recalling  those  exiles.  They 
withdrew  to  the  court  of  Masinissa,  who  despatched  Gulussa 
and  Micipsa,  his  two  sons,  to  Carthage,  to  solicit  their 
return.  But  the  gates  of  the  city  were  shut  against  them, 
and  one  of  them  was  closely  pursued  by  Ilamilcar,  one 
of  the  generals  of  the  republic.  This  gave  rise  to  a  new 
war,  and  accordingly  armies  were  levied  on  both  sides.     A 

*  Polyb.  p.  951.        \  A.  M.  3848.    A.  Rome,  582.    App.  de  Bell.  Pun.  p.  37. 
J,App.  p.  38. 

26 


402  ANCIENT    niSTOUY.  ' 

battle  was  fought ;  and  the  younger  Scipio,  who  afterwards 
ruined  Carthage,  was  spectator  of  it.  He  liad  been  sent 
from  Lucullus  in  Spain,  under  whom  Scipio  then  fought,  to 
Masinissa,  to  desire  some  ele])liants  from  that  monarch. 
During  the  wliole  engagement,  lie  stood  u])on  a  neighboring 
hill,  and  was  surprised  to  see  3Iasinissa,  then  eighty-eight 
years  of  age,  mounted,  agreeably  to  tlie  custom  of  his  coun- 
try, on  a  horse  without  a  saddle  ;  flying  from  rank  to  rank, 
like  a  young  ofiicer,  and  sustaining  the  most  arduous  toils. 
The  fight  was  very  obstinate,  and  continued  all  day,  but 
at  last  the  Carthaginians  gave  way.  Scipio  used  to  say 
afterwards,  that  he  had  been  present  at  many  bnttles,  but  at 
none  with  so  much  pleasure  as  this ;  having  never  before 
beheld  so  formidable  an  army  engage,  without  any  danger 
or  trouble  to  himself.  And  being  very  conversant  in  the 
writings  of  Homer,  he  added,  that  till  his  time,  tliere  were 
but  two  more  Avho  had  been  spectators  of  such  an  action, 
viz. :  Jupiter  from  mount  Ida,  and  Neptune  from  Samothrace, 
when  the  Greeks  and  Trojans  fought  before  Troy.  I  know 
not  whether  the  sight  of  a  hundred  thousand  men  (the 
number  engaged),  butchering  one  another,  can  administer  a 
real  pleasure,  or  whether  such  a  ])leasure  is  consistent  with 
the  sentiments  of  humanity,  so  natural  to  mankind. 

The  Carthaginians,  after  the  battle  was  over,  entreated 
Scipio  to  terminate  their  contests  with  Masinissa.*  Ac- 
cordingly, he  heard  both  parties,  and  the  Carthaginians  con- 
sented to  relinquish  the  territory  of  Emporium,!  which  had 
been  the  first  cause  of  their  division  ;  to  pay  Masinissa  two 
hundred  talents  of  silver  down,  and  eight  hundred  more  at 
such  times  as  shoidd  be  agreed  on.  But  Masinissa  insisting 
on  the  return  of  the  exiles,  they  did  not  come  to  any  decis- 
ion. Scipio,  after  having  paid  his  compliments,  and  re- 
turned thanks  to -Masinissa,  set  out 'with  the  elej)hants  for 
which  he  had  been  sent. 

The  king,  immediately  after  the  battle  was  over,  had 
blocked  up  the  enemy's  camp,  which  Avas  pitched  upon  a 
hill,  where  neither  troojjs  nor  provisions  could  come  to 
them,  t  During  this  interval,  there  arrived   deputies  from 

*  App.  lie  BeU.  Pun.  p.  40. 

t  Einporiinii,  or  Emporia,  was  a  country  of  Africa,  on  the  Lesser  Syrtis,  in 
which  Ijeptifl  stood.  No  part  of  the  Cailhaginiau  doniiiiions  was  more  fruitful 
than  this.  Polybius,  1.  1,  says,  that  the  revenue  that  arose  from  thin  place  was 
BO  considerable,  that  all  their  lioijes  were  almost  founded  on  itjcrA.?,  viz.  :  their 
revenues  from  Emporia,  tixo"  '^'^^  fif.yia-Ta-;  «'A7n6'>?.  To  this  was  owing  their  care 
and  state- jealonsy  above  mentioned,  lest  the  Romans  should  s.Til  hfyond.  tho  Fair 
Promontory,  tliat  lay  before  Carthage,  and  become  acquainted  with  a  country 
which  might  induce  them  to  attempt  the  conquest  of  it. 

t  App.  de  Bell.  Puu,  p.  40. 


THE    CARTIlAGI^flANS.  403 

Rome,  with  orders  from  the  senate  to  decifle  the  quarn'l, 
in  case  tlie  kin<»'  slioiild  be  defeated,  otherwise  to  leave  it 
undetermined,  and  to  o;ive  the  Icing  the  strongest  assurance 
of  the  continuation  of  their  friendshi}),  which  they  did.  In 
the  mean  tim.e,  the  famine  daily  increased  in  the  enemy's 
camp,  which,  being  heightened  by  the  plague,  occasioned  a 
new  calamity,  and  made  dreadful  havoc.  Being  now  re- 
duced to  the  last  extremity,  they  surrendered  to  Masinissa, 
promising  to  deliver  up  the  deserters,  to  pay  him  five  thou- 
sand talents  of  silver  in  fifty  years,  and  restore  the  exiles, 
notwithstanding  their  oaths  to  the  contrary.  They  all 
submitted  to  the  ignominious  ceremony  of  passing  under  the 
yoke,*  and  were  dismissed  with  only  one  suit  of  clothes  for 
each.  Gulussa,  to  satiate  his  vengeance  for  the  ill  treatmeiit 
which  we  before  observed  he  had  met  wdth,  sent  out  against 
them  a  body  of  cavalry,  whom,  from  their  great  weakness, 
they  could  neither  esca})e  nor  resist;  so  that,  of  lifty-eight 
thousand  men,  very  few  returned  to  Carthage. 

ARTICLE    III. THE    THIRD  PUNIC  WAR. 

The  third  Punic  war,  which  was  less  considerable  than 
either  of  the  former,  with  regard  to  the  nund)er  and  great- 
ness of  the  battles,  and  its  continuance,  which  was  ordy  four 
years,  was  still  more  remarkable  with  resj^ect  to  the  success 
and  event  of  it,  as  it  ended  in  the  total  ruin  and  destruction 
of  Carthage. t 

The  inhabitants,  from  their  last  defeat,  knew  what  they 
might  naturally  fear  from  the  Romans,  from  whom  they  liad 
always  met  with  the  most  rigorous  treatment,  after  they  had 
addressed  them  upon  their  disputes  with  Masinissa.  t  To 
prevent  the  consequences  of  it,  the  Carthaginians,  by  a  de- 
cree of  tlie  senate,  impeached  Asdrubal,  general  of  the  army, 
and  Carthalo,  commander  of  the  auxiliary  forces,  as  guilty 
of  liigh  treason,  for  being  the  authors  of  the  war  against  the 
king  of  Numidia.  §  They  then  sent  a  deputation  to  Rome, 
to  inquire  what  opinion  that  republic  entertained  of  their 
late  proceedings,  and  wdiat  was  desired  of  them.  The  de])- 
uties  were  coldly  answered,  that  it  was  the  business  of  the 
senate  and  peo})le  of  Carthage  to  know  what  satisfaction 

*  lis  fuieiit  tons  passes  lo  jouc; ; — sub  jugum  niissi.  A  kind  of  gallows,  made 
by  two  forked  stifiks  standing  upright,  waKerecte<l,an<l  a  spear  laid  acioss,  under 
whieli  vanqui-hed  enemies  were  obliged  to  pass.— Fcstus. 

t  A.  51.  ;«35.  A.  Carth.  (V.n.  A.  Rome.  5>M.  Ant.  .}.('..  ItO.     t  Appian.  pp.  41,  42. 

§  The  foreign  forces  were  commanded  by  loaders  of  their  respective  nations, 
■who  were  all  under  the  command  of  a  Carthaginian  oflicer,  called  by  Appian, 


404  ANCIENT    HISTOUY. 

was  due  to  the  Romans.  A  second  deputation  hrinsfing 
thera  no  clearer  answer,  they  fell  into  tlie  greatest  dejection, 
and  being  seized  witli  the  strongest  terrors,  upon  recollect- 
ing their  past  sufferings,  they  fancied  the  enemy  was  already 
at  their  gates,  and  imagined  to  themselves  all  the  dismal 
consequences  of  a  long  siege,  and  a  city  taken  by  the 
sword.* 

In  the  mean  time  the  senate  debated  at  Rome,  on  the 
measures  it  would  be  pro])er  for  them  to  take,  and  the  dis- 
putes between  Cato  and  Scipio  Xasica,  Avho  were  of  quite 
different  opinions  on  this  subject,  were  renewed. f  The 
former,  on  his  return  from  Africa,  had  declared,  in  the 
strongest  terms,  that  he  had  not  found  Carthage  exhausted 
of  men  or  money,  nor  in  so  weak  and  humble  a  state  as  the 
Romans  supposed  it  to  be ;  but  on  the  contrary,  that  it  was 
crowded  with  vigorous  young  men,  abounded  with  immense 
quantities  of  gold  and  silver,  and  prodigious  magazines  of 
arms  and  all  warlike  stores ;  and  was  so  haughty  and  con- 
fident on  account  of  this  force,  that  their  hopes  and  ambition 
had  no  bounds.  It  is  farther  said,  that  after  he  had  ended 
his  speech,  he  threw  out  of  the  fold  of  his  robe  into  the 
midst  of  the  senate,  some  African  figs,  and  as  the  senators 
admired  their  beauty  and  size,  I\now^  says  lie,  that  it  is  hut 
three  days  since  these  jigs  were  gathered.  Such  is  the  dis- 
tance betioeen  the  enemy  and  us.  t 

Cato  and  Xasica  had  each  of  them  their  reasons  for  vo- 
ting as  they  did.  §  Nasica,  observing  that  the  people  rose 
to  such  a  height  of  insolence,  as  threw  them  into  excesses  of 
every  kind;  that  their  pros] )erity  had  swelled  them  with  a 
pride  which  their  senate  itself  was  not  able  to  check  ;  and 
that  their  power  had  become  so  enormous,  that  they  were 
able  to  draw  the  city,  by  force,  into  eveiy  mad  design  they 
might  undertake,  was  desirous  that  they  should  continue  in 
fear  of  Carthage,  as  a  curb  to  restrain  their  audacious  con- 
duct. For  it  was  his  opinion,  that  the  Carthaginians  were 
too  weak  to  subdue  the  Romans,  and  at  the  same  time  so 
powerful,  that  it  was  not  for  the  interest  of  the  Romans  to 
consider  them  in  a  contemptible  light.  With  regard  to 
Cato,  he  thought,  that  as  his  countrymen  Avere  become 
haughty  and  insolent  by  success,  and  plunged  headlong  into 
dissipation  of  every  kind ;  nothing  could  be  more  dangerous 
than  for  it  to  have  a  rival  city,  to  Avhom  the   Romans  were 

*  Pint,  in  vita  Cat.  p.  252.  t  Ibid.  p.  352. 

t  Plin.  1.  XV.  c.  18.  §  Plut.  ibid,  in  vita  Cat. 


THE    CARTIIAGIXIANS.  405 

odious ;  a  city  that,  till  now,  had  been  powei-ful,  but  Avas  be- 
come, even  by  its  misfortunes,  more  wise  and  jtrovident  than 
ever ;  and  therefore,  that  it  would  not  be  safe  to  remoA^e 
tlie  fears  of  the  inhabitants  entirely  with  regard  to  a  foreign 
])ower,  since  they  had,  within  their  own  walls,  all  the  oppor- 
tunities of  indulging  tliemselves  in  excesses  of  every  kind. 

To  lay  aside,  for  one  instant,  the  laws  of  equity,  I  leave 
the  reader  to  determine  which  of  these  two  great  men  rea- 
soned most  justly,  according  to  the  maxims  of  sound  policy, 
and  the  true  interests  of  a  state.  One  undoubted  circum- 
stance is,  that  all  liistorians  have  observed  that  there  was  a 
sensible  change  in  the  conduct  and  government  of  the  Ro- 
mans, immediately  after  the  ruin  of  Carthage ;  *  that  vice 
no  longer  made  its  way  into  Rome  Arith  a  timorous  pace, 
and  as  it  were  by  stealth,  but  appeared  openly,  and  seized, 
Avith  astonishing  ra])idity,  all  orders  of  the  republic  ;  that 
senators,  plebeians,  in  a  Avord,  all  conditions,  abandoned 
themseh'es  to  luxury  and  voluptuousness,  Avithout  haA'ing 
the  least  reg.ird  to,  or  sense  of  decency,  which  occasioned, 
as  it  must  necessarily,  the  ruin  of  the  state.  "  The  first 
Scipio,"  t  says  Paterculus,  speaking  of  the  Romans,  "  had  laid 
the  foundations  of  their  future  grandeur  ;  and  the  last,  by  his 
conquests,  had  opened  a  door  to  all  manner  of  luxury  and 
dissoluteness.  For  after  Carthage,  Avhich  obliged  Rome  to 
stand  for  ever  on  its  guard,  by  disputing  empire  Avith  that 
city,  had  been  totally  destroyed,  the  de]>ravity  of  manners 
was  no  longer  sIoav  in  its  progress,  but  SAvelled  at  once  be- 
yond all  conception." 

Be  this  as  it  may,  the  senate  resolved  to  declare  war 
against  the  Carthaginians ;  and  the  reasons,  or  pretences, 
urged  for  it,  were  their  keeping  up  ships,  contrary  to  the  ten- 
or of  treaties  ;  their  sending  an  army  out  of  their  territories, 
against  a  prince  Avho  was  in  alliance  Avith  Rome,  and  Avhose 
son  they  treated  ill,  at  the  time  he  Avas  accompanied  by  a 
Roman  ambassador,  t 

An  e^'ent  tlint  by  chance  occurred  A'ery  fortunately  Avhile 
the  senate  of  Rome  Avas  debating  on  the  affair  of  Carthage, 

*  Ubi  CarUiago,  et  .'rmula  imperii  Romani  ab  stirpe  iiiteriit,  Fortuua  sjevire 
ae  niiscere  omnia  t'cepit. — Sallustin  liell.  ("atilin. 

Ante  (JartUagiiiem  deletam,  populus  et  nenatus  Bomaiius  placide  modesteque 
inter  se  Kemp.  tiactabant.—Metus  hostilis  ill  bonis  artibus  civiialem  retliiebat. 
Sedubi  forniido  ilia  men  tibus  decessit.  illicet  ea,  q  -le  seeunda;  re.-iaraaut,  lagcivla 
atque  superbia  incessfire.— Sallust  in  Bello  Jujiurthino. 

t  Potentin  UoMianorum  prior  Soipio  viam  apernerat.  hixuriai  posterior  ape- 
ruit  Qnippe  remoto  Oartbaginis  metn,  siiblataque  imperii  ieitiula.  non  gradu  sed 
praecipiti  cursu  a  virtiite  descituni,  ad  vita  trauscurrunt. — A^el.  Paterc.  1.  ii.  c.  1. 

t  App.  p.  42. 


406  ANCIEN'T    HISTORY. 

contributed,  doubtless,  very  much  to  make  them  take  that 
resolution.*  This  was  the  arrival  of  deputies  from  Utica, 
who  came  to  surrender  themselves,  their  effects,  their  terri- 
tories, and  their  city,  into  the  h-mds  of  the  liouians.  Noth- 
ing could  have  happened  more  seasonably.  Utica  was  the 
second  city  of  Africa,  vastly  rich,  and  had  an  equallv  spa- 
cious and  commodious  port ;  it  stood  within  sixty  furlongs 
of  Cirthage,  so  that  it  might  serve  as  a  de])ot  of  arms  in  the 
attack  of  that  city.  The  Romans  now  hesitated  no  longer, 
but  proclaimed  war.  M.  Manilius,  and  L.  Marcius  Cen- 
sorinus,  the  two  consuls,  were  desired  to  set  out  as  soon  as 
possible.  Tiioy  had  secret  orders  from  the  senate,  not  to 
end  the  war  but  by  the  destruction  of  Carthage.  The  con- 
suls immediately  left  Rome,  and  stopped  at  Lilyba?um  in 
Sicily.  Thiy  had  a  considerable  fleet,  on  board  of  which 
were  fourscore  thousand  foot,  and  about  four  thousand  horse. 

Tiie  Carthaginians  Avere  not  yet  acquainted  with  the 
resolutions  which  had  been  taken  at  Ronie.f  The  answer 
brought  back  by  their  deputies  had  only  increased  their 
fears,  viz.:  It  was  the  business  of  the  Garthagimmis  to  con- 
sid'^r  lohat  satisfaction  was  due  to  the  Romans.  Tliis  made 
them  not  know  what  course  to  take.  At  last  they  sent  new 
deputies,  whom  they  invested  with  full  powers  to  act  as  they 
shoukl  see  proper ;  and  even,  what  tlie  former  wars  could 
never  make  them  stoop  to,  to  declare  that  the  Carthaginians 
give  u))  themselves,  and  all  they  possessed,  to  the  will  and 
pleasure  of  the  Romans.  Tiiis,  according  to  the  im|)ort  of 
tlie  clause,  se  sua/ue  eorum  arhltrio  jytrmittere,  was  sub- 
mitting themselves,  without  reserve,  to  tlie  power  of  the 
R>mans,  and  becoming  their  vassals.  Xevertheless,  they 
did  not  expect  any  great  success  from  this  condescension, 
thougli  so  very  mortifying ;  as  the  TJticans  had  been  before- 
hand with  them  on  that  occasion,  and  had  thus  deprived 
them  of  tlie  merit  of  a  ready  and  voluntary  submission. 

The  deputies,  on  their  arrival  at  Rome,  were  informed 
that  war  had  been  proclaimed,  and  that  the  army  was  set 
out.  Tlie  Romans  had  despatched  a  courier  to  Carthage, 
with  the  decree  of  the  senate,  and  to  inform  th:it  city  that 
the  Roman  fleet  had  sailed.  The  deputies  ha<l  therefore  no 
time  for  deliberation,  but  delivered  up  themselves,  and  all 
they  possessed,  to  the  Romans.  In  consequence  of  this  be- 
havior, they  were  answered,  that  since  they  had  at  last  taken 
a  right  step,  the  senate  gi-anted  them  tlieir  liberty,  the  enjoy- 

*  A.  M.  3856.  A.  Rome,  630.  App.  beU.  Piui.  p.  42.    t  Polyb.  excerpt.  Icgat.  p.  i)72. 


THE    CARTHAGIXIAXS.  407 

merit  of  their  laws,  all  their  territories  and  other  possessions, 
whether  public  or  private,  provided  that,  within  the  space 
of  thirty  days,  they  sliould  send  as  hostages,  to  Lilybasum, 
three  hundred  young  Carthaginians  of  the  first  distinction, 
and  comply  witli  the  orders  of  the  consuls.  The  last  condi- 
tion filled  them  with  inexpressible  anxiety :  but  the  concern 
they  were  under  would  not  allov\'^  them  to  make  the  least 
reply,  or  to  demand  an  explanation  ;  nor  indeed  Avould  it 
have  been  to  any  purpose.  They  therefore  set  out  for  Car- 
thage, and  there  gave  an  account  of  their  embassy. 

All  the  articles  of  the  treaty  were  extremely  severe  with 
regard  to  the  Carthaginians ;  but  the  silence  of  the  Romans 
with  respect  to  the  cities,  of  which  no  notice  was  taken  in 
the  concessions  which  that  people  were  willing  to  make, 
perplexed  them  exceedingly.  All  they  had  to  do  was  to 
obey.  After  the  many  former  and  recent  losses  the  Car- 
thaginians had  sustained,  they  were  by  no  means  in  a  condi- 
tion to  resist  such  an  enemy,  since  they  had  not  been  able  to 
oppose  Masinissa.  Ti'oops,  provisions,  ships,  allies,  in  a 
word,  every  thing  was  wanting,  and  hope  and  vigor  more 
than  all  the  rest.* 

They  did  not  think  proper  to  wait  till  the  thirty  days 
which  had  been  allowed  them  were  expired,  but  immediately 
sent  their  hostages,  in  order  to  soften  the  enemy  by  the 
readiness  of  their  obedience,  though  they  could  by  no  means 
flatter  themselves  with  the  hopes  of  meeting  with  favor  on 
this  occasion.  These  hostages  were  in  a  manner  the  flower, 
and  the  only  hopes7  of  the  noblest  families  of  Carthage. 
Never  was  there  a  more  moving  scene ;  nothing  was  now 
heard  but  cries,  nothing  seen  but  tears,  and  all  places 
echoed  with  groans  and  lamentations  !  But,  above  all,  the 
unhappy  mothers,  bathed  in  tears,  tore  their  dishevelled  hair, 
beat  their  breasts,  and,  as  grief  and  despair  had  distracted 
them,  cried  out  in  such  a  manner,  as  might  have  moved  the 
most  savage  breasts  to  compassion.  But  the  scene  was 
much  more  mournful,  when  the  fatal  moment  of  their  separ- 
ation arrived  ;  when,  after  having  accompanied  their  dear 
children  to  the  ship,  they  bid  them  a  long,  last  farewell, 
persuaded  that  they  should  never  see  them  more ;  they  wept 
a  flood  of  tears  over  them  ;  embraced  them  with  the  utmost 
fondness ;  clasped  them  eagerly  in  their  arms ;  could  not  be 
prevailed  u))on  to  ])art  with  them  till  they  were  forced  away, 
which  was  more  grievous  and  afiiicting  than  if  their  hearts 

*  Polyb.  excerpt,  legat.  p.  972. 


408  AXCIEXT    HISTORY. 

had  been  torn  out  of  their  breasts.  The  hostfio^os  being 
arrived  in  Sicily,  were  carried  from  thence  to  Rome  ;  and 
the  consnls  told  the  deputies,  that  when  tliey  should  arrive 
at  Utica,  they  would  acquaint  them  with  the  ordei-s  of  the 
republic. 

In  such  a  situation  of  affairs,  nothing  can  be  more  griev- 
ous than  a  state  of  uncertainty,  which,  without  descending 
to  particulars,  presents  to  the  mind  the  blackest  scenes  of 
misery.  As  soon  as  it  was  known  that  the  Heet  was  ai-rived 
at  Utica,  the  deputies  repaired  to  the  Roman  camj),  signify- 
ing that  they  were  come,  in  the  nanie  of  their  republic,  to 
receive  the  commands  Avhich  they  were  ready  to  obey.  The 
consul,  after  praising  their  good  disposition  and  compliance, 
commanded  them  to  deliver  up  to  him,  without  fraud  or 
delay,  all  their  arms.  This  they  consented  to,  but  besought 
him  to  reflect  on  the  sad  condition  to  which  he  was  reducing 
them,  at  a  time  when  Asdrubal,  whose  quarrel  {-gainst  them 
was  owing  to  no  other  cause  tlian  their  jicrfect  submission 
to  the  orders  of  the  Romans,  was  advanced  almost  to  their 
gates,  with  an  army  of  twenty  thousand  men.  The  answer 
returned  them  was,  That  the  Romans  would  set  that  matter 
right.* 

Tins  order  was  immediately  put  in  execution,  f  There 
arrived  in  the  camp  a  long  train  of  wagons,  loaded  with  all 
the  preparations  of  war,  taken  out  of  Carthage  ;  two  hun- 
dred thousand  coni])lete  sets  of  armor,  a  numberless  multi- 
tude of  darts  and  javelins,  with  two  thousand  engines  for 
shooting  darts  and  stones,  t  Then  followed  the  dejnities  of 
Carthage,  accompanied  by  the  most  venerable  senators  and 
priests,  who  came  j)urposely  to  try  to  move  the  Romans  to 
compassion  in  this  critical  moment,  when  their  sentence  was 
about  to  be  pronounced,  and  their  fate  would  be  irrevoca- 
ble. Censorinus,  the  consvil,  for  it  was  he  who  spoke  all  this 
time,  rose  up  for  a  moment  at  their  coming,  and  expressed 
some  kindness  and  affection  for  them,  but  suddenly  assum- 
ing a  grave  and  severe  countenance,  "  I  cannot,"  says  he, 
"  but  commend  tlie  readiness  with  which  you  execute  the 
orders  of  the  senate.  They  have  commanded  me  to  tell  you, 
that  it  is  their  absolute  will  and  "[ileasure  that  you  depart 
out  of  Carthage,  Avhich  they  have  resolved  to  destroy  ;  and 
that  you  reiiiove  into  any  other  ])art  of  your  dominions,  as 
you  shall  think  ]iro])er,  }n-ovided  it  be  at  the  distance  of 
eight  stadia  §  from  the  sea." 

♦  Polyb.  p.  075.    Appian,  pp.  44-46.  t  Appian,  p.  4fi. 

t  BaiistaB,  or  Catapultaj.  §  Four  leagues,  or  twelve  miles- 


THE    CARTHAGINIANS.  409 

The  instant  the  consul  had  pronounced  this  fulminating 
decree,  nothing  was  heard  among  the  Cartliaginians  but 
lamentable  shrieks  and  bowlings.  Being  now  in  a  manner 
thunderstruck,  they  neitiier  knew  where  they  were,  nor 
what  they  did  ;  but  rolled  themselves  in  the  dust,  tearing 
their  clothes,  and  unable  to  vent  their  grief  any  otherwise, 
than  in  broken  sighs  and  deep  groans.  Being  afterwards  a 
little  recovered,  they  lifted  up  their  hands  with  the  air  of 
suppliants,  one  moment  towards  the  gods,  and  the  next 
towards  the  Romans,  imploring  their  mercy  and  justice 
with  regard  to  a  people  who  Avould  soon  be  reduced  to  the 
extremity  of  despair.  But,  as  both  the  gods  and  men  were 
deaf  to  their  fervent  prayers,  they  soon  changed  tliem  into 
reproaches  and  imprecations,  bidding  the  Itomans  call  to 
mind,  that  there  were  such  beings  as  avenging  deities,  whose 
severe  eyes  were  for  ever  open  on  guilt  and  treachery.  The 
Romans  themselves  could  not  refrain  from  tears  at  so  mov- 
ing a  spectacle,  but  their  resolution  was  fixed.  The  depu- 
ties could  not  even  prevail  so  far  as  to  get  tlie  execution  of 
this  order  suspended,  till  they  should  have  an  op])ortunity 
of  presenting  themselves  again  before  the  senate  to  get  it 
revoked  if  [lossible.  They  were  forced  to  set  out  imme- 
diately, and  carry  the  answer  to  Carthage.* 

The  people  waited  for  their  return  with  such  an  impa- 
tience and  terror,  as  words  could  never  express.  It  was 
scarcely  possible  for  them  to  break  through  the  crowd,  that 
flocked  round  them,  to  hear  the  answer,  wliich  was  but  too 
strongly  painted  in  their  faces.  When  they  were  come  into 
the  senate,  and  had  declared  the  bar^barous  orders  of  the 
Romans,  a  general  shriek  informed  the  people  of  their  too 
lamentable  fate ;  and,  from  that  instant,  nothing  was  seen 
nor  heard,  in  every  part  of  the  city,  but  howling  and  de- 
spair, madness  and  fury.f 

The  reader  will  here  give  me  leave  to  interrupt  the 
course  of  the  history  for  a  moment,  to  reflect  on  the  conduct 
of  the  Romans,  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  the  fragment  of 
Polybius,  where  an  account  is  given  of  this  deputation, 
should  end  exactly  in  the  most  affecting  part  of  this  event. 
I  should  set  a  much  higher  value  on  one  short  reflection  of 
so  judicious  an  author,  than  on  the  long  harangues  which 
Appian  ascribes  to  the  deputies  and  the  consul.  I  can  never 
believe  that  so  rational,  judicious,  and  just  a  man  as  Polyb- 
ius,  could  have  approved  the  proceeding  of  the  Romans  on 

*  Appian,  pp.  46-63.  t  Idem.  pp.  53,  54, 


410  AKCIEJS^T    HISTORY. 

the  present  occasion.  We  do  not  here  discover,  in  my  opin- 
ion, any  of  the  cliaracteristics  which  distinguished  tliem  an- 
ciently; that  greatness  of  soul,  that  rectitude,  tliat  utter 
abhorrence  of  all  mean  artifices,  frauds,  and  impostures, 
Avhich,  as  is  somewhere  said,  formed  no  part  of  the  Roman 
character;  Minhne  liomanis  artibus.  Why  did  not  the 
Romans  attack  the  Carthaginians  by  open  force?  Why 
should  they  declare  expressly  in  a  ti-eaty,  a  most  solemn 
and  sacred  thing,  that  they  allowed  them  the  full  enjoyment 
of  their  liberties  and  laws  ;  and  understand,  at  the  same 
time,  certain  j)rivate  conditions,  which  ])roved  the  entire 
ruin  of  both  ?  Why  should  tliey  conceal,  under  the  scanda- 
lous omission  of  the  word  city  in  this  treaty,  the  black  de- 
sign of  destroying  Carthage  ;  as  if,  beneath  the  cover  of  such 
an  equivocation,  they  might  destroy  it  willi  justice?  In  fine, 
why  did  the  Romans  not  make  their  last  declaration,  till 
after  they  had  extorted  from  the  Carthaginians,  at  different 
times,  their  hostages  and  arms ;  that  is,  till  they  had  abso- 
lutely rendered  them  incapable  of  disobeying  their  most  ar- 
bitrary commands  ?  Is  it  not  manifest  that  Carthage,  not- 
withstanding all  its  defeats  and  losses,  though  it  was  weak- 
ened and  almost  exhausted,  was  still  a  terror  to  the  Ro- 
mans, and  that  they  were  persuaded  they  were  not  able  to 
conquer  it  by  force  of  arms  ?  It  is  very  dangerous  to  be 
possessed  of  so  much  power  as  may  enable  one  to  commit 
injustice  with  impunity,  and  with  the  ])rospect  of  being  a 
gainer  by  it.  The  exj)erience  of  all  ages  shows,  that  states 
seldom  scrujde  to  commit  injustice,  when  they  think  it  will 
conduce  to  their  advantage. 

The  noble  character  which  Polybius  gives  of  the  Achae- 
ans,  differs  widely  from  what  was  practised  here.  These 
people,  says  he,  far  from  using  artifice  and  deceit  with  re- 
gard to  their  allies,  in  order  to  enlarge  their  power,  did  not 
think  themselves  allowed  to  employ  them  even  against  their 
enemies ;  considering  only  those  victories  solid  and  glo- 
rious, which  were  obtained  SM^ord  in  hand,  by  dint  of  cour- 
age and  bravery.  He  owns,  in  the  same  ])lace,  that  there 
then  remained  among  the  Romans  but  very  faint  traces  of 
the  former  g(?nerosity  of  their  ancestors  ;  and  he  thinks  it 
incumbent  on  him,  as  he  declares,  to  make  this  remark,  in 
opposition  to  a  maxim  which  had  grown  very  common  in 
liis  time,  among  persons  in  the  administration  of  govern- 
ments, who  imagined  that  honesty  is  inconsistent  with  good 
policy,  and  that  it  is  impossible  to  succeed  in  the  administra- 


THE    CARTHAGINIAXS.  411 

tion  of  state  affairs,  either  in  war  or  peace,  witliout  using 
fraud  and  deceit  on  some  occasions.* 

I  now  return  to  my  subject.  Tlie  consuls  made  no  great 
haste  to  march  against  Cai'tliage,  not  suspecting  tliey  had 
reason  to  be  under  any  ai)prehe]isions  from  that  city,  as  it 
■was  now  disarmed.  However,  the  inliabitants  toolv  the  op- 
])ortunity  of  tliis  delay,  to  put  themselves  in  a  posture  of 
defence,  being  unanimously  resolved  ncjt  to  quit  the  city. 
They  aj^pointed  as  general  v/ithoutthe  walls,  Asdrubal,  wlio 
was  at  the  head  of  twenty  thousand  men,  and  to  whom  dep- 
uties were  sent  accordingly,  to  entreat  him  to  forget,  for 
his  country's  sake,  the  injustice  which  had  been  done  him 
from  the  dread  they  were  under  of  the  Romans.  Tlie  com- 
mand of  the  trooj)s  within  tlie  walls  was  given  to  another 
Asdrubal,  grandson  of  Masinissa.  They  theu  apjflied  them- 
selves to  making  arms  with  incredible  expedition.  The 
temples,  the  palaces,  the  oi)en  markets  and  squares  were 
all  changed  into  so  many  arsenals,  where  men  and  women 
worked  day  and  night.  A  hundred  and  forty  shields,  three 
hundred  swords,  five  hundred  pikes  or  javelins,  a  thousand 
arrows,  and  a  great  number  of  engines  to  discharge  them, 
were  made  daily  ;  and,  there  being  a  deficiency  of  materials 
to  make  ropes,  the  women  cut  off  their  hair,  and  abundantly 
supplied  their  wants  on  this  occasion,  f 

Masinissa  Avas  very  much  disgusted  at  the  Romans  be- 
cause, after  he  had  extremely  weakened  the  Carthaginians, 
they  came  and  reaped  the  fruits  of  his  victor}'-,  without  ac- 
cjuainting  him  in  any  manner  with  their  design,  which  cir- 
cumstance caused  some  coldness  between  them,  t 

During  this  interval,  the  consuls  were  advancing  towards 
the  city,  in  order  to  besiege  it.  As  they  expected  nothing 
less  than  a  vigorous  resistance,  the  incredible  resolution  and 
courage  of  the  besieged  filled  them  with  the  utmost  astonish- 
ment. The  Carthaginians  were  continually  making  the  bold- 
est sallies,  in  order  to  re})ulse  the  besiegers,  to  burn  their 
engines,  and  harass  their  foragers.  Censorinus  attacked  the 
city  on  one  side,  and  Manilius  on  the  other.  Scijno,  after- 
wards surnamed  African  us,  was  then  a  tribime  in  the  army, 
and  distinguished  himself  above  the  rest  of  the  officers,  no 
less  by  his  pi-udence  than  by  his  bravery.  The  consul,  under 
whom  he  fought,  committed  many  oversights,  by  refusing  to 
follow  his  advice.     This  young  officer  extricated  the  troops 

*  Polyb.  1.  xvii.  pp.  671,  672.  t  Appiau,  p.  55.    Strabo,  1.  xvii.  p.  382. 

t  Appian,  p.  5. 


412  AXCIEXT    HISTORY. 

from  several  dangers  into  which  their  imprudent  leaders 
had  plunged*  them.  Phanifeas,  a  celebrated  general  of  the 
enemy's  cavalry,  who  continually  harassed  the  foragers,  did 
not  dare  even  to  keep  the  field  when  it  was  Scipio's  turn  to 
support  them  ;  so  capable  was  he  of  dii-ecting  his  troops, 
and  posting  himself  to  advantage.  So  great  and  uniAcrsal 
a  reputation  excited  some  envy  against  liim  in  the  begin- 
ning ;  but,  as  lie  behaved  in  all  respects  with  the  utmost 
modesty  and  reserA'e,  that  envy  was  soon  changed  into  ad- 
miration;  so  that,  when  the  senate  sent  dej'Uties  to  the 
camp  to  inquire  into  the  state  of  the  siege,  the  whole  army 
gave  him  unanimously  the  highest  commendations  ;  the  sol- 
diers, as  well  as  officers,  nay,  the  very  generals,  extolled  the 
merit  of  young  Scipio ;  so  necessary  is  it  for  a  man  to  soften, 
if  I  may  be  allowed  the  expression,  the  splendor  of  his 
rising  glory,  by  a  mild  and  modest  deportment,  and  not  ex- 
cite the  jealousy  of  ])eople  by  haughty  and  self-sufficient  be- 
havior, as  it  naturally  awakens  pride  in  others,  and  makes 
even  virtue  itself  odious  !  * 

About  the  same  time  Masinissa,  finding  liis  end  approach, 
sent  to  desire  a  visit  from  Scipio,  that  he  might  invest  him 
with  full  powers  to  dispose,  as  he  should  see  proper,  of  his 
kingdom  and  estate,  in  behalf  of  his  children.  But,  on 
Scipio's  arrival,  he  found  that  monarch  dead.  Masinissa  had 
commanded  them,  with  his  dying  breath,  to  follow  imfilicitly 
the  directions  of  Scipio,  whom  he  appointed  to  be  a  kind  of 
father  and  miardian  to  them.  I  shall  <;ive  no  further  ac- 
■count  here  of  the  family  and  posterity  of  Masinissa,  because 
that  woidd  interrupt  too  much  the  history  of  Carthage.t 

The  high  esteem  which  Phamaeas  entertained  for  Scipio, 
induced  him  to  forsake  the  Carthagininns,  and  go  over  to 
the  Romans.  Accordingly,  he  joined  hJin  with  above  two 
thousand  horse,  and  did  great  service  at  the  siege. t 

Calpurnius  Piso,  the  consul,  and  L.  Mancinus  his  lieu- 
tenant, arrived  in  Africa  in  the  beginning  of  the  spring. 
Nothing  remarkable  was  transacted  during  this  campaign. 
The  Romans  wen.-:  even  defeated  on  several  occasions,  and 
carried  on  the  siege  of  Carthage  but  slowly.  Tlie  besieged, 
on  the  contrary,  liad  recovered  their  spirits.  Their  troops 
were  considerably  increased,  they  daily  got  new  allies,  and 
even  sent  an  express  as  far  as  Macedonia,  to  the  pretender 
Philip, §  who  jiassed  for  the  son  of  Perseus,  and  was  then 

*  AppiaJi,  pp.  53-58.  t  A.  M.  3857.     A.  Rome,  601.    Slrabo,  1.  xvii.  p.  62. 

t  Strabo,  1.  xvii.  p.  65-  §  Audriscus. 


THE    CAETIIAGINIAKS.  413 

engaged  in  a  war  with  the  Romans,  to  exhort  him  to  carry- 
it  on  with  vigor,  and  promising  to  furnish  liim  with  money 
and  ships.* 

This  news  occasioned  some  uneasiness  at  Rome.  People 
began  to  doubt  the  success  of  a  war  which  grew  daily  more 
uncertain,  and  was  more  important  than  hud  at  first  been 
imagined.  They  were  dissatisfied  with  the  dilatoriness  of 
the  generals,  and  exclaimed  at  their  conduct,  but  unani- 
mously agreed  in  applauding  young  Sci})io,  and  extolling 
his  rare  and  uncommon  virtues.  He  had  come  to  Rome,  in 
order  to  stand  candidate  for  the  edileship.f  The  instant  he 
appeared  in  the  assembly,  his  name,  his  countenance,  Jiis 
reputation,"  a  general  persuasion  that  lie  was  designed  by 
the  gods  to  end  the  third  Punic  war,  as  the  first  Sci])io,  liis 
grandfather  by  adoption,  had  terminated  the  second  ;  these 
several  circumstances  made  a  very  strong  impression  on  the 
people,  and  though  it  was  contrary  to  law,  and  therefore 
opposed  by  the  ancient  men,  instead  of  the  edileship  which 
he  sued  for,  disregarding  for  once  the  laws,  conferred  the 
consulship  upon  him,|  and  assigned  him  Africa  for  his  prov- 
ince, without  casting  lots  for  the  provinces  as  usual,  and 
as  Drusus  his  colleague  demanded. 

As  soon  as  Scipio  had  completed  his  recruits,  he  set  out 
for  Sicily,  and  arrived  soon  after  in  Utica.  He  came  very 
seasonably  for  Mancinus,  Piso's  lieutenant,  who  had  rashly 
fixed  himself  in  a  post  where  he  was  surrounded  by  the 
enemy,  and  would  have  been  cut  to  pieces  that  very  morn- 
ing, had  not  the  new  consul,  Avho  at  liis  arrival  heard  of  the 
danger  he  was  in,  re-embarked  his  trooj)s  in  the  night,  and 
sailed  with  the  utmost  speed  to  his  assistance.  § 

Scipio's  first  care,  after  his  arrival,  was  to  restore  dis- 
cipline among  the  troops,  Avhicli  he  found  had  been  entirely 
neglected.  There  was  not  the  least  I'egularity,  subordina- 
tion, or  obedience.  Nothing  was  attended  to  but  rapine, 
feasting,  and  diversions.  He  drove  from  the  camp  all  use- 
less persons,  settled  the  quality  of  the  pi'ovisions  he  would 
have  brought  in  by  the  sutlers  ;  and  allowed  of  none  but 
what  were  ])lain  and  fit  for  soldiers,  studiously  banishing 
all  dainties  and  luxuries.  || 

After  he  had  made  these  regulations,  which  cost  him  but 
little  time  and  trouble,  because  he  himself  first  set  the  ex- 
ample, he  was  convinced  that  those  under  him  were  sol- 

*  Andrisciis,  p.  <'S-  ,  t  Ibid.  p.  68. 

t  A.  M.  3S58.    A.  Koiue,  e02.  §  Appiaii,  p.  69.  ||  Idem.  p.  TO. 


414  AXCIEXT    HISTORY. 

diers,  and  thereupon  prepared  to  carry  on  the  sio<xe  with 
vigor.  Having  ordered  his  troops  to  provide  themselves 
with  axes,  levers  and  scaling-ladders,  he  led  them,  in  the 
dead  of  the  night,  and  without  the  least  noise,  to  a  district 
of  the  city  called  Megara ;  when,  ordering  them  to  give  a 
sudden  and  general  shout,  he  attacked  it  with  great  vigor. 
The  enemy,  who  did  not  expect  to  be  attacked  in  the  night, 
were,  at  first,  in  the  utmost  terror  ;  they  howcAer,  defended 
themselves  so  courageously,  that  Scipio  could  not  scale  the 
walls.  But  perceiving  a  tower  that  was  forsaken,  and 
which  stood  without  the  city,  very  near  the  Avails,  he  de- 
tached thither  a  ])arty  of  intrepid  soldiers,  who,  by  the  help 
of  pontons,*  got  from  the  tOAver  on  the  walls,  and  from 
thence  into  Megara,  Avhose  gates  they  broke  down.  Scipio 
entered  it  immediately  after,  and  drove  the  enemy  out  of 
that  post:  who,  terrified  at  this  unexpected  assault,  and 
imagining  that  the  Avhole  city  Avas  taken,  fled  into  the  citadel, 
where  they  Avere  folloAved  CA^en  by  those  forces  that  Avere 
encamped  Avithout  the  city,  Avho  abandoned  their  camp  to 
the  Romans,  and  thought  it  necessary  for  them  to  fly  to  a 
place  of  security. 

Before  I  proceed  further,!  it.  will  be  ])roper  to  give  some 
account  of  the  situation  and  dimensions  of  Carthage,  Avhich 
in  the  beginning  of  the  Avar  ngainst  the  Romans,  contained 
seA^en  hundred  thoiisand  inhabitants.  It  stood  at  the  bot- 
tom of  a  gulf  surrounded  Avith  the  sea,  and  in  the  form  of  a 
peninsula,  whose  neck,  that  is,  the  isthmus  AA'hich  joined  it 
to  the  continent,  Avas  twenty-five  stadia,  or  a  league  and  a 
quarter  in  breadth.  The  peninsula  Avas  three  hundred  and 
sixty  stadia,  or  eighteen  leagues  in  circumference.  On  the 
west  side  there  projected  from  it  a  long  neck  of  land,  half  a 
stadium,  or  twelve  fathoms  broad  ;  which  adA  ancing  into 
the  sea,  divided  it  from  a  morass,  and  was  defended  on  all 
sides  with  rocks  and  a  single  wall.  On  the  south  side, 
tOAvards  the  continent,  Avhere  stood  the  citadel  called  Byrsa, 
the  city  Avas  surrounded  with  a  triple  Avail,  thirty  cubits 
high,  exclusive  of  the  parapets  and  toAvers,  Avith  Avhich  it  Avas 
flanked  all  round  at  equal  distances,  each  interval  being 
fourscore  fathoms.  E\'ery  toAver  Avas  four  stories  high,  and 
the  walls  but  tAvo  ;  they  Avere  arched,  and  in  the  loAver  part 
were  stalls  large  enough  to  hold  three  lumdred  elephants 
with  their  fodder,  etc.  Over  these  ^ere  stables  for  four 
thousand  horses,  and  lofts  for  their  food.     There  Avas  like- 

•  A  sort  of  movable  bridge,     t  Appian,  pp.  56, 57.    Strabo,  1.  xvii.  p.  832. 


THE    CARTIIAGIXIAXS.  415 

wise  room  enough  to  lodge  twenty  tliousand  foot,  and  four 
thousand  horse.  In  fine,  all  those  were  contained  witliin 
the  walls.  The  walls  were  weak  and  low  in  one  place  only  ; 
and  that  was  a  neglected  angle,  which  began  at  the  neck  of 
land  above  mentioned,  and  extended  as  far  as  the  harbors, 
Avliich  were  on  the  west  side.  Two  of  these  communicated 
with  each  other,  and  had  but  one  entrance,  seventy  feet 
broad,  shut  up  w^ith  chains.  The  first  was  appropriated 
to  the  merchants,  and  had  several  distinct  habitations  for 
the  seamen.  The  second,  or  inner  harbor,  was  for  the  ships 
of  war,  in  the  midst  of  which  stood  an  island,  called  Cothon, 
lined,  as  the  harbor  was,  with  large  keys,  in  which  were 
distinct  receptacles  *  for  sheltering  from  the  weather  two 
hundred  and  twenty  ships ;  over  these  were  magazines  or 
store-houses,  containing  whatever  was  necessary  for  arming 
and  equipping  fleets.  The  entrance  into  each  of  these  re- 
ceptacles was  adorned  with  two  marble  pillars  of  the  Ionic 
order :  so  that  both  the  harbor  and  the  island  represented 
on  each  side  two  maijnificent  ffalleries.  In  this  island  was 
the  admiral's  palace;  and  as  it  stood  opposite  to  tlie  mouth 
of  the  hai'bor,  he  coiild  from  thence  discover  whatever  was 
doing  at  sea,  though  no  one  from  thence  could  see  what  was 
transacting  in  the  inner  part  of  the  harbor.  The  merchants, 
in  like  manner,  had  no  prospect  of  the  men  of  war,  the  two 
ports  being  separated  by  a  double  wall,  each  having  its  ]>ar- 
ticular  gate  that  led  to  the  city,  without  passing  through 
the  other  harbor.  So  that  Carthage  may  be  di\ided  into 
three  parts  :  the  harbor,  which  was  double,  and  called  some- 
times Cothon,  from  the  little  island  of  that  name  :  the  cita- 
del, named  Byrsa  :  the  city  properly  so  called,  where  the 
inhabitants  dwelt,  which  lay  round  the  citadel,  and  was 
called  Megara.f 

At  daybreak,  t  Asdriibal,  §  perceiving  the  ignominious 
defeat  of  his  troops,  in  order  to  be  revenged  on  the  Romans, 
and,  at  the  same  time,  deprive  the  inhabitants  of  all  hopes  of 
accommodation  and  pardon,  brought  all  the  Roman  prisoners 
he  nad  taken  upon  the  walls, -in  sight  of  the  whole  army. 
There  he  put  them  to  the  most  exquisite  torture  ;  putting  out 
their  eyes,  cutting  off  their  noses,  ears,  and  fingers  ;  tearing 
their  skin  to  pieces  with  iron  rakes  or  harrows,  and  then  throw- 
ing them  headlong  from  the  top  of  the  battlements.     So 

•  Newcroijcous.  Strabo-  t  Boch.  in  Phal.  p.  .'>12.  +  Appiaii,  p-  72. 

§  It  was  he  who  at  first  (■ommanded  without  tlie  city,  but  having  caused  the 
other  Asdnibal,  Masinissa's  giaudoon,  to  be  put  to  deaili,  he  got  the  coiimiaud  of 
the  troops  within  the  walls. 


416  ANCIENT    HISTORY. 

inhuman  a  treatment  filled  the  Carthaginians  -with  horror : 
he  did  not  however  S])are  even  them,  but  murdered  many 
senators  Avho  had  been  so  brave  as  to  oppose  his  tyranny. 

Scipio,  finding  himself  absolute  master  of  the  Isthmus, 
burned  the  eam])  whieh  the  enemy  had  deserted,  and  built 
a  new  one  for  his  troops.*  It  was  of  a  square  form,  sur- 
rounded with  large  and  deep  entrenchments,  and  fenced 
with  strong  palisades.  On  the  side  which  faced  the  Car- 
thaginians, he  built  a  wall  twelve  feet  high,  flanked  at  proper 
distances  with  towers  and  redoubts ;  and,  on  the  middle 
tower,  he  erected  a  very  high  Avooden  fort,  from  whence 
could  be  seen  whatever  was  doing  in  the  city.  This  wall 
was  equal  to  the  whole  breadth  of  the  Isthmus,  that  is, 
twenty-five  stadia. f  The  enemy,  who  were  within  arrow- 
shot  of  it,  employed  their  utmost  efforts  to  put  a  sto])  to  his 
work ;  but,  as  the  whole  army  worked  at  it  day  and  night 
without  intermission,  it  was  finished  in  twenty-f<nn-  days. 
Scipio  reaped  a  double  advantage  from  this  woi'k  ;  iirst,  his 
forces  were  lodged  more  safely  and  commodiously  than 
before  :  secondly,  he  cutoff  all  jirovisions  from  the  besieged, 
to  whom  none  could  be  brought  but  by  land  ;  which  distressed 
them  exceedingly,  both  because  the  sea  is  frequently  very 
tempestuous  in  that  place,  and  because  the  Roman  fleet 
ke])t  a  strict  guard.  This  proved  one  of  the  chief  causes  of 
the  famine  which  soon  after  raged  in  the  city.  Besides, 
Asdrubal  distributed  the  corn  that  was  brought  only  among 
the  thirty  thousand  men  who  served  under  him,  without 
regard  to  what  became  of  the  inhabitants. 

To  distress  them  still  more  by  the  want  of  provisions, 
Scipio  attempted  to  stop  up  the  mouth  of  the  liaven  l)y  a 
mole,  begmning  at  the  above-mentioned  neck  of  land,  which 
was  near  the  liarbor.  t  The  besieged  at  first  looked  upon 
this  attempt  as  ridiculous,  and  insulted  the  workmen  accord- 
ingly ;  but  at  last  seeing  them  make  an  astonishing  progress 
every  day,  they  began  to  be  afraid,  and  to  take  such  meas- 
ures as  might,  if  possible,  render  the  attempt  unsuccessful. 
Every  one,  even  to  the  women  and  children,  fell  to  work, 
but  so  secretly  that  all  Scipio  could  learn  from  the  prisoners 
was,  that  they  liad  heard  a  great  noise  in  the  hai-boi-,  but 
did  not  know  the  cause  or  occasion  of  it.  At  last,  all  things 
being  ready,  the  Carthaginians  opened,  on  a  sudden,  a  new 
outlet  on  the  other  side  of  the  haven,  and  appeared  at  sea 
with  a  numerous  fleet,  which  they  had  then  built  with  the 

•  Appian,  p.  73.       t  Four  miles  ami  three  quarters.        t  Appian,  p.  74. 


THE    CAIITHAGINIAKS.  417 

old  materials  found  in  their  magazines.  It  is  generally 
allowed,  that  had  they  attacked  the  Roman  fleet  directly, 
they  must  inevitably  have  taken  it ;  because,  as  no  such 
attempt  was  expected,  and  every  man  was  otherwise  em- 
j;loyed,  the  Carthaginians  would  have  found  it  without 
rowers,  soldiers,  or  officers.  But  the  ruin  of  Carthage,  says 
the  historian,  was  decreed.  Having  therefore  only  offered 
a  kind  of  insult  or  bravado  to  the  Romans,  they  returned 
into  the  harbor. 

Two  days  after  they  brought  forward  their  ships,  with 
a  resolution  to  fight  in  good  earnest,  and  found  the  enemy 
ready  for  them.*  This  battle  was  to  determine  tlic  fate  of 
both  parties.  It  lasted  a  long  time,  each  exerting  themselves 
to  the  utmost ;  the  one  to  save  their  country,  reduced  to  the 
last  extremity,  and  the  other  to  complete  their  victory. 
During  the  fight,  he  Carthaginian  brigantines,  running 
along  imder  tlie  large  Roman  shi])s,  broke  to  pieces  some- 
times their  sterns,  and  at  other  times  their  rudders  and  oai\s  ; 
and  when  bi-iskly  attacked,  retreated  with  surprising  swift- 
ness, and  returned  immediately  to  the  charge.  At  last,  after 
the  two  armies  had  fought  with  equal  success  till  sunset,  the 
Carthaginians  thought  proper  to  retire  ;  not  that  they  be- 
lieved themselves  overcome,  but  in  order  to  recommence 
the  fight  on  the  morrow.  Part  of  their  shijjs  not  being  able 
to  run  swiftly  enough  into  the  harbor  because  the  mouth  of 
it  was  too  narrow,  took  shelter  under  a  very  spacious  terrace, 
which  had  been  thrown  up  against  the  wall  to  unload  goods, 
on  the  side  of  which  a  small  rampart  had  been  raised  during 
this  war,  to  prevent  the  enemy  from  ])ossessing  themselves 
of  it.  Here  the  fight  was  again  renewed  with  more  vigor 
than  ever,  and  lasted  till  late  at  night.  The  Carthaginians 
suffered  greatly,  and  the  few  ships  of  theirs  Avhich  got  off 
sailed  for  refuge  to  the  city.  When  the  morning  arrived, 
Scipio  attacked  the  terrace,  and  carried  it,  though  with 
great  difiiculty ;  after  which  he  posted  and  fortified  himself 
on  it,  and  built  a  brick  wall  close  to  those  of  the  city,  and 
of  the  same  height.  When  it  was  finished,  he  commanded 
four  thousand  men  to  get  on  the  top  of  it,  and  to  discharge 
from  it  a  constant  shower  of  darts  and  arrows  upon  the 
enemy,  which  did  great  execution  ;  because,  as  the  two  walls 
were  of  equal  height,  there  was  scarce  one  dart  witliout 
effect.     Thus  ended  this  campaign. 

During  the  winter-quarters,  Scipio  endeavored  to  over- 

*  Appian.  p.  75. 

27 


418  ANCIENT    HISTORY. 

power  the  enemy's  troops  without  the  city,  who  very  much 
harassed  the  troops  that  brought  his  provisions,  and  pi-o- 
tected  such  ns  were  sent  to  the  besieged.*  For  this  purpose 
he  attacked  a  neighboring  fort,  called  Xepheris,  whor(>  they 
used  to  shelter  themselves.  In  the  last  action,  about :  ;'ve:ity 
thousand  of  the  enemy,  as  well  soldiers  as  peasants  who  liad 
been  enlisted,  Avere  cut  to  pieces,  and  the  fort  was  carried 
with  gi'eat  difliculty,  after  sustaining  a  siege  of  two-and- 
twenty  days.  The  seizure  of  this  fort  was  followed  Ijy  the 
surrender  of  almost  all  the  strongholds  in  Africa  ;  and  con- 
tributed very  much  to  the  taking  of  Carth:ige  itself,  into 
which,  from  that  time,  it  was  almost  imjjossible  to  bring  any 
provisions. 

Early  in  the  spring,  Scipio  attacked,  at  one  and  the  same 
time,  the  harbor  called  Cothon  and  the  citadel.  Having 
possessed  himself  of  the  Avail  which  surrounded  this  ]>ort,  he 
threw  himself  into  the  great  squai-e  of  his  city  that  Avas 
near  it,  from  A\dience  Avas  an  ascent  to  the  citadel,  uj*  three 
streets,  Avith  houses  on  both  sides,  from  the  tops  of  Avhich  a 
shoAver  of  darts  Avas  discharged  upon  the  Romans,  Avho  Avere 
obliged,  before  they  could  advance  farther,  to  force  the 
houses  they  first  reached,  and  post  themselves  in  them,  in 
order  to  dislodge  the  enemy  Avho  fought  from  the  neigh- 
boring houses.  The  combat  Avhich  was  carried  on  from  the 
tops,  and  in  every  part  of  the  houses,  continued  six  days, 
during  Avhich  a  dreadful  slaughter  was  made.  To  clear  the 
streets,  and  make  Avay  for  the  troops,  the  Romans  dragged 
aside,  Avith  hooks,  the  bodies  of  such  of  the  inhabitants  as 
had  been  slain,  or  precipitated  headlong  from  the  houses, 
and  threw  them  into  pits,  the  greatest  part  of  them  being 
still  aliA'e  and  panting.  In  this  labor,  Avhich  lasted  six  days 
and  nights,  the  soldiers  Avere  relieved  from  time  to  time  by 
others,  Avithout  Avhich  they  Avould  have  been  quite  spent. 
Scipio  slept  none  during  this  time,  but  Avas  occupied  in 
giving  orders  in  all  places,  and  scarcely  allowed  himself 
leisure  to  take  the  least  refreshment.! 

There  Avas  still  reason  to  believe,  that  the  siege  Avould 
last  much  longer,  and  occasion  a  great  effusion  of  blood. 
But  on  the  scAenth  day,  there  appeai-ed  a  com})any  of  men 
in  a  suppliant  posture  and  habit,  Avho  desired  no  other  con- 
ditions, than  that  the  Romans  Avould  please  to  spare  the  lives 
of  all  those  AA'ho  should  be  Avilling  to  leave  the  citadel ; 
which  i-equest  Avas  granted  them,  excepting  only  the  desert- 

*  Appiaii,  p.  78.  t  A.  M.  385!).    A.  Roras,  633.    Appian,  p.  70. 


THE    CA.RTHAGIXIA]«fS.  419 

ers.  Accordingly,  there  came  out  fifty  thousand  men  and 
women,  who  were  sent  into  the  fields  under  a  strong  guai  1. 
The  deserters,  who  were  about  nine  hundred,  finding  they 
would  not  be  allowed  quarter,  fortified  themselves  in  the 
temple  of  ^Esculapius,  with  Asdrubal,  Jiis  wife,  and  two 
children  ;  Avhere,  though  their  number  was  but  small,  they 
might  have  hold  out  a  long  time,  because  the  temple  stood 
on  a  very  higli  hill,  upon  rocks,  to  which  the  ascent  was  by 
sixty  ste])S.  J^iit  at  last,  exhausted  by  hunger  and  watch- 
ings,  oppressed  with  fear,  and  seeing  their  destruction  at 
hand,  they  lost  all  patience ;  when,  abandoning  the  lower 
part  of  the  temple,  they  retired  to  the  u})i)ermost  story,  and 
resolved  not  to  quit  it  but  with  their  lives.* 

In  the  mean  time  Asdrubal,  being  desirous  of  saving  his 
own  life,  came  down  privately  to  Scipio,  carrying  an  olive- 
branch  in  his  hand,  and  threw  himself  at  liis  feet.  Scipio 
showed  him  immediately  to  the  deserters,  who,  transported 
with  rage  and  fury  at  the  sight,  vented  millions  of  impreca- 
tions against  him,  and  set  fire  to  the  temple.  While  it  was 
kindling,  we  are  told  that  Asdrubal's  wife,  dressing  herself 
as  s})lendidly  as  possible,  and  placing  herself  with  her  two 
children  in  sight  of  Scipio,  addressed  him  with  a  loud  voice  : 
"I  call  not  down,"  said  she,  "curses  upon  thy  head,  O  Ilo- 
man,  for  thou  only  takest  the  privilege  allowed  by  the  laws 
of  war  :  but  may  the  gods  of  Carthage,  and  thou  in  concert 
with  them,  punish,  according  to  his  deserts,  the  false  wretch 
who  has  betrayed  .his  country,  his  gods,  his  wife,  his  chil- 
dren ! "  Then  directing  herself  to  Asdrubal,  "  Perfidious 
wretch,"  says  she,  "  thou  basest  of  creatures !  this  fire  will 
presently  consume  both  me  and  my  children  ;  but  as  to 
thee,  too  shameful  general  of  Carthage,  go,  adorn  the  gay 
triumph  of  thy  conqueror ;  suffer,  in  the  sight  of  all  Rome, 
tlie  tortures  thou  so  justly  deservest !  "  She  had  no  sooner 
pronounced  these  words,  than  seizing  her  children,  she  cut 
their  throats,  threw  them  into  the  fiames,  and  afterwards 
rushed  into  them  herself ;  in  which  she  Avas  imitated  by  all 
the  deserters. 

With  regard  to  Sci]>io,  when  he  saw  the  entire  ruin  of 
this  famous  city,  which  had  flourished  seven  hundred  years, 
and  might  have  been  compared  to  the  greatest  empires,  on 
account  of  the  extent  of  its  dominions,  both  by  sea  and 
land ;  its  mighty  armies  ;  its  fleets,  elephants,  and  riches  ; 
and  that  the   Carthaginians  were  even  superior   to  other 

•  Appiaii,  p.  SI. 


420  ANCIEXT    HISTORY. 

nations,  by  their  courage  and  magnanimity,  as,  notwithstand- 
ing their  being  deprived  of  arms  and  ships,  they  liad  sus- 
tained for  three  whole  years,  all  the  hardships  and  calamities 
of  a  long  siege  ;  historians  relate  that  lie  could  not  refuse 
his  tears  to  the  unhappy  fate  of  Carth^ige.*  lie  reflected, 
that  cities,  nations,  and  empires,  are  liable  to  revolutions, 
no  less  than  individual  men  ;  that  the  like  sad  fate  had  be- 
fallen Troy,  anciently  so  powerful  ;  and,  in  later  times,  the 
Assyrians,  Aledes,  and  Persians,  whose  dominions  were  once 
of  so  great  an  extent ;  and  lastly,  the  Macedonians,  whoso 
empire  had  been  so  glorious  throughout  the  world.  Full 
of  these  mournful  ideas,  he  repeated  the  following  verses  of 
Homer : 

"Eo'o'cTat  Tjjutap,  orav  ttot'  oAwAtj  'lAto?  ipT), 

Kai  llpiafxw!  Kal  Aabs  euftfieAiio  UpidfiOio.      A.  A',  IGl,  1G5. 

"  The  "lay  shall  come,  that  great  avenging  day, 
Whicli  Troy's  proud  glories  in  the  liust  shall  lay  ; 
Whe  »  Priam's  pow'rs  ami  Priam's  self  Bhall  fall, 
And  one  prodigious  ruin  iollovv  all."  — I'ope. 

Tliereby  denouncing  the  future  destiny  of  Rome,  as  he  him- 
self confessed  to  Polybius,  who  desired  Scipio  to  explain 
himself  on  that  occasion. 

Had  the  truth  enlightened  his  soul,  he  would  have  dis- 
covered what  we  are  taught  in  the  Scriptures,  that  because 
of  unrighteous  dealings,  injuries,  and  riches  got  by  de- 
ceit, a  kingdom  is  translated  from  one  people  to  another.^ 
Carthage  is  destroyed,  because  its  avarice,  ])erfidiousness, 
and  cruelty,  have  attained  their  utmost  height.  The  like 
fate  will  attend  Rome,  Avhen  its  luxury,  ambition,  pride, 
and  unjust  usurpations,  concealed  beneath  a  specious  and 
delusive  show  of  justice  and  virtue,  shall  have  compelled 
the  sovereign  Lord,  the  disposer  of  empires,  to  give  the  uni- 
verse an  important  lesson  in  its  fall. 

Carthage  being  taken  in  this  manner,  Scipio  gave  it  up 
to  plunder  (the  gold,  silver,  statues,  and  other  offerings 
which  should  be  found  in  the  tem])les,  excepted)  to  his  sol- 
diers for  some  days.  He  afterwards  bestowed  several  mili- 
tary rewards  on  them,  as  well  as  on  the  officers,  two  of 
whom  had  ])articularly  distinguished  themselves,  viz. :  Tib. 
Gracchus,  and  Caius  Fannius,  who  first  scaled  the  walls. 
After  this,  adorning  a  very  small  ship  (an  excellent  sailor) 
with  the  enemy's  spoils,  he  sent  it  to  Rome  with  the  news 
of  the  victory.  % 

♦  Appiaai,  p.  82.  t  Eccles.  x.8. 

t  A.  M.  3859.    A.  Carth.  701.    A.  Rome,  693.    Ant.  J.  C.  145.     Appian,  p.  83. 


THE    CARTHAGIXIAX3.  421 

At  the  same  time,  he  ordered  the  inhabitants  of  Sicily 
to  come  and  take  possession  of  the  pictures  and  statues 
which  the  Carthaginians  had  plundered  them  of  in  the  for- 
mer wars.  When  he  restored  to  the  citizens  of  Agrigen- 
tum  Phalaris'  famous  bull,*  he  said  that  this  bull,  which 
was  at  one  and  the  same  time  a  monument  of  the  cruelty 
of  their  ancient  kings,  and  of  the  lenity  of  their  })resent 
sovereigns,  ought  to  make  them  sensible  which  would  be 
most  advantageous  for  them,  to  live  under  the  yoke  of  Sicil- 
ians, or  the  government  of  the  Romans. f 

Having  exposed  to  sale  part  of  the  spoils  of  Carthage, 
he  commanded  his  family,  under  the  most  severe  penalties, 
not  to  take,  or  even  buy  any  of  them  ;  so  careful  was  he  to 
remove  from  himself,  and  all  belonging  to  him,  the  least  sus- 
picion of  avarice. 

When  the  news  of  the  taking  of  Carthage  was  brought 
to  Rome,  the  i)eople  abandoned  themselves  to  the  most  im- 
moderate transports  of  joy,  as  if  the  public  tranquillity  had 
not  been  secured  till  that  instant.  They  revolved  in  their 
minds  all  tlie  calamities  which  the  Carthaginians  had  brought 
upon  them,  in  Sicily,  in  Spain,  and  even  in  Italy,  for  six- 
teen years  together;  during  which  Hannibal  had  plundered 
four  hundred  towns,  destroyed  three  hundred  thousand  men, 
and  reduced  Rome  itself  to  the  utmost  extremity.  Amidst 
the  remembrance  of  these  past  evils,  the  people  in  Rome 
would  ask  one  another,  whether  it  Avere  really  true  that  Car- 
tilage was  in  ashes.  All  ranks  and  degrees  of  men  emi- 
nently strove  who  should  show  the  greatest  gratitude  to- 
wards the  gods,  and  the  citizens  Avere,  for  many  days,  em- 
ployed wholly  in  solemn  sacrifices,  in  public  prayei's,  games, 
and  spectacles,  t 

After  these  religious  duties  were  ended,  the  senate  sent 
ten  commissioners  into  Africa,  to  regulate,  in  conjunction 
with  Scipio,  the  fate  and  condition  of  that  country  for  the 
future.  Their  first  care  was  to  demolish  whatever  was  still 
remaining  of  Carthage.  §  Rome,  ||  though  mistress  of  almost 

*  Qiiein  taururti  Scipio  cum  rodderet  Affrijjeiitimis,  dixisse  dicitur,  pequiim 
esse  iUos  cogitare  utriiin  esse  Saeoulis  utili'is,  suisiie  servire,  an  populo  K. 
obtemperare,  cum  idem  monuineiitiim  et  domesticfe  :riidelitatis,  et  iiostr*  man- 
Buetudi;ii8  lialaerent— Cicero  VeiT.  vi.  n.  73.  t  Appiaii,  p  33.  t  Ibid. 

§  We  may  gues.-^  at  tlie  dinieiisi^iis  of  this  famous  city  by  what  Florius  says, 
viz.,  that  it  was  seventeen  days  on  fire  before  it  could  be  aU  consumed — Quanta 
ttrbs  deleta  sit,  ut  de  cap  tens  taceam,  vel  iarnium  mora  probari  potest  ;  quippe 
per  continuos  decern  et  septem  dies  vix  potuit  incendium  extingui. — Lilt.  ii.  c.  15. 

II  Neque  se  Roma,  jam  terrarnm  orbe  superator,  secnram  speravit  fore,  si 
nomen  nsquam  maneret  Cartha<_'inis.  Adeo  odium  certaminibus  ortam.  ultra 
metum  durat.  et  ne  in  victis  quidom  deponitur,  ueque  ante  iuvisum  esse  desiiiit, 
Quam  esse  de.siit. — Vel.  Patere.  1.  i.  c.  12. 


422  ANCIEXT    HISTORY. 

the  whole  world,  could  not  believe  herself  safe  as  lon^  aa 
even  the  name  of  Carthage  Avas  in  being :  so  true  it  is,  that 
inveterate  hatred,  fomented  by  long  and  bloody  wars,  lasts 
even  beyond  the  time  when  all  cause  of  fear  is  removed ; 
and  does  not  cease,  till  the  object  thnt  occasicms  it  is  no 
more.  Orders  were  given,  in  the  name  of  the  Romans, 
that  it  should  never  be  inhabited  again  ;  and  dreadful  im- 
precations were  denounced  against  those  who,  contrary  to 
this  prohibition,  should  attempt  to  rebuild  any  parts  of  it, 
•especially  those  called  Byrsa  and  Megara.  In  the  mean 
time,  every  one  who  desired  it,  was  ])ermitted  to  see  Car- 
thage ;  Scipio  being  well  pleased  to  have  people  view  the 
sad  ruins  of  a  city  which  had  dared  to  contend  with  Rome 
for  empire.*  The  commissioners  decreed  further  that  those 
cities,  which,  during  this  war,  had  joined  with  the  enemy, 
should  all  be  razed,  and  their  territories  be  given  to  the  Ro- 
man allies:  they  particularly  made  a  grant  to  the  citizens  of 
Utica,  of  the  whole  country  lying  between  Carthage  and 
Hippo.  All  the  rest  they  made  tributary,  and  reduced  it 
into  a  Roman  province,  to  which  a  prajtor  was  sent  annu- 
ally.t 

All  matters  being  thus  settled,  Scij»io  returned  to  Rome, 
where  he  made  his  entry  in  triumph.  So  magnificent  a  one 
had  never  been  seen  before  ;  the  whole  exhibiting  nothing 
but  statues,  rare  invaluable  jjictures,  and  other  curiosities, 
which  the  Carthaginians  had  for  many  years  been  collecting 
in  other  countries  ;  not  to  mention  the  money  carried  into 
the  public  treasury,  that  amounted  to  immense  sums,  t 

Notwithstanding  the  great  precautions  which  were  taken 
to  hinder  Carthage  from  being  ever  rebuilt,  in  less  than  thirty 
years  after,  and  even  in  Scipio's  lifetime,  one  of  the  Gracchi, 
to  ingratiate  himself  with  the  people,  imdertook  to  foimd  it 
anew,  and  conducted  thither  a  colony,  consisting  of  six 
thousand  citizens,  for  that  purpose.  The  senate,  hearing 
that  the  workmen  had  been  terrified  by  many  unlucky 
omens,  at  the  time  they  were  tracing  the  limits,  and  laying 
the  foundations  of  the  new  city,  would  have  suspended  the 
attempt ;  but  the  tribune,  not  being  over  scrujiulous  in  reli- 
gious matters,  carried  on  the  work,  notwithstanding  all  these 
bad  pi-esages,  and  finished  it  in  a  few  days.  This  was  the 
first  Roman  colony  that  was  ever  sent  ont  of  Italy.  § 

•  Ut  ipse  locus  eoriini,  qui  cum  hac  urbe  de  imperio  certarunt,  vestigia 
calamitatis  osteiideret. — Cic.  Agrar.  ii.  ii.  50. 

t  Appian,  p.  84.  $  A'el.  Paterc.  1.  i.  c.  12. 

S  Appian,  p.  85.    Plut.  in  Vit.    Graecli.  p.  389. 


THE    CARTHAGIXIAXS.  423 

It  is  probable,  that  only  huts  were  built  there,  since  Ave 
are  told,  that  when  Marius  *  retired  hither,  in  his  flight  to 
Africa,  he  lived  in  a  mean  and  poor  condition  amid  the  ruins 
of  Carthage,  consoling  himself  by  the  sight  of  so  astonishing 
a  spectacle ;  himself  serving,  in  some  measure,  as  a  consola- 
tion to  that  ill-fated  city. 

Appian  relates,  that  Julius  Caesar,  after  the  death  of  Pom- 
pey,  having  crossed  into  Africa,  saw,  in  a  dream,  an  army 
composed  of  a  prodigious  number  of  soldiers,  who,  Avith  tears 
in  their  eyes,  called  him ;  and  that,  struck  Avith  the  A'ision, 
lie  Avrote  doAvn,  in  his  pocket-book,  the  design  Avhich  he 
formed  on  this  occasion,  of  rebuilding  Carthage  and  Corinth  ; 
but  that  haA'ing  been  murdered  soon  after  by  the  conspir- 
ators, Augustus  CiBsar,  his  adopted  son,  Avho  found  this 
memorandum  among  his  papers,  rebuilt  Carthage  near  the 
spot  Avhere  it  formerly  stood,  in  order  that  the  imprecations 
which  had  been  vented  at  the  time  of  its  destruction,  against 
those  Avho  should  presume  to  rebuild  it,  might  not  fall  upon 
them.f 

I  knoAv  not  what  foundation  Appian  has  for  this  story  ;  | 
but  we  read  in  Strabo,  that  Carthage  and  Corinth  Avei-e  re- 
built at  the  same  time  by  Caesar,  to  Avhom he  giAes  the  name 
of  God,  by  which  title,  a  little  before,  he  had  plainly  intended 
Julius  Caesar ;  §  and  Plutarch,  ||  in  the  lifetime  of  that  em- 
peror, ascribes  expressly  to  him  the  establishment  of  these 
two  colonies ;  and  obserA^es,  that  one  remarkable  circum- 
stance in  these  two  cities  is,  that  as  both  had  been  taken  and 
destroyed  together,  they  likcAvise  Avere  rebuilt  and  repeopled 
at  the  same  time.  However  this  be,  Strabo  affirms,  that  in 
his  time,  Carthage  was  as  populous  as  any  city  in  Africa : 
and  it  rose  to  be  the  capital  of  Africa,  under  the  succeeding 
emperors.  It  existed  for  about  seven  hundred  years  after  in 
splendor,  but  at  last  Avas  so  completely  destroyed  by  the 
Saracens,  in  the  beginning  of  the  seventh  century,  that 
neither  its  name,  nor  the  least  vestige  of  it,  is  knoAvn  at  this 
time  in  the  country. 

A     DIGRESSION    ON     THE  MANNERS     AND    CHARACTER    OF    THE 
SECOND  SCIPIO  AFRICANUS. 

Scipio,  the  destroyer  of  Carthage,  was  son  to  the  famous 
Paulus  ^milius,  who  conquered  Perseus,  the  last  king  of. 

*  Marius  cursiim  in  Africam  ilirexit,  inopemque  vitaiii  in  fugurio  ruinarum 
Carthaginiensiiim  toleravit :  cum  Marius  aspiciena  Cartliaginem,  ilia  intucna 
Mariuni,  alter  alteri  possent  espe  solatio.— A'el.  Paterc.  1.  ii.  c.  19. 

t  Appian,  p.  89.       t  Appian,  1.  xvii.  p.  833.        §  Ibid,  p.  b3.        ||  Ibid.  p.  73a 


424  AXCIEXT    HISTORY. 

Macedon;  and  consequently  gi-undson  to  that  Panlus,  who 
lost  his  life  in  the  battle  of  Cannae.  He  was  adopted  bv  the 
son  of  the  great  Scipio  Africanus,  and  called  Sciijio  ^Emil- 
ianus ;  the  names  of  the  two  families  being  so  uiiited,  pur- 
suant to  the  law  of  adoption.  Our  Scipio  su])i)orted,  with 
equal  lustre,  the  honor  and  dignity  of  both  houses,  being 
possessed  of  all  the  exalted  qualities  of  the  sword  and  gown.* 
The  whole  tenor  of  his  life,  says  a  historian,  Avhether  with 
regard  to  his  actions,  his  thoughts,  or  his  words,  was  con- 
spicuous for  its  great  beauty  and  regularity.  lie  distin- 
guished himself  particularly,  a  circumstance  seldom  found  at 
that  time  in  persons  of  the  military  profession,  by  his  ex- 
quisite taste  for  polite  literature  and  all  sciences,  as  well  as 
by  the  uncommon  regai-d  he  .showed  to  learned  men.  It  is 
universally  known,  that  he  was  reported  to  be  the  author  of 
Terence's  comedies,  the  most  polite  and  elegant  writings  of 
which  the  Romans  could  boast.  We  are  told  of  Scipio, f 
that  no  man  could  blend  more  happily  repose  and  action, 
nor  employ  his  leisure  hours  with  greater  delicacy  and  taste; 
thus  was  he  divided  between  arms  and  books,  between  the 
military  labors  of  the  camp,  and  the  peaceful  employment  of 
the  cabinet ;  in  which  he  either  exercised  his  body  in  toils  of 
war,  or  his  mind  in  the  study  of  the  sciences.  By  this  he 
showed,  that  nothing  does  greater  honor  to  a  person  of  dis- 
tinction, of  whatever  quality  or  profession,  than  the  adorn- 
ing his  soul  with  knowledge.  Cicero,  speaking  of  Scipio, 
says,  t  that  he  always  had  Xenophon's  works  in  his  hands, 
which  are  so  famous  for  the  solid  and  excellent  instructions 
they  contain,  both  in  regard  to  war  and  policy. 

He  owed  this  exquisite  taste  for  polite  learning  and  the 
sciences,  to  the  excellent  education  which  Paulus  ^milius 
bestowed  on  his  children.  He  had  put  them  under  the 
ablest  masters  in  every  art,  and  did  not  spare  any  expense 
on  that  occasion,  though  his  circumstances  were  \evy  nar- 
row ;  Paulus  yEmilius  himself  was  present  at  all  their  lessons, 
as  often  as  the  affairs  of  government  would  permit,  becom- 
ing, by  this  means,  their  chief  ])receptor.  § 

The  strict  union  between  Polybius  and  Scipio  finished 

*  Scipio  /"Emilianus  vir  jivitis  P.  African!  patornisque  L.  Pauli  virtutibns 
Bimillimus,  omnibus  belli  ac  to;^ie  ilolib  is,  jiigeiiiique  a<;  stiulidruni  e;iiineiii.is- 
Simas  Srfcali  s  li,  qui  n.hil  in  vita  i-.isi  laadainlain  aut  fecit  ant  dixit,  aut  seiisit. 
— Vei.  Paterc.  1.  i.  c.  12. 

t  Nequi  oiiiui  (luisqiiam  lioc  Sciplone  elegaiiiius  iiitcrvalla  iiegotionim  otio 
dispuiixit  ;  soinpeniue  aut  belli  aut  pacis  serviit  artibus,  semper  inter  arma  ac 
8tudia  versatus,  aut  corpus  pericuiis,  aut  aiiimum  disciplinis  exercuit. — Vel. 
Paterc.  e.  i:$. 

t  Africanus  sempsr  Socraticum  Xenophontem  in  mnnlbns  habebat.— Tuso. 
Quaest.  1.  U,  u.  02.  §  ^lut.  iu  Vita  iEiuil.  Paul. 


THE    CAETHAGIXIAXS.  4'2& 

the  exalted  qualities,  which,  by  the  superiority  of  his  genius 
and  disposition,  and  the  excellency  of  his  education,  were 
already  the  subject  of  admiration.*  Polybius,  with  a  great 
number  of  Achaians,  whose  fidelity  the  Romans  suspected 
during  the  war  with  Perseus,  was  detained  in  Rome,  where 
his  merit  soon  attracted  notice,  and  made  his  conversation 
the  desire  of  all  persons  of  the  highest  quality  in  that  cit)^ 
Scipio,  when  scarcely  eighteen,  devoted  himself  entirely  to 
Polybius,  and  considered  as  the  greatest  felicity  of  his  life, 
the  opportunity  he  had  of  being  instructed  by  so  great  a 
master,  whose  society  he  preferred  to  all  the  vain  and  idle 
amusements  which  are  generally  so  eagerly  pursued  by 
young  persons. 

Tlie  first  care  of  Polybius  was  to  inspire  Scipio  with  an 
aversion  for  those  equally  dangerous  and  ignominious  pleas- 
ures, to  which  the  Roman  youth  were  so  strongly  addicted ; 
the  greatest  part  of  them  being  already  depraved  and  cor- 
rupted, by  the  luxury  and  licentiousness  which  riches  and 
new  conquests  had  introduced  into  Rome.  Scipio,  during 
the  first  five  years  that  lie  continued  in  so  excellent  a  school, 
made  the  greatest  improvement  in  it ;  and,  despising  the 
levity  and  wantonness,  as  well  as  the  pernicious  examples  of 
persons  of  the  same  age  with  himself,  he  was  looked  upon, 
even  at  that  time,  as  a  shining  model  of  discretion  and  wis- 
dom. 

From  hence  the  transition  was  easy  and  natural,  to  gen- 
erosity, to  a  noble  disregard  of  riches,  and  to  a  laudable  use 
of  them  ;  all  virtues  so  requisite  in  persons  of  illustrious 
birth,  and  which  Scipio  carried  to  the  most  exalted  pitch, 
as  appears  from  some  instances  of  this  kind  related  by  Po- 
lybius, and  highly  worthy  our  admiration. 

^milia,t  wife  of  the  first  Scipio  Africanus,  and  mother 
of  him  who  had  adopted  the  Scipio  mentioned  here  by  Po- 
lybius, had  bequeathed,  at  her  death,  a  great  estate  to  the 
lattei.  This  lady,  besides  the  diamonds  and  jewels  which 
were  worn  hy  women  of  her  high  rank,  possessed  a  great 
number  of  gold  and  silver  vessels  used  in  sacrifices,  together 
with  several  splendid  equipages,  and  a  considerable  number 
of  slaves  of  both  sexes  ;  the  whole  suited  to  the  august 
house  into  which  she  had  married.  At  her  death,  Scipio 
made  over  all  those  rich  possessions  to  Papiria,  his  mother, 
who,  having  been  divorced  a  considerable  time  before  by 

*  Ex«err>t.  e  Polyl).  pp.  147-163. 

t  She  was  tlie  sister  of  Paulus  /EmiliuB,  father  of  the  second  Scipio  Afncaiius. 


426  AXCIEXT   HISTORY. 

Paulas  Emilias,  and  not  being  in  circumstances  to  support 
the  dignity  of  her  birth,  lived  in  great  obscurity,  and  never 
appeared  in  the  assemblies  or  public  ceremonies.  But  when 
she  again  frequented  them  with  a  magnificent  train,  this 
noble  generosity  of  Scipio  did  him  great  honor,  especially 
in  the  minds  of  the  ladies,  who  exjjatiated  on  it  in  all  their 
conversations,  and  in  a  city  whose  inhabitants,  says  Po- 
lybius,  were  not  easily  prevailed  upon  to  part  with  their 
money. 

Scipio  was  no  less  admired  on  another  occasion.  He  was 
bound,  by  a  condition  in  the  will,  to  ])ay  at  three  different 
times,  to  the  two  daughters  of  Scipio,  his  grandfather  by 
ado])tion,  half  their  portion,  which  amounted  to  fifty  thou- 
sand French  crowns.*  The  time  for  the  payment  of  the 
first  sum  having  expired,  Scipio  put  all  the  money  into  the 
hands  of  a  banker.  Tiberius  Gracchus,  and  Scipio  Nasica, 
who  had  married  the  two  sisters,  imagining  that  Scipio  had 
made  a  mistake,  went  to  him  and  observed,  that  the  laws 
allowed  him  three  years  to  pay  the  sum,  and  at  three  dif- 
ferent times.  Young  Scipio  answered  that  he  knew  very 
well  what  the  laws  directed  on  this  occasion  ;  that  they 
might  indeed  be  executed  in  their  greatest  rigor  with 
strangers,  but  that  friends  and  relations  ought  to  treat  one 
another  with  a  more  generous  simplicity  ;  and  therefore  de- 
sired them  to  receive  the  whole  sum.  They  A\'ere  struck 
with  such  admiration  at  the  generosity  of  their  kinsman, 
that  in  their  return  home  they  reproached  themselves  for 
their  narrow  way  of  thinking,  at  a  time  when  they  made 
the  greatest  figure,  and  had  a  higher  regard  paid  to  thtm 
than  any  family  in  Rome.f  This  generous  action,  says 
Polybius,  was  the  more  admired,  because  no  person  in 
Rome,  so  far  from  consenting  to  ])ay  fifty  thousand  crowns 
before  they  were  due,  would  pay  even  a  thousand  before  the 
time  for  payment  had  elapsed. 

It  was  from  the  same  noble  spirit  that,  two  years  after, 
Paulus  yEmilius  his  father  being  dead,  he  made  over  to  his 
brother  Fabius,  who  was  not  so  wealthy  as  himself,  the  part 
of  their  father's  estate  which  was  Scipio's  due  (amounting 
to  above  threescore  thousand  crowns), t  that  there  might  not 
be  so  great  a  disparity  between  his  fortune  and  that  of  his 
brother. 

This  Fabius  being  desirous  to  exhibit  a  show  of  gladia- 
tors after  his  father's  decease,  in  honor  of  his   memory,  as 

*  Or  $55,000.  t  KaTeyvuicdTd?  t^s  avrov  /iticpoAond?.  t  Ov  §60,000. 


THE    CARTHAGINIANS,  427 

was  the  custom  in  that  age,  and  not  being  able  to  defray 
the  expenses  on  this  occasion,  which  amounted  to  a  very 
heavy  sum,  Scipio  made  him  a  present  of  fifteen  thousand 
ci'owns,*  in  order  to  defray  at  least  half  the  charges  of  it. 

The  splendid  presents  which  Scipio  had  made  ids  mother 
P;ipiria  reverted  to  him  by  law,  as  well  as  equity,  after  her 
demise ;  and  his  sisters,  according  to  the  custom  of  those 
times,  had  not  the  least  claim  to  them.  Nevertheless,  Scipio 
thought  it  would  have  been  dishonorable  in  him,  had  he 
taken  them  back  again.  He  therefore  made  over  to  his  sis- 
ters whatever  he  had  presented  to  their  mother,  which 
amounted  to  a  very  considerable  sum,  and  by  this  fresh 
proof  of  his  glorious  disregard  of  wealth,  and  the  tender 
friendship  he  had  for  his  family,  acquired  the  applause  of 
the  whole  city. 

Tiiese  different  benefactions,  which  amounted  altogether 
to  a  prodigious  sum,  seem  to  have  received  a  brigliter  lustre 
from  the  age  at  which  he  bestowed  them,  he  being  then  very 
young ;  and  still  more  from  the  circumstances  of  the  time 
when  they  were  presented,  as  well  as  the  kind  and  obliging 
behavior  he  assumed  on  those  occasions. 

The  incidents  I  have  here  given  are  so  repugnant  to  the 
maxims  of  this  age  that  there  might  be  reason  to  fear 
the  reader  would  consider  them  merely  as  the  rhetorical 
flourishes  of  a  historian,  who  was  prejudiced  in  favor  of  his 
hero,  if  it  was  not  well  known  that  the  predominant 
characteristic  of  Polybius,  by  whom  they  are  related,  is  a 
sincere  love  of  truth,  and  an  utter  aversion  to  adulation  of 
every  kind.  In  the  very  passage  whence  this  relation  is  ex- 
tracted, he  thought  it  would  be  necessary  for  him  to  be  a 
little  guarded,  where  he  expatiates  on  the  virtuous  actions 
and  rare  qualities  of  Scipio ;  and  he  observes,  that  as  his 
writings  were  to  be  perused  by  the  Romans,  who  were  per- 
fectly well  acquainted  with  all  the  particulai's  of  this  great 
man's  life,  he  would  certainly  be  animadverted  upon  by  them, 
should  he  venture  to  advance  any  falsehood  ;  an  affront  to 
Avhich  it  is  not  ])robable  an  author,  who  has  the  least  regard 
for  his  reputation,  would  expose  himself,  especially  if  no  ad- 
vantage was  to  accrue  to  him  from  it. 

We  have  ah*eady  observed,  that  Scipio  had  never  gone 
into  the  fashionable  debaucheries  and  excesses  to  which  the 
young  people  at  Rome  so  wantonly  abandoned  themselves. 
But  he  was  sufficiently  comj)ens-ited  for  this  self-denial  of  all 

♦  Or  .:!IC,.-.0O. 


428  ANCIENT    HISTORY. 

destructive  pleasures,  by  the  vigorous  health  he  enjoyed  all 
the  rest  of  his  lite,  which  enabled  hini  to  taste  pleasures  of 
a  much  purer  and  more  exalted  kind,  and  to  perform  the 
great  actions  that  reflected  so  much  glory  upon  him. 

Hunting,  which  was  his  favorite  exercise,  contributed 
also  very  much  to  invigorate  his  constitution,  and  enable 
him  to  endure  the  hardest  toils.  Macedonia,  whither  he 
followed  his  father,  gave  him  an  opportunity  of  indulging 
to  the  utmost  of  his  desire,  his  passion  in  this  respect ;  for 
the  chase,  which  was  the  usual  diversion  of  the  Macedonian 
monarchs,  having  been  laid  aside  for  some  years  on  account 
of  the  wars,  Scipio  found  there  an  incredible  quantity  of 
game  of  every  kind.  Paulus  ^milius,  studious  of  procuring 
his  son  virtuous  pleasures  of  every  kind,  in  order  to  divert 
his  mind  from  those  which  reason  prohibits,  gave  him  full 
liberty  to  indulge  himself  in  his  favorite  sport,  during  all  the 
time  that  the  Roman  forces  continued  in  that  country,  after 
the  victory  he  had  gained  over  Perseus.  The  illustrious 
youth  employed  his  leisure  hours  in  an  exercise  which  so 
well  suited  his  age  and  inclination  ;  and  was  as  successful 
in  this  innocent  war  against  the  beasts  of  Macedonia,  as 
his  father  had  been  in  that  which  he  had  carried  on  against 
the  inhabitants  of  the  country. 

It  was  at  Scipio's  return  from  Macedon  that  he  met  with 
Polybius  in  Rome,  and  contracted  the  strict  friendship  with 
him,  which  was  afterwards  so  beneficial  to  our  young  Roman, 
and  did  him  almost  as  much  honor  in  after  ages  as  all  his 
conquests.  We  find  by  history,  that  Polybius  lived  with 
the  two  brothers.  Cre  f'ay,  "\^hen  he  and  Scipio  were 
alone,  the  latter  opened  himself  freely  to  him,  and  com- 
plained, but  in  the  mildest  and  most  gentle  terms,  that  he, 
in  their  conversations  at  table,  always  directed  himself  to 
his  brother  Fabius,  and  never  to  him.  "  I  am  sensible," 
says  he,  "  that  this  indifference  arises  from  your  supposing, 
Avith  all  onr  citizens,  that  I  am  a  heedless  young  man,  and 
Avholly  averse  to  the  taste  which  now  prevails  in  Rome,  be- 
c  luse  I  do  not  plead  at  the  bar,  nor  study  the  graces  of 
elocution.  But  how  should  I  do  this  ?  I  am  constantly 
told  that  the  Romans  expect  a  general,  and  not  an  orator, 
from  the  house  of  the  Scipios.  I  Avill  confess  to  you,  pardon 
the  sincerity  M'ith  which  I  reveal  my  thoughts,  that  your 
coldness  and  indifference  grieve  me  exceedingly."  Polybius, 
surprised  at  these,  unexpected  words,  made  Scipio  the 
kindest    answer,   and   assured   the   illustrious   youth,   that 


THE    CARTHAGINIANS.  429 

though  he  always  directed  himself  to  his  brother,  yet  this 
was  not  out  of  disrespect  to  him,  but  onlj'  because  Fabiu.s 
was  the  eldest ;  not  to  mention,  continued  Polybius,  that, 
knoAving  you  possessed  but  one  soul,  I  conceived  that  I  ad- 
dressed both,  when  I  spoke  to  eitlier  of  you.  He  then 
assured  Scipio  that  he  was  entirely  at  liis  command  ;  that, 
Avith  regard  to  the  sciences,  for  which  lie  discovered  the  hap- 
piest genius,  he  would  have  opportunities  sufficient  to  im- 
prove himself  in  them,  from  the  great  number  of  learned 
Grecians  who  resorted  daily  to  Rome  ;  but  that,  as  to  the 
art  of  war,  Avhich  was  ]")roperly  his  profession  and  favorite 
study,  he,  Polybius,  might  be  of  some  little  service  to  him. 
He  had  no  sooner  si)oken  these  words,  than  Scipio,  grasji- 
ing  his  hand  in  a  kind  of  rapture  ;  "  Oh !  when,"  says  he, 
"  shall  I  see  the  hap])y  day,  when,  disengaged  front  all  other 
avocations,  and  living  Avith  me,  you  will  be  so  much  my 
friend  as  to  improAC  my  understanding,  and  regulate  my 
affections  ?  It  is  then  I  shall  think  myself  worthy  of  my 
illustrious  ancestors."  From  that  time  Poh'bius,  overjoyed 
to  see  so  young  a  man  breathe  such  noble  sentiments,  de- 
voted himself  particularly  to  our  Sci]iio,  who  for  ever  after 
paid  him  as  much  reverence  as  if  he  had  been  his  father. 

Scipio,  however,  did  not  only  esteem  Polybius  as  an  ex- 
cellent historian,  but  valued  him  much  more,  and  reaped 
much  greater  advantages  from  him,  by  his  being  so  able  a 
warrior,  and  so  profound  a  politician.  Accordingly,  he 
consulted  him  on  CA'ery  occasion,  and  always  took  his  ad- 
A'ice,  even  when  he  was  at  the  head  of  his  army  •  concerting 
in  private  with  Polybius,  all  the  operations  of  the  campaign, 
all  the  movements  of  the  forces,  all  enter])rises  against  the 
enemy,  and  the  several  measures  proper  for  rendering  them ' 
successful. 

In  a  word,  it  was  the  common  report,  that  our  illustriuus 
Roman  did  not  perform  any  great  or  good  action,  but  when 
he  was  advised  to  it  by  Polybius ;  nor  ever  commit  any 
error,  except  when  he  acted  Avithout  consulting  him.* 

I  flatter  myself  that  the  reader  Avill  excuse  this  long 
digression,  Avhich  may  be  thought  foreign  to  my  subject,  as 
I  am  not  writing  the  Roman  history.  HoAvcA^er,  it  appeared 
to  me  so  Avell  adapted  to  the  general  design,  I  propose  to 
myself  in  this  Avork,  A'iz. :  the  cultivating  and  improving  the 
minds  of  youth,  that  I  could  not  forbear  introducing  it  here, 
though  I  was  sensible  this  is  not  altogether  its.  proper  place. 

•  Pausaii.  in  Arcad.  1.  viii.  p.  505. 


430  ANCIENT   HISTORY. 

And  indeed  these  examples  show  how  important  it  is  that 
young  people  should  receive  a  liberal  and  virtuous  educa- 
tion, and  the  great  benefit  they  derive  from  associating  and 
corresponding  early  with  persons  of  merit ;  for  these  were 
the  foundations  whereon  were  built  the  fame  and  glory, 
whicli  had  rendered  Scipio  immortal.  But  aVjove  all,  how 
noble  an  example  for  our  age,  in  which  the  most  inconsider- 
able and  even  trilling  concerns  often  create  feuds  and 
animosities  between  brothers  and  sisters,  and  disturb  the 
peace  of  families,  is  the  generous  disinterestedness  of  Scipio, 
who,  whenever  he  had  an  opportunity  of  serving  his  rela- 
tions, took  a  delight  in  bestowing  the  largest  sums  upon 
them !  This  excellent  passage  of  Polybius  had  escaped  me, 
by  its  not  being  inserted  in  the  folio  edition  of  his  works. 
It  belongs  indeed  naturally  to  the  book  where,  treating  of 
the  taste  with  regard  to  solid  glory  I  mentioned  the  con- 
tempt in  which  the  ancients  held  riches,  and  the  excellent 
use  they  made  of  them.  I  therefore  tliouglit  myself  indis- 
pensably obliged  to  restore,  on  this  occasion,  to  young  stu- 
dents, what  1  afterwards  could  not  but  blame  myself  for 
omitting. 

THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  FAMILY  AND  POSTERITY  OF  IIASINISSA. 

I  promised,  after  finishing  what  related  to  the  republic 
of  Carthage,  to  return  to  the  family  and  posterity  of  Masi- 
nissa.  This  piece  of  history  forms  a  considerable  part  of 
that  of  Africa,  and  therefore  is  not  quite  foreign  to  my  sub- 
ject. 

From  Masinissa's  having  declared  for  the  Romans  in 
the  time  of  the  first  Scipio,  he  had  always  adhered  to  that 
honorable  alliance,  with  an  almost  unparalleled  zeal  and 
fidelity.  Finding  his  end  approaching,  he  wrote  to  the  pro- 
consul of  jfVfrica,  under  whose  standards  the  younger  Scipio 
then  fought,  to  desire  that  Roman  might  be  sent  to  him  ; 
adding,  that  he  should  die  with  satisfaction,  if  he  could  but 
expire  in  his  arms,  after  having  made  him  executor  to  his 
will.  But,  belie\ing  he  should  be  de;id  before  it  could  be 
j-ossible  for  him  to  receive  this  consolation,  he  sent  for  his 
wife  and  children,  and  spoke  to  them  as  follows  :  ''  I  know 
no  nation  but  the  Romans,  and,  among  this  nation,  no 
family,  but  that  of  Scipio.  I  now,  in  my  expiring  moments, 
empower  Scipio  -^milianus  to  dispose,  in  an  absolute  man- 
ner, of  all  my'  jjossessious,  and  to  divide  my  kingdom  among 


THE    CARTHAGINIAXS.  431 

my  children.  I  require,  that  M'hatever  Scipio  may  decree, 
shall  be  executed  as  punctually  as  if  I  myself  had  appointed 
it  by  my  will."  After  saying  these  words,  he  breathed  his 
last,  being  upwards  of  ninety  years  of  age.* 

This  ]n"ince,  during  his  youth,  had  met  with  strange '  re- 
verses of  fortune,  haA'ing  been  dispossessed  of  his  kingdom, 
obliged  to  fly  from  province  to  pro^'ince,  and  a  thousand 
times  in  danger  of  his  life.f  Being  supported,  says  tlie 
historian,  by  the  divine  protection,  he  was  afterwards  favor- 
ed, till  his  death,  with  a  perpetual  series  of  prosperity, 
unruffled  by  any  unfortunate  accident ;  for  he  not  only  re- 
covered his  own  kingdom,  but  added  to  it  that  of  Syphax 
his  enemy  ;  and  extending  his  kingdom  from  Mauritania  as 
far  as  Cyrene,  he  became  the  most  powerful  prince  of  all 
Africa.  He  was  blessed,  till  he  left  the  world,  with  the 
greatest  health  and  vigor,  which  was  doubtless  owing  to  his 
extreme  temperance,  and  the  toils  he  per])etually  sustained. 
Though  ninety  years  of  age,  he  performed  all  the  exercises 
used  by  young  men,  t  <ind  always  rode  without  a  saddle ; 
and  Polybius  observes,  a  circumstance  preserved  by  Plu- 
tarch, §  that  a  day  after  a  great"  victory  over  the  Cartha- 
ginians, Masinissa  was  seen,  sitting  at  the  door  of  his  tent, 
eating  a  piece  of  brown  bread. 

He  left  fifty-four  sons,  of  whom  three  only  Avere  legiti- 
mate, viz. :  Micipsa,  Gulussa,  and  Mastanabal.  Scipio 
divided  the  kingdom  between  these  three,  and  gave  con- 
siderable possessions  to  the  rest ;  but  the  two  last,  dying 
soon  after,  Micipsa  became  the  sole  possessor  of  these  ex- 
tensive dominions.  He  had  two  sons,  Adherbal  and 
Hiempsal,  whom  he  educated  in  his  palace  with  Jugurtha 
his  nephew,  Mastanabal's  son,  of  whom  he  took  as  much 
care  as  he  did  of  his  own  children.  This  last-mentioned 
prince  possessed  several  eminent  qualities,  which  gained  him 
universal  esteem.  Jugurtha,  who  was  finely  shaped,  and 
very  handsome,  of  the  most  delicate  wit  and  the  most  solid 
judgment,  did  not  devote  himself,  as  young  men  commonly 
do,  to  a  life  of  luxury  and  pleasure.  He  used  to  exercise 
himself  with  persons  of  his  age,  in  running,  riding,  and  throw- 

*  A.  M.  .3857.  A.  Konie,  001.  App.  p.  G.5.  Val.  Max.  1.  x.  c.  2.     t  Appian,  p.  GH. 

t  Cici!ro  introduces  Cato,  speakiuo;  as  follows  of  Masiiiissa's  vigorous  consti- 
tution :  Arbitror  te  audire  Scipio,  hospes  tuus  Masinissa  qiim  faciat  liodie 
nonaginta  annos  natus  ;  cum  ingressiis  iter  pedibus  sit,  in  equum  omnio  non 
ascendere  :  cum  equo,  ex  equo  non  defenders  ;  nullo  imbre,  nullo  frigore  a<lduci. 
lit  capiti)  operto  sit  ;  summam  esse  in  eo  corporis  siccitatem.  Itaque  exequl 
omnia  regis  ofiioia  et  munera.— De  Senecturc. 

§  All  seni  cerenda  sit  Resp.  p.  701. 

U  All  this  history  of  Jugurtha  is  extracted  from  Saliust 


482  ANCIEXT    HISTORY. 

ingthe  javelin  ;  and  though  he  surpassed  all  his  companions, 
there  was  not  one  of  them  but  loved  him.  The  chase  was 
his  only  delight,  but  it  was  that  of  lions  and  other  savage 
beasts.  To  finish  his  character,  he  excelled  in  all  things, 
and  spoke  very  little  of  hhnself  ;  plurimum  facers,  et  mini- 
mtini  ipse  de  se  loqui* 

So  conspicuous  an  assemblage  of  fine  talents  and  perfec- 
tion, began  to  excite  the  jealousy  of  Micipsa.  He  was  him- 
self in  the  decline  of  life,  and  his  children  very  young.  He 
knew  the  prodigious  lengths  which  am.bition  is  capable  of 
going,  when  a  croAvn  is  in  view  ;  and  thnt  a  man,  Avith 
talents  much  inferior  to  those  of  Jugurtha,  might  be  dazzled 
by  so  resplendent  a  temptation,  especially  when  united  with 
such  favorable  circumstances. f  In  order,  therefore,  to  re- 
move a  competitor,  so  dangerous  with  regard  to  his  chil- 
dren, he  gave  Jugurtha  the  command  of  the  forces  which 
he  sent  to  the  assistance  of  Ihe  Romans,  who,  at  that  time, 
were  besieging  Numantia,  under  the  conduct  of  Scipio. 
Knowing  Jugurtha  Avas  actuated  by  the  most  heroic  bravery, 
he  flattered  himself  that  he  probably  would  rush  upon  danger, 
and  lose  his  life.  In  this,  he  was  mistaken.  This  young 
prince  joined  to  an  undaunted  courage,  the  utmost  calmness 
of  mind  ;  preserving  a  just  medium  between  a  timorous 
foresight  and  an  impetuous  rashness,  a  circumstance  very 
rarely  found  in  persons  of  his  age.  %  In  this  campaign,  he 
won  the  esteem  and  friendship  of  the  whole  army.  Scipio 
sent  him  back  to  his  uncle  with  letters  of  recommendation, 
and  the  most  advantageous  testimonials  of  his  conduct,  after 
having  given  him  very  prudent  advice  with  regard  to  it; 
for  knowing  mankind  so  well,  he  in  all  probability  had  dis- 
covered certain  sparks  of  ambition  in  that  prince  ;  which  he 
feared  one  day  would  break  out  into  a  flame. 

Micipsa,  pleased  with  the  great  character  that  was  sent 
him  of  his  nepliew,  changed  his  behavior  towards  him,  and 
resolved,  if  possible,  to  win  his  affection  by  kindness.  Ac- 
cordingly he  adopted  him  ;  and,  by  his  will,  made  him  joint- 
heir  with  his  two  sons.  Finding  afterwards  his  end  ap- 
proaching, he  sent  for  all  three,  and  bid  them  draw  near  his 
bed,  where,  in  presence  of  his  Avhole  court,  he  put  Jugurtha 

*  Anpian,  Val-  Max.  1.  v.  c.  2. 

t  Terrebat  cum  natura  mortalium  avida  imperii,  et  prajceps  ad  explendam 
animi  cnpidinem  prrptevca  opport\iiiita'«  susb  liberorumqiie  iBtati»,  qu;e  etiani 
mediocres  viros  spe  pneda^  ti'aiisverso>  auit.— Sallust. 

t  Ac  sane,  quod  diflicillimuin  imprimis  est,  et  pralio  strenuus  erat.  et  1)011118 
consilio  :  quorum  alterum  ex  providentia  timorem,  alterum  ex  audacia  temeri- 
tatem  adferre  plerumqiie  solet. 


THE    CARTHAGINIANS.  433 

in  mind  how  good  he  had  been  to  him,  conjuring /iim,  in  the 
name  of  the  gods,  to  defend  and  protect  his  children  on  all  oc- 
casions ;  who,  being  before  related  to  him  by  the  ties  of  blood, 
were  now  become  his  brethren,  by  his  (Micipsa's)  bounty. 
He  told  him,  that  neither  arms  nor  treasure  constitute  the 
strength  of  a  kingdom,  but  friends,  who  are  not  won  l)y 
arms  nor  gold,  but  by  real  services  and  inviolable  fidelity.* 
Now  where,  says  he,  can  we  find  better  friends  than  our 
brothers  ?  And  how  can  that  man,  who  becomes  an  enemy 
to  his  relations,  repose  any  confidence  in,  or  depend  on  stran- 
gers ?  He  exhorted  his  sons  to  pay  the  highest  reverence 
to  Jugurtha ;  and  to  have  no  contention  with  him,  but  in 
their  endeavors  to  equal,  and,  if  possible,  surpass  his  exalted 
merit.  He  concluded  with  entreating  them  to  observe  for 
ever  an  inviolable  attachment  to  the  Romans  ;  and  to  con- 
sider them  as  their  benefactors,  their  patrons,  and  masters. 
A  few  days  after  this  Micipsa  ex])ired.t 

But  Jurgurtha  soon  threw  off  the  mask,  and  began  by 
ridding  liimself  of  Hiempsal,  who  had  expressed  himself  to 
him  with  great  freedom,  by  instigating  his  murder.  |  This 
bloody  action  j^roved  but  too  evidently  to  Adherbal,  what 
he  himself  might  naturally  fear,  Numidia  was  now  divided, 
and  sided  severally  with  the  two  brothers.  Mighty  armies 
were  raised  by  each  party.  Adherbal,  after  losing  the  great- 
est part  of  his  fortresses,  was  vanquished  in  battle,  and 
forced  to  make  Rome  his  asylum.  This  however  gave  Jugur- 
tha no  very  great  uneasiness,  as  he  knew  that  money  was 
all-powerful  in  that  city.  He  therefore  sent  deputies  thither, 
with  orders  for  them  to  bribe  the  chief  senators.  In  the 
first  audience  to  which  they  were  introduced,  Adherbal  rep- 
resented the  unhappy  condition  to  which  he  was  reduced, 
the  injustice  and  barbarity  of  Jugurtha,  the  murder  of  his 
brother,  the  loss  of  almost  all  his  fortresses  ;  but  the  circum- 
stance on  which  he  laid  the  greatest  stress  was,  the  com- 
mands of  his  dying  father,  viz, :  to  put  his  whole  confidence 
in  the  Romans ;  declaring,  that  the  friendship  of  this  people 
would  be  a  stronger  support  both  to  himself  and  his  king- 
dom, than  all  the  troops  and  treasures  in  the  universe.  His 
speech  was  of  great  length,  and  extremely  pathetic.  Jugur- 
tha's  de])uties  made  only  the  following  answer  :  that  Hiemp- 
sal had  been  killed  by  the  Numidians,  on   account  of  his 

*  Non  exercitus,  iieque  thesauri,  praesidia  regni  sunt,  verum  amioi ;  quoa 
neque  arinis  cogere,  jieque  auro  parere  queas  ;  ollicio  et  fide  pariuntur.  Quig 
autem  amicior  quam  f rater  fratn?  aut  quern  alienu;ii  autem  inveuis,  si  tuia 
hostis  fueris  ?        t  A.  M.  388T.    A.  Rome,  631.  %  A.  M.  3888.    A.  Rome,  632. 

28 


434  ANCIENT    HISTORY. 

great  cruelty;  that  A.lherbal  was  the  agi^ressor,  and  yet, 
aftei'  having  been  vanquished,  was  come  to  make  comjtlaints, 
because  he  had  not  committed  all  the  excesses  he  desired  ; 
that  their  sovereign  entreated  the  senate  to  judge  of  his  be- 
havior and  conduct  in  Africa,  from  what  he  had  shown  at 
Numantia  ;  and  to  lay  a  greater  stress  on  his  actions,  than 
on  the  accusations  of  his  enemies.  But  these  ambassadors 
had  secretly  employed  an  elo(iuence,  much  more  prevalent 
than  that  of  words,  which  had  not  proved  ineffectual.  The 
whole  assembly  was  for  Jugurtha,  a  few  senators  excepted, 
who  were  not  so  void  of  honor  as  to  be  corrupted  by  money. 
The  senate  came  to  this  resolution,  that  commissioners 
should  be  sent  from  Rome,  to  divide  the  provinces  equally 
upon  'the  spot  between  the  two  brothers.  The  reader  will 
naturally  suppose,  that  Jugurtha  was  not  sparing  of  his 
treasure  on  this  occasion  ;  the  division  was  made  to  his  ad- 
vantage, and  yet  a  specious  appearance  of  equity  was  pre- 
served. 

This  first  success  of  Jugurtha  augmented  his  courage  and 
assurance.  lie  accordingly  attacked  his  brother  by  open 
force  ;  and  while  the  latter  lost  his  time  in  sending  deputa- 
tions to  the  Romans,  he  stormed  several  fortresses,  carried 
on  his  conquests,  and,  after  defeating  Adherbal,  besieged  him 
in  Cirtha,  the  capital  of  his  kingdom.  During  this  interval, 
ambassadors  arrived  from  Rome  with  orders,  in  the  name 
of  the  senate  and  people,  to  the  two  kings,  to  lay  down  their 
arms,  and  cease  all  hostilities.  Jugurtha,  after  protesting 
that  he  would  obey,  with  the  most  profound  reverence  and 
submission,  the  commands  of  the  Roman  people,  added,  that 
he  did  not  believe  it  was  their  intention,  to  hinder  him  from 
defendinsr  his  own  life  acjainst  the  treacherous  snares  Avhich 
his  brother  had  laid  for  it.  He  concluded  with  saying,  that 
he  would  send  ambassadors  forthwith  to  Rome,  to  inform 
the  senate  of  his  conduct.  By  this  evasive  answer  he  eluded 
their  orders,  and  would  not  even  permit  the  deputies  to  wait 
on  Adherbal. 

Though  the  latter  was  so  closely  blocked  up  in  his  ca])- 
ital,  he  yet  found  means  to  send  to  Rome,  to  implore  the 
assistance  of  the  Romans  against  his  brother,  who  had  be- 
sieged him  five  months,  and  intended  to  take  away  his  life.* 

*  Ho  chose  two  of  tho  nimblest  of  tlioss  who  had  followed  him  into  Cirtha  ; 
who,  Induced  hy  th.j  great  rewards  lie  promised  theni,  and  pitying  his  uiiliappy 
circuiDStances  undertook  to  pasa  throjgh  the  enemy's  camp,  i;i  the  night,  to  the 
iieighhorlng  shore,  av.tX  from  thenoe  to  Home. — Ex  iis  qui  ima  Cirtham  profuge- 
raut,  4uo8  maxiuie  Imiiigros  delegit ;  eo3  multa  pollicendo,  ac  miserando  casum 
suum,  conflrmat  mi  per  hoceum  muiiitiones  uoctu  ad  proximum  mare,  deiu 
Romam  pergerent.— Sallust. 


THE    CAKTHAGINIAXS.  435 

Some  senators  were  of  opinion,  that  war  ought  to  be  pro- 
claimed immediately  against  Jugurtha ;  but  still  his  influ- 
ence pj-evailed,  and  the  Romans  only  ordered  an  embassy  to 
be  sent,  composed  of  senators  of  the  highest  distinction, 
among  Avhom  was  ^Emilius  Scaurus,  a  factious  man,  Avho 
had  a  great  inllnence  over  the  nobility,  and  concealed  the 
blackest  vices  imder  the  specious  appearance  of  viitne. 
Jugurtha  was  terrified  at  first ;  but  he  again  found  an  op- 
portunity to  elude  their  demands,  and  accordingly  sent  them 
back  without  coming  to  any  conclusion.  Upon  this  jVdher- 
bal,  who  had  lost  all  hopes,  surrendered,  upon  condition  of 
having  his  life  spared ;  nevertheless,  he  was  immediately 
murdered,  with  a  great  nimiber  of  TSTuraidians. 

Although  the  greatest  part  of  the  people  at  Rome  were 
struck  with  horror  at  this  news,  Jugurtha's  money  again 
obtained  him  defenders  in  the  senate.  But  C.  Memmius,  a 
tribune  of  the  people,  an  active  man  Avho  hated  the  nobility, 
prevailed  upon  the  former  not  to  suffer  so  horrid  a  crime  to 
go  un]^unished  ;  and  accordingly  Avar  being  proclaimed  against 
Jiigurtha,  Cal])urnius  Bestia,  the  consul,  was  appointed  to 
carry  it  on.  He  was  endued  with  excellent  qualities,  but 
they  were  all  destroyed,  and  rendered  useless  by  his  avarice.* 
Scaurus  set  out  with  him.  They  at  first  took  several  towns; 
but  Jugurtha's  bribes  checked  the  progress  of  these  con- 
quests ;  and  Scaurus  f  himself,  who,  till  now,  had  expressed 
the  strongest  animosity  against  this  prince,  could  not  resist 
so  powerful  an  attack.  A  treaty  Avas  therefore  concluded  ; 
Jugurtha  feigned  to  submit  to  the  Romans,  and  thirty  ele- 
phants, soine  horses,  Avith  a  very  considerable  sum  of  anoney, 
Avere  delivered  to  the  quaestor.  J 

But  noAV  the  indignation  of  the  people  in  general  at 
Rome  displayed  itself  in  the  strongest  manner.  Memmius 
the  tribune,  fired  them  by  his  speeches.  He  caused  Cassius, 
Avho  Avas  praetor,  to  be  appointed  to  attend  Jugurtha,  and 
to  engage  him  to  come  to  Rome,  under  the  guarantee  of  the 
Romans,  in  order  that  an  inqxiiry  might  be  made  in  his 
presence  Avho  those  persons  Avere  that  had  taken  bribes. 
Accordingly,  Jugurtha  Avas  forced  to  come  to  Rome.  The 
sight  of  him  raised  the  anger  of  the  ]^eople  still  higher,  but 
a  tribune  having  been  bribed,  he  prolonged  the  session,  and 
at   last   dissoh^ed   it.      A   Numidian    prince,  grandson   of 

*  Multse  bonseque  artes  anirai  et  corporis  eraiit,  quas  omnes  avaritia  prsei 
pedicbat. 

1  Magnitudine  pecuniae  a  bono  honestoque  in  pravum  abstractus  est. 
t  A.  M.  38U4.    A.  Koine,  083.    Ant.  J.  0.  110. 


436  AXCIEXT    HISTORY. 

Masinissa,  called  Massiva,  being  at  that  time  in  tlie  city,  was 
advised  to  solicit  for  Jugurtha's  kingdom  ;  which  coming  to 
to  the  ears  of  the  latter,  he  got  him  assassinated  in  the  midst 
of  Rome.  However,  the  murderer  was  seized,  and  delivered 
up  to  the  civil  magistrate,  and  Jugurtha  was  commanded  to 
depart  from  Italy.  Uj)on  leaving  the  city,  he  turned  his 
eyes  several  times  toward  it,  and  said,  "  Rome  wants  only  a 
])urchaser ;  and  were  one  to  be  found,  it  were  inevitably 
ruined."  * 

The  Avar  now  recommenced.  At  first  the  indolence,  or 
perhaps  connivance,  of  Albinus  the  consul,  caused  it  to  pro- 
gress very  slowly  ;  but  afterwards,  when  he  returned  to 
Rome  to  hold  the  public  assemblies,!  tlie  Roman  army,  by 
the  unskilfulness  of  his  brother  Aulus,  haA'ing  maj-ched  into 
a  defile  from  whence  there  was  no  getting  out,  surrendered 
Ignominiously  to  the  enemy,  who  forced  the  Redmans  to  sub- 
mit to  the  ceremony  of  ])assing  under  the  yoke,  and  made 
them  engage  to  leave  Numidia  in  ten  days. 

The  i-e  ider  will  naturally  suppose,  that  so  shameful  a 
peace,  concluded  without  the  authority  of  the  people,  was 
considered  in  a  most  odious  light  at  Rome.  They  could  not 
flatter  themselves  with  the  hopes  of  being  successful  in  this 
war,  till  the  conduct  of  it  was  given  to  L.  Metellus  the 
consul.  To  all  the  other  virtues  which  constitute  the  great 
captain,  he  added  a  perfect  disregard  of  Avealth  ;  a  quality 
most  essentially  requisite  against  such  an  enemy  as  Jugurtha, 
who  hitherto  had  always  been  victorious,  rather  by  money, 
than  by  the  sword,  t  But  the  African  monarch  found 
Metellijs  as  inaccessible  in  this  as  in  all  other  respects.  He 
therefore  was  forced  to  venture  his  life,  and  exert  his  utmost 
bravery,  through  the  deficiency  of  an  expedient  which  now 
began  to  fail  him.  He  accordingly  signalized  himself  in  a 
surprising  manner ;  and  showed  in  this  campaign,  all  that 
could  be  expected  from  the  courage,  abilities,  and  attention 
of  an  illustrious  general  to  whom  despair  adds  new  vigor, 
and  suggests  new  views  :  he  was,  however,  unsuccessful,  be- 
cause opposed  by  a  consul  who  did  not  suffer  the  most 
inconsiderable  error  to  escape  him,  nor  ever  let  slip  an  02> 
portunity  of  taking  advantage  of  the  enemy. 

Jugurtha's  greatest  concern  was,  how  to  secure  himself 

*  Post Tuam  Roma  e-rrossus  est,  fertnr  sie^e  tacitus  eo  respifiens,  postremo 
dixisse.     UibL;:u  venalem  ei  nature  perituram,  si  einpioreui  inveuerit. 

t  i:''or  electing  uiagistiates.— Sal. 

tin  Niimidiaa  proticlscttur,  magna  spe  rivium,  cum  propter  artes  bouas,  turn 
maxima  quod  aUverstim  divitiaa  iuvictuia  auiuium  gerebat. 


THE    CARTHAGIXIAN^S.  437 

from  traitors.  From  the  time  he  had  been  told  that  Bomil- 
car,  in  Avhom  he  reposed  the  utmost  confidence,  had  a  design 
upon  his  life,  he  enjoyed  no  peace.  He  did  not  believe  him- 
self safe  anywhere  ;  but  all  things,  by  day  as  well  as  niglit, 
the  citizen  as  well  as  foreigner,  were  suspected  by  him;'  and 
the  blackest  terrors  sat  for  ever  brooding  over  his  mind. 
He  never  got  any  sleep,  except  by  stealth ;  and  often 
changed  his  bed,  in  a  manner  unbecoming  his  rank.  Start- 
ing sometimes  from  his  slumbers,  he  Avould  snatch  his  sword, 
and  break  into  loud  cries ;  so  strongly  was  he  haunted  by 
fear,  and  so  strangely  did  he  act  tlie  madman. 

Marius  was  lieutenant  of  Metellus.  His  boundless  ambi- 
tion induced  him  to  endeavor  secretly  to  lessen  this  general's 
character  in  the  minds  of  his  soldiers  ;  and  becoming  soon 
his  professed  enemy  and  slanderer,  he  at  last,  by  the  most 
grovelling  and  perfidious  arts,  prevailed  so  far  as  to  supplant 
Metellus,  and  get  himself  nominated  in  his  place,  to  carry  on 
the  war  against  Jugurtha.  With  whateA^er  strength  of  mind 
Metellus  might  be  endued  on  other  occasions,  he  was  totally 
dejected  by  this  unforeseen  blow,  which  even  forced  tears 
from  his  eyes,  and  such  expressions  as  were  altogether  un- 
worthy so  great  a  man.*  There  was  something  very  dark 
and  vile  in  this  procedure  of  Marius  ;  a  circumstance  that 
displays  ambition  in  its  native  and  genuine  colors,  and 
shows  that  it  extinguishes,  in  those  who  abandon  themselves  to 
it,  all  sense  of  honor  and  integrity.  Metellus  avoided  a  man 
w^hose  sight  he  could  not  bear,  arrived  in  Rome,  and  was 
received  there  with  universal  acclamations.  A  trium])h  Avas 
decreed  him,  and  the  surname  of  Numidicus  conferred  upon 
him.f 

I  thought  it  Avoidd  be  proj^er  to  suspend,  till  I  came  to 
the  Roman  history,  an  account  of  the  events  that  happened 
in  Africa  under  Metellus  an. I  Marius,  all  which  are  very 
circumstantially  described  by  Sallust,  in  his  admirable  his- 
tory of  Jugurtha.  I  therefore  hasten  to  the  conclusion  of 
this  war. 

Jugurtha  being  greatly  distressed  in  his  affairs,  had  re- 
course to  Bocchus,  king  of  Mauritania,  Avhose  daughter  ne 
had  married.  This  country  extends  from  Numidia,  as  far 
as  beyond  the  shores  of  the  Mediterranean, opposite  to  Spain.  J 
The  Roman  name  Avas  scarcely  knoAvn  in  it,  and  the  people 

*  Quibus  rebiis  supra  bonum  atque  honestum  perculswp,  neque  lacrymas 
teiiere,  neque  moderari  linguam  vir  egregius  in  aliis  aitibus,  niniis  niolliter 
SBgritudinem  pali. 

t  A.  M.  3898.    A.  Eonie,  642.  .Now  comprehending  Fez,  Morocco,  &c. 


438  ANCIENT    HISTORY. 

as  little  known  to  the  Romans.  Jugurtha  insinuated  to  his 
father-in-law,  that  should  he  suffer  Xum id ia  to  be  conquered, 
his  kingdom  would  doubtless  be  involved  in  its  ruin  ;  espe- 
cially as  the  Romans,  Avho  Avere  sworn  enemies  to  mon- 
ai-chy,  seemed  to  have  vowed  the  destruction  of  all  the 
thi'ones  in  the  universe.  He  therefore  prevailed  ii]>on  Boc- 
chus  to  enter  into  a  league  Avith  liim  ;  and  accordingly  re- 
ceived, on  different  occasions,  very  considei^able  succors  from 
the  king. 

This  confederacy,  which  was  strengthened  on  either  side 
by  no  other  tie  than  that  of  interest,  had  never  been  close, 
and  a  late  defeat  which  Jugurtha  met  Avith,  broke  at  once 
all  the  bands  of  it.  Bocchus  now  meditated  the  dark  design 
of  delivering  up  his  son-in-law  to  the  Romans.  For  this 
purpose  he  had  desired  Marius  to  send  him  a  trusty  person. 
Sylla,  who  Avas  an  officer  of  uncommon  merit,  and  served 
under  him  as  quaestor,  was  thought  every  Avay  qualified  for 
this  negotiation.  He  Avas  not  afraid  to  put  himself  into  the 
hands  of  the  barbarian  king ;  and  accordingly  set  out  for  his 
court.  Being  arriA^ed,  Bocchus,  Avho,  like  the  rest  of  his 
countiymen,  did  not  pride  himself  in  sincerity,  Avas  for  CA'er 
projecting  ncAV  designs,  debated  Avitliin  hiinself,  a\  hether  it 
would  not  be  his  interest  to  deli\'er  uj)  Sylhi  to  Jugurtha. 
He  Avas  a  long  time  fluctuating  Avitl>  uncertainty,  and  be- 
tween contrary  opinions :  and  tlie  sudden  changes  Avhich 
displayed  themselves  in  his  countenance,  in  his  air,  and  his 
Avhole  person,  showed  evidently  hoAv  strong  his  mind  Avas 
affected.  At  length,  returning  to  his  first  design,  he  made 
his  terms  Avith  Sylla,  and  delivered  u})  Jugurtha  into  his 
hands,  who  Avas  sent  immediately  to  Marius. 

Sylla,  says  Plutarcli,*  acted  on  this  occasion  like  a  young 
man  fired  with  a  strong  thirst  of  glory,  the  sweets  of  which 
he  had  just  begun  to  taste.  Instead  of  ascribing  to  the 
general  under  Avhom  he  fought  all  the  honor  of  this  event, 
as  his  duty  required,  and  which  ought  to  be  an  inviolable 
maxim,  he  reserA^ed  the  greatest  part  of  it  to  himself,  and 
had  a  ring  made,  which  he  ahvays  Avore,  Avherein  he  Avas 
represented  receiA'ing  Jugurtha  irom  the  hands  of  Bocchus  ; 
and  tliis  ring  he  used  ever  after  as  his  signet.  But  Marius 
Avas  so  highly  exasperated  at  this  kind  of  insult,  that  he 
could  never  forgive  him  ;  a  circumstance  that  gave  rise  to 
the  implacable  hatred  between  these  tAvo  Romans,  Avhich 

Prccep.  Reip.  Ger.  p.  806. 


THE    CAKTHAGINIANS.  439 

afterwards  Broke  out  with  so  much  fury,  and  cost  the  repub- 
lic so  much  blood.* 

Marius  entered  Rome  in  triumph,  exhibiting  such  a  spec- 
tacle to  the  Romans,  as  they  could  scarce  believe  they  saw, 
when  it  })assed  before  their  eyes ;  I  mean,  Jugurtha  in 
chains ;  that  so  formidable  an  enemy,  during  whose  life 
they  could  not  flatter  themselves  Avitli  tlie  hopes  of  being 
able  to  put  an  end  to  this  war ;  so  well  Avas  his  courage 
sustained  by  stratagem  and  artifice,  and  his  genius  so  fruit- 
ful in  finding  new  expedients,  even  when  his  affairs  were 
most  desperate.f  We  are  told,  tliat  Jugurtha  ran  dis- 
tracted, as  he  proceeded  in  the  triumph ;  that  after  tlie 
ceremony  was  ended,  he  Avas  throAvn  into  prison;  and  that 
the  lictors  A\^ere  so  eager  to  seize  his  robe,  that  they  rent  it 
in  several  pieces,  and  tore  aAvay  the  tips  of  his  ears,  to  get 
the  rich  jcAA^els  Avith  which  they  Avere  adorned.  In  this  con- 
dition he  Avas  cast,  quite  naked,  and  in  the  utmost  terrors, 
into  a  deep  dungeon,  Avhere  he  spent  six  days  in  struggling 
with  hunger  and  fear  of  death,  retaining  a  strong  desire  of 
life  to  his  last  gasp :  an  end,  continues  Plutarch,  Avorthy  of 
his  wicked  deeds ;  Jugurtha  having  been  ahvays  of  opinion, 
that  the  greatest  crimes  might  be  committed  to  satiate  his 
ambition,  ingratitude,  perfidy,  black  treachery,  and  inhuman 
barbarity. 

Juba,  king  of  Mauritania,  reflected  so  much  honor  on 
polite  literature  and  the  sciences,  that  I  coukl  not  w  ilhout 
impropriety  omit  him  in  the  history  of  Masinissa,  to  Avhom 
his  father,  Avho  also  Avas  named  Juba,  Avas  great-grandson 
and  grandson  of  Gulussa.  The  elder  Juba  signalized  him- 
self in  the  Avar  betAveen  Caesar  and  Pompey,  by  his  invio- 
lable attachment  to  the  paily  of  tlie  latter  hero.  He  sIcav 
himself  after  the  battle  of  Thapsus,  in  Avhich  his  forces,  and 
those  of  Sci})io,  Avere  entirely  defeated.  Juba,  his  son,  then 
a  child,  Avas  deliA'ered  u])  to  the  conqueror,  and  Avas  one  of 
the  most  conspicuous  ornaments  of  his  triumph.  It  appears 
from  history,  that  a  noble  education  Avas  bestoAved  upon 
Juba  in  Rome,  Avhere  he  imbibed  such  a  variety  of  knoAvl- 
edge,  as  afterwards  enabled  him  to  rival  the  most  learned 
Grecians.  He  did  not  leave  that  city  till  he  Avent  to  take 
possession  of  his  father's  dominions.  Augustus  restored 
them  to  him,  when  by  the  death  of  Mark  Antony,  the  })rov- 
inces  of  the  eni])ire  Avere  absolutely  at  his  disposal,  t    Juba, 

*  Plut.  in  A'it.  .Alai  ii.      t  A.  M.  3901.  A.  Rome,  645.  Ant.  J.  C.  103.— Plaut.  Ibid, 
JA.  M.u074.    A.  Kouie,  719.    Ant.  J.  C.  30. 


440  ANCIENT    HISTORY. 

by  the  lenity  of  his  government,  gained  the  hearts  of  all  his 
subjects :  who,  out  of  a  grateful  sense  of  the  felicity  they 
had  enjoyed  during  his  reign,  ranked  him  in  the  number  of 
their  gods.  Pausanias  speaks  of  a  statue  Avliich  the  Athe- 
nians erected  to  his  honor.  It  was  indeed  just,  that  a  city, 
which  had  been  consecrated  in  all  ages  to  the  muses,  should 
give  public  testimonies  of  its  esteem  for  a  king  who  made 
so  bright  a  figure  among  the  learned.  Suidas  ascribes  sca'^- 
eral  works  to  this  prince,  of  Avhich  only  the  fragments  are 
now  extant.*  He  had  written  the  history  of  Arabia ;  the 
antiquities  of  Assyria,  and  those  of  the  Romans  ;  the  history 
of  theatres,  of  painting,  and  painters;  of  the  nature  and 
properties  of  different  animals,  and  of  grammar,  etc.,  a  cat- 
alogue of  all  which  is  given  in  Abbe  Sevin's  short  disserta- 
tions on  the  life  and  works  of  the  younger  Juba,t  whence  I 
have  extracted  these  few  particulars. 

*  In  voce  lo&ai. 

t  Vol.  rV.  of  the  Memoirs  of  the  Academy  of  Belles  Lettres,  p.  467. 


BOOK     THIRD 


THE 

HISTORY 

OF     THE 

ASSYKIANS. 


PLAN. 
This  book  will  contain  the  history  of  the  Assyrian  empire,  both  of  Mneveli  and 
Babylon,  the  kingdom  of  the  Medea,  and  the  kingdom  of  the  Lydians. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE    FIRST    EMPIRE    OF    THE    ASSYRIANS. 


SECTION    I. DURATION    OF    THAT    EMPIRE. 

The  Assyrian  empire  was  undoubtedly  one  of  the  most 
powerful  in  the  world.  With  respect  to  its  duration,  two 
opinions  have  chiefly  prevailed.  Some  authors,  as  Ctesias, 
Avhose  opinion  is  followed  by  Justin,  give  it  a  duration  of 
thirteen  hundred  years ;  others  reduce  it  to  five  hundred 
and  twenty,  of  which  number  is  Herodotus.  The  diminu- 
tion, or  probably  the  interruption  of  power,  which  happened 
in  this  vast  empire,  might  possibly  give  occasion  to  this  dif- 
ference of  opinion,  and  may  perhaps  serve  in  some  measure 
to  reconcile  it. 

The  history  of  those  early  times  is  so  obscure,  the  mon- 
uments which  convey  it  down  to  us  so  contrary  to  each 
other,  and  the  systems  of  the  moderns  upon  that  matter  so 
different,  that  it  is  difficult  to  lay  down  any  opinion  about 
it,  as  certain  and  incontestable.  *     But,  where   certainty  is 

*They  tliat  are  curious  to  make  deeper  researches  into  tliis  matter,  may  read 
the  dissertations  of  Abb6  Bannier.  and  Mr.  Freret,  upon  the  Assyrian  empire,  in 
the  Memoirs  of  the  Academy  of  Belles  Lettres.  For  the  first,  see  Vol.  III.  and 
for  the  other.  Vol.  V.  as  also  what  Father  Tournemine  has  written  upon  this  sub- 
ject, in  his  edition  of  Menochies. 


442  ANCIEXT    HISTOKY. 

not  to  be  had,  I  suppose  a  reasonable  person  will  be  satisfied 
with  probability  ;  and,  in  my  opinion,  a  man  can  liardly  be 
deceived,  if  he  makes  the  Assyrian  empire  equal  in  anti(|uity 
with  the  city  of  Babylon,  its  capital.  Xow  we  learn  from 
the  Holy  Scripture,  that  this  was  built  by  Ximrod,  who 
certainly  was  a  great  conqueror,  and  in  all  probability,  the 
first  and  most  ancient  that  ever  aspired  after  that  denomi- 
nation. 

The  Babylonians,  as  Callisthenes,  a  philosopher  in  Alex- 
ander's retinue,  wrote  to  Aristotle,  reckoned  themselves  to 
be  at  least  of  1903  years'  standing,  when  that  prince  entered 
triumphant  into  Babylon  ;  Avhich  carries  their  origin  as  far 
back  as  the  year  of  the  world  1771,  that  is  to  say,  115  years 
after  the  deluge.*  This  computation  comes  within  a  few 
years  of  the  time  we  suppose  Ninirod  to  have  founded  that 
city.  Indeed  this  testimony  of  Callisthenes,  as  it  does  not 
agree  with  any  other  accounts  of  that  matter,  is  not  es- 
teemed authentic  by  the  learned  ;  but  the  conformity  Ave 
find  between  it  and  the  Holy  Scriptures  should  make  us 
regard  it. 

Upon  these  grounds,  I  think  we  may  allow  Ximrod  to 
have  been  the  founder  of  the  first  Assyrian  empire,  which 
subsisted,  with  more  or  less  extent  .and  glory,  upwards  of 
1450  years,  from  the  time  of  Ximrod  to  that  of  Sardanapa- 
lus,  the  last  king ;  that  is  to  say,  from  the  year  of  the  world 
1800  to  the  year  3257.t 

Nimrod.  t  He  is  the  same  with  Belus,  §  Avho  was  after- 
wards worshipped  as  a  god,  under  that  appellation. 

He  was  the  son  of  Chus,  grandson  of  Cham,  and  great- 
gi-andson  of  Xoah.  He  was,  says  the  Scripture,  a  miffhty 
hunter  before  the  Ijord.  ||  In  apj)lying  himself  to  this  labo- 
rious and  dangerous  exercise,  he  hadtwo  things  in  view  ;  the 
first  was  to  gain  the  people's  affection,  by  delivering  them 
from  the  fury  and  dread  of  wild  beasts ;  the  next  was,  to 
train  up  numbers  of  young  people,  by  this  exercise  of  hunt- 
ing, to  endure  labor  and  hardship,  to  form  them  to  the  Tise 
of  arms,  to  inure  them  to  a  kind  of  discipline  and  obedience 
that  at  a  pro])er  time  after  they  had  been  accustomed  to  his 
orders,  and  habituated  to  arms,  he  might  make  use  of  them 
for  other  purposes  more  serious  than  hunting. 

*  PorpUyr.  apad  Siiuplic.  in  lib.  ii.  de  Ciulo. 

t  Here  1  depart  from  the  opinion  of  Bisliop  Usher,  iny  ordinary  guide,  with 
respect  to  the  di ration  of  tlie  Assyrian  empire,  wliicli  he  Kuppose.s,'with  Herod- 
otus, to  have  lasted  b  it  520  yeai-s  ;  but  the  time  when  Ximrod  lived,  and  Sarda- 
napalus  died,  1  take  from  him. 

$  A.  M.  ISOO.    Ant.  J.  C.  2201.      §  Celus,  or  Baal,  signifies  Lord.      H  Gen.  x.  9. 


THE    ASSYKIANS.  443 

In  ancient  liistory  we  find  some  footsteps  remaining  of 
this  artifice  of  Ninirod,  Avhoni  the  writers  liave  confounded 
with  Xinus,  his  son  :  for  Diodorus  luis  these  Avords  ;  "  Isinus. 
tlie  most  ancient  of  tlie  Assyrian  kings  mentioned  in  liistory, 
performed  great  actions.  Being  natui'ally  of  a  warlilie  dis- 
position, and  ambitious  of  glory  whicli  results  from  valor, 
he  armed  a  considerable  number  of  young  men,  that  were 
brave  and  vigorous  like  himself ;  trained  them  up  a  long 
time  in  laborious  exercises  and  hardships,  and  by  that  means 
accustomed  them  to  bear  the  fatigues  of  war  ])atiently,  and 
to  face  dangers  with  courage  and  intrepidity."  * 

What  the  same  author  adds,  that  Ninus  entered  into  an 
alliance  Avith  the  king  of  the  Arabs,  and  joined  forces  Avith 
him,  is  taken  from  ancient  tradition,  Avhich  informs  us,  that 
the  sons  of  Chus,  the  brothers  of  Nimrod,  all  settled  them- 
selves in  Arabia,  along  the  Persian  gulf,  from  Ilavila  to  the 
ocean,  and  lived  near  enough  their  brother  to  lend  him  suc- 
cors, or  to  receive  them  from  him.  And  Avhat  the  same 
historian  further  says  of  Ninus,  that  he  Avas  the  first  king  of 
the  Assyrians,  agrees  exactly  Avith  Avhat  the  Scripture  says 
of  Nimrod,  that  he  began  to  be  mighty  upon  the  earth  ;  that 
is,  he  procured  himself  settlements,  built  cities,  subdued  his 
neighbors,  united  different  people  under  one  and  the  same 
authority,  by  the  band  of  the  same  polity  and  the  same 
laAvs,  and  formed  them  into  one  state,  Avhich  for  those  early 
times  Avas  of  a  considerable  extent,  though  bounded  by  the 
rivers  Euphrates  and  Tigris  ;  and  Avhich  in  succeeding  ages 
made  neAV  acquisitions  by  degrees,  and  at  length  extended 
its  conquests  Aery  far.f 

The  cajntol  city  of  his  kingdom,  says  the  Scripture,  was 
Habylon.  X  Most  of  the  profane  historians  ascribe  the 
founding  of  Babylon  to  Semiramis,  §  the  rest  to  Belus.  It 
is  CA'ident  that  both  the  one  and  the  other  are  mistaken,  if 
they  speak  of  the  first  founding  of  that  city ;  for  it  owes  its 
beginning  neither  to  Semiramis,  nor  to  Nimrod,  but  to  the 
foolish  A'anity  of  those  persons  mentioned  in  Scripture,  || 
Avho  desired  to  build  a  tower  and  a  city,  that  should  render 
their  memory  immortal. 

Josephus  relates,  upon  the  testimony  of  a  Sibyl,  Avhich 
must  have  been  A^ery  ancient,  and  Avhose  fictions  cannot  be 
imputed  to  the  indiscreet  zeal  of  any  Christians,  that  the 
gods  thrcAV  down  the  tOAver  by  an  impetuous  Avind,  or  a 

♦Lib.  ii.  p.  90.  t  IMd.  t  Gen.  x.  10. 

§  Semiramis  earn  eniidiilerat,  vel,  ut  plerique  tradidere,  Belus,  cujuts  regia 
osteudiUir.— Q.  Curt.  1.  v.  c.  1.  ||  Geii.  xi.  4. 


444  ANCIENT   HISTORY. 

violent  hurricane.*  Had  this  been  the  case,  Kimrod's 
temerity  must  have  been  still  the  greater,  to  rebuild  a  city 
and  a  tower,  which  God  himself  had  overthrown  with  such 
marks  of  his  displeasure.  But  the  Scripture  says  no  such 
thing;  and  it  is  very  probable  the  building  remained  in  the 
condition  it  was  when  God  put  an  end  to  the  work  by  the 
confusion  of  languages  ;  and  that  the  tower  consecrated  to 
Belus,  which  is  described  by  Herodotus,t  was  this  very 
tower  which  the  sons  of  men  pretended  to  raise  to  the  clouds. 

It  is  also  probable,  that  this  ridiculous  design  being  de- 
feated by  such  an  astonishing  ])rodigy  as  none  could  be  the 
author  of  but  God  himself,  everybody  abandoned  the  place 
which  had  given  him  offence  ;  and  that  Nimrod  w;  s  the  first 
who  encompassed  it  afterwards  with  walls,  settled  therein 
his  friends  and  confederates,  and  subdued  those  that  lived 
round  about  it,  beginning  his  empire  in  that  place,  but  not 
confining  it  to  so  narrow  a  compass  ;  Fuit princijnum  regni 
ejus  Babylon.  The  other  cities  which  the  Scripture  speaks 
of  in  the  same  place,  were  in  the  land  of  Shinar,  which  was 
certainly  the  province  of  which  Babylon  became  the  me- 
tropolis. 

From  this  country  he  went  into  that  which  has  the  name 
of  Assyria,  and  there  built  Nineveh  :  De  terra  ilia  egressus 
est  Assur,  et  cedificavit  Nhteveh.X  This  is  tlie  sense  in 
which  many  learned  men  understand  the  word  Assur,  look- 
ing upon  it  as  the  name  of  a  province,  and  not  of  the  first 
man  who  possessed  it ;  as  if  it  were,  egressus  est  in  Assur, 
in  Assyriam.  And  this  seems  to  be  the  most  natural  con- 
struction, for  many  reasons  not  necessary  to  be  recited  in 
this  place.  The  country  of  Assyria,  in  one  of  the  prophets,§ 
is  described  by  the  particular  character  of  being  the  land  of 
Nimrod :  JEt  pascent  terram  Assur  in  gladio,  et  te'^ram 
Nimrod  in  lancets  ejus  /  et  liberahit  ah  Assur,  cutn  venerit 
in  terrain  nostram.  It  derived  its  name  from  Assur,  the 
son  of  Shem,  who  without  doubt  had  settled  himself  and 
family  there,  and  was  probably  driven  out,  or  brought  under 
subjection,  by  the  usurper  Ninn-od. 

This  conqueror,  having  possessed  himself  of  the  provinces 
of  Assur,  II  did  not  ravage  them,  like  a  tyrant,  but  filled 
them  with  cities,  and  made  himself  as  much  beloved  by  his 
new  subjects  as  he  was  by  his  old  ones  ;  so  that  the  his- 
torians, IF  who  have  not  sufiiciently  examined   this  affair, 

*  Hist.  Jud.  1,  i.  c.  4.  +  Lib.  ii.  c.  ISl.  %  Geii.  x.  11. 

§Mic.  V.  6.  U  Gen.  X.  11, 12.  t  Diod.  1.  ii.  p.  90. 


THE    ASSYRIANS.  445 

have  thought  that  he  made  use  of  the  Assyrians  to  conquer 
the  Babylonians.  Among  otlier  cities,  he  built  one  larger 
and  more  magnificent  than  the  rest,  which  he  called  Xine- 
veh,  from  the  name  of  his  son  Ninus,  in  order  to  immortal- 
ize his  memory.  The  son,  in  his  turn,  out  of  veneration  for 
his  father,  was  willing  that  they  who  had  served  him  as 
their  king  should  adore  him  as  their  god,  and  induce  other 
nations  to  render  him  the  same  worship.  For  it  appears  plain- 
ly, that  Nimrod  is  the  famous  Belus  of  the  Babylonians, 
the  first  king  whom  the  people  deified  for  his  great  actions, 
and  who  showed  othei-s  the  way  to  that  sort  of  immortality 
which  may  result  from  human  accomplishments. 

I  intend  to  speak  of  the  mighty  strength  and  greatness 
of  the  cities  of  Babylon  and  Nineveh,  under  the  kings  to 
whom  their  building  is  ascribed  by  profane  authors,  because 
the  Scripture  says  little  or  nothing  on  that  subject.  This 
silence  of  Scripture,  so  little  satisfactory  to  our  curiosity, 
may  become  an  instructive  lesson  for  our  ])iety.  The  holy 
penman  has  j>laced  Nimrod  and  Abraham,  as  it  were,  in 
one  view  before  us  ;  and  seems  to  have  put  them  so  near 
together,  on  purpose  that  we  should  see  an  example  in  the 
former,  of  what  is  admired  and  coveted  by  men  ;  and  in  the 
latter,  of  what  is  acceptable  and  well-pleasing  to  God.* 
These  two  persons,  so  unlike  each  other,  are  the  two  first 
and  chief  citizens  of  two  different  cities,  built  from  different 
motives,  and  with  different  principles,  the  one,  self-love,  and 
a  desire  of  temporal  advantages,  carried  even  to  the  con- 
temning of  the  Deity;  the  other,  the  love  of  God,  even  to 
self-humiliation, 

Ninus.  I  have  already  observed,  that  most  of  the  pro- 
fane authors  look  upon  him  as  the  first  founder  of  the  As- 
syrian empire,  and  for  that  reason  ascribe  to  him  a  great 
part  of  his  father  Nimrod's  or  Belus's  actions. 

Having  a  design  to  enlarge  his  conquests,  the  first  thing 
he  did  was  to  prepare  troops  and  ofiicers  capable  of  promo- 
ting his  designs.  And  having  received  powerful  succors 
from  the  Arabians,  his  neighbors,  he  took  the  field,  and  in 
the  space  of  seventeen  yjiars  conquered  a  vast  extent  ol 
country,  from  Egypt,  as  far  as  India  and  Bactriana,  which 
he  did  not  then  venture  to  attack. f 

At  his  return,  before  he  entered  upon  any  new  conquests, 
he  conceived  the  design  of  immortalizing  his  name  by  the 

*  Feceriint  civitates  i.iuas  amores  duo  :  terrenam  scilicet  amor  sui  usque  ad 
Ciontemptum  Dei  ;  eoelestem  vero  amor  Dei  usque  ad  conternptuiii  sui. — St.  Aug. 
de  Civ.  Dei.  lib.  xiv.  c.  28.  t  Diod.  1.  ii.  pp.  90-95. 


446  AXCIEXT    HISTORY. 

building  of  a  city  answerable  to  the  gi'eatness  of  his  power ; 
he  called  it  Nineveh,  and  built  it  on  the  eastern  banks  of  the 
Tigris*  Possibly  he  did  no  more  than  finish  the  work  his 
father  had  begun.  His  design,  says  Diodorus,  was  to  make 
Nineveh  the  lai-gest  and  noblest  city  in  the  world,  and  not 
leave  it  in  the  power  of  those  that  came  after  him,  ever  to  build, 
or  hope  to  build  such  another.  Nor  was  he  deceived  in  his 
view,  for  never  did  any  city  rival  the  greatness  and  magnif- 
icence of  this;  it  was  one  hundred  and  fifty  stadia,  or  eigh- 
teen miles  and  three  quarters  in  lengtli,  and  ninety  stadia, 
or  eleven  miles  and  one  quarter,  in  breadth  ;  and  conse- 
qiiently  was  an  oblong  square.  Its  circumference  was  four 
hundred  and  eighty  stadia,  or  sixty  miles.  For  this  reason 
we  find  it  said  in  the  prophet  Jonah,  that  Nineveh  was  an 
exceeding  great  city  of  three  day i^''  journey  ;\  which  is  to 
be  understood  of  the  whole  circuit  or  compass  of  the  city.  X 
The  walls  of  it  were  a  hundred  feet  high,  and  of  such  a 
thickness,  that  three  chariots  might  go  abreast  upon  them 
with  ease.  They  were  fortified  and  adorned  with  fifteen  hun- 
dred towers  two  hundred  feet  high. 

After  he  had  finished  this  prodigious  work,  he  resumed 
his  expedition  against  the  Bactrians.  His  army,  according 
to  the  relation  of  Ctesias,  consisted  of  seventeen  hundred 
thousand  foot,  two  hundred  tliousand  horse,  and  about  six- 
teen thousand  chariots,  armed  with  scythes.  Diodorus 
adds,  that  this  ought  not  to  appear  inci'edible,  since,  not  to 
mention  the  innumerable  armies  of  Darius  and  Xerxes,  the 
single  city  of  Syracuse,  in  the  time  of  Dionysius  the  tyrant, 
furnished  one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  foot,  and 
twelve  thousand  horse,  besides  four  himdred  vessels  well 
equipped  and  provided.  And  a  little  before  Hannibal's 
time,  Italy,  including  the  citizens  and  allies,  was  able  to  send 
into  the  field  nearly  a  million  of  men.  Ninus  made  him- 
self master  of  a  great  number  of  cities,  and  at  last  laid  siege 
to  Bactria,  the  capital  of  the  country.  Here  he  would 
probably  have  seen  all  his  attempts  miscarry,  had  it  not 
been  for  the  ddigence  and  assistance  of  Semiramis,  wife  to 
one  of  his  chief  officers,  a  woman  of  an  uncomnion  courage, 
and  particularly  exempted  from  the  weakness  of  her  sex. 
She  was  born  at  Ascalon,  a  city  of  Syria.     I  think  it  need- 

*  Diodorus  says,  it  was  on  the  hanks  of  the  Euphrates,  and  Rpeaks  of  it  as  if  it 
was  so,  iu  many  places  ;  but  lie  is  niist;iken.  t  Joiali  iii.  3. 

t  It  is  hard  to  believe  that  Diodorus  does  not  speak  of  the  inagiiitudo  of 
Nineveh  with  some  exaggeration  ;  therefore,  some  learned  men  have  reduced 
the  stadium  to  little  more  than  one-half,  and  reckon  lifteen  of  them  to  the 
Roman  mUe  instead  of  eight. 


THK    ASSYRIANS.  447 

less  to  recite  the  account  Diodorus  gives  of  her  birth,  and 
of  the  miraculous  manner  of  lier  being  nursed  and  brought 
up  by  pigeons,  since  that  historian  himself  looks  upon  it 
only  as  a  fabulous  story.  It  was  Semiramis  that  directed 
Ninus  how  to  attack  the  citadel,  and  by  her  means  he  took 
it,  and  then  became  master  of  the  city,  in  v>hich  he  found 
an  immense  treasure.  The  husband  of  this  lady  having 
killed  himself,  to  prevent  the  effects  of  the  king's  threats 
and  indignation,  who  had  conceived  a  violent  passion  for  his 
wife,  Xinus  married  Semiramis. 

After  his  return  to  Nineveh,  he  had  a  son  by  her,  whoni 
he  called  Ninyas.  Not  long  after  this  he  died,  and  left  the 
queen  the  government  of  the  kingdom.  She,  in  honor  of 
his  memory,  erected  him  a  magnificent  monument,  which 
remained  a  long  time  after  the  ruin  of  Nineveh. 

I  find  no  appearance  of  truth  in  what  some  authors  re- 
late concerning  the  manner  of  Semiramis's  coming  to  the 
throne.  According  to  them,  having  secured  the  chief  men 
of  the  state,  and  attached  them  to  her  interest  by  her  bene- 
factions and  promises,  she  solicited  the  king  with  great  im- 
poi'tunity  to  put  the  sovereign  power  into  her  hands  for  tlie 
space  of  five  days.  He  yielded  to  her  entreaties,  and  all 
the  provinces  of  the  empire  were  commanded  to  obey 
Semiramis.  These  orders  were  executed  but  too  exactly  for 
the  unfortunate  Ninus,  who  was  put  to  death,  either  imme- 
diately, or  after  same  years'  imprisonment.* 

Semiramis.  This  princess  applied  all  her  thoughts  to  im- 
mortalize her  name,  and  to  cover  the  meanness  of  her  ex- 
traction by  the  greatness  of  her  deeds  and  enterprisei^.f  She 
pro;'osed  to  herself  to  surpass  all  her  predecessors  in  mag- 
nificence, and  to  that  end  she  undertook  the  building  of 
the  miglity  Babylon, $  in  which  work  she  employed  two 
millions  of  men,  who  were  collected  out  of  all  the  provinces 
of  her  vast  empire.  Some  of  her  successors  endeavored  to 
adorn  that  city  with  new  works  and  embellishments.  I  shall 
here  speak  of  them  altogether,  in  order  to  give  the  reader  a 
more  clear  and  distinct  idea  of  that  stupendous  city. 

The  principal  works,  which  rendered  Babylon  so  famous, 
were  the  Avails  of  the  city  ;  the  quays  and  the  bridge  ;  the 
lake,  banks,  and  canals  made  for  the  draining  of  the  river ; 

*Phit.  in  Mor.  p.  75.3.  t  Diod.  1.  ii.  p.  9.". 

t  VVe  are  not  to  wonder,  if  we  find  the  founding  of  a  city  ascrib.ul  to  differer.t 
persons.  It  is  common  even  juu(in>4  profane  writers,  to  say,  such  a  prince  built 
such  a  city,  wliethi-r  he  wus  the  person  that  flrot  founded  it,  or  that  ojily  em- 
bellished or  enlarged  it. 


448  ANCIENT    HISTORY. 

the  palaces,  hanging  gardens,  and  the  temple  of  Belus; 
works  of  such  surprising  magnificence,  as  is  scarcely  to  be 
comprehended.  Dr.  Prideaux  having  treated  this  matter 
with  great  extent  and  learning,  I  have  only  to  copy,  or 
rather  abridge  them. 

I.    THE    WALLS. 

Babylon  stood  on  a  largo  flat  or  plain,  in  a  very  rich  and 
deep  soil.*  The  walls  were  every  way  ])rodigious.  They 
were  eighty-seven  feet  thick,  three  hundred  and  fifty  feet 
high,  and  four  hundred  and  eiglity  furlongs,  or  sixty  of  our 
miles  in  circumference.  These  walls  were  draAvn  roimd  the 
city  in  the  form  of  an  exact  square,  each  side  of  which  was 
one  hundred  and  twenty  furlongs,t  or  fifteen  miles,  in 
length,  and  all  built  of  large  bricks  cemented  togetlicr  with 
bitumen,  a  ^utinous  slime  arising  out  of  the  earth  in  that 
country,  which  binds  in  building  much  stronger  and  firmer 
than  lime,  and  soon  grows  much  harder  than  the  bricks  or 
stones  themselves,  which  it  cements  together. 

These  walls  were  surrounded  on  the  outside  with  a  vast 
ditch,  full  of  water,  and  lined  with  bricks  on  both  sides. 
The  earth  that  was  dug  out  of  it,  Avas  made  into  the  bricks 
wherewith  the  walls  were  built ;  and  therefore,  from  the 
vast  height  and  breadth  of  the  walls,  may  be  inferred  the 
greatness  of  the  ditch. 

On  every  side  of  this  great  square  Avere  twenty-five  gates, 
that  is,  a  hundred  in  all,  which  were  all  made  of  solid  brass  ; 
and  hence  it  is,  that  Avhen  God  ])romised  to  Cyrus  the  con- 
quest of  Babylon,  he  tells  him,  That  he  icould  break  in. ^neces 
before  him  the  gates  of  brass.  %  Between  every  two  of 
these  gates  were  three  towers,  and  four  more  at  the  four 
corners  of  this  great  square,  and  three  between  each  of  these 
corners  and  the  next  gate  on  either  side  ;  every  one  of 
these  towers  was  ten  feet  higher  than  the  walls.  But  this 
is  to  be  understood  only  of  those  parts  of  the  Avail  Avhere  there 
Avas  need  of  toAvers. 

From  the  tAventy-five  gates  in  each  side  of  this  great 
square  extended  tAventy-rive  streets,  in  straight  lines  to  the 
gates,  which  Avere  directly  over  against  them,  in  the  o])])o- 
site  side  ;  so  that  the  Avhole  number  of  the  streets  Avere  fifty, 

*  Her.  1.  i.  e.  178,  180.    Dioil.  1.  ii.  pp.  95,  96.    Q.  Curt.  1.  v.  e.  1. 

t  I  relate  things  as  I  find  tliein  in  the  ancient  authors,  which  Bean  Prideaux 
has  also  done  ;  but  I  cannot  help  believing  that  great  abatements  are  to  bo  mado 
iu  what  they  say  as  to  the  immeuse  extent  of  Babylon  and  Nineveh. 

%  Isa.  xlv.  3. 


THE    ASSYRIANS.  449 

each  fifteen  miles  long,  twenty-fiveof  which  passed  one  way, 
and  twenty-five  the  other,  crossing  each  other  at  right 
angles.  And  besides  these,  there  were  also  four  half  streets, 
which  had  houses  only  on  one  side,  and  the  wall  on  the 
other  ;  these  went  round  the  four  sides  of  the  city  next  the 
walls,  and  Avere  each  of  them  two  hundred  feet  broad  ; 
the  rest  were  about  a  hundred  and  fifty.  By  these  streets 
thus  crossing  each  other,  the  Avhole  city  was  divided  into 
six  hundred  and  seventy-six  squares,  each  of  which  was  four 
furlongs  and  a  half  on  every  side,  that  is,  two  miles  and  a 
quarter  in  circumference.  Round  these  squares,  on  every 
side  towards  the  streets,  stood  the  houses,  which  were  not 
contiguous,  but  had  void  s])aces  between  them,  all  built 
t?iree  or  four  stories  high,  and  embellished  with  all  manner 
of  ornaments  towards  the  streets.  The  space  within,  in  the 
middle  of  each  square,  was  likewise  all  vacant  ground,  em- 
ployed for  yards,  gardens,  and  other  such  uses ;  so  that 
Babylon  was  greater  in  appearance  than  reality,  nearly  one 
half  of  the  city  being  taken  up  in  gardens  and  other  culti- 
vated lands,  as  we  are  told  by  Q.  Curtius.* 

II.    THE    QUAYS    AiSTD    BRIDGE, 

A  branch  of  the  river  Euphrates  ran  quite  across  the 
city,  from  the  north  to  the  south  side ;  on  each  side  of  the 
river  was  a  quay,  and  a  high  wall,  built  of  brick  and  bitu- 
men, of  the  same  thickness  as  the  walls  that  went  round  the 
city.  In  these  walls,  opposite  to  every  street  that  led  to  the 
river,  were  gates  of  brass,  and  from  them  descents  by  steps 
to  the  river,  for  the  convenience  of  the  inhabitants,  who 
used  to  pass  over  from  one  side  to  the  other  in  boats,  having 
no  other  way  of  crossing  the  river  before  the  building  of  the 
bridge.  These  brazen  gates  were  open  in  the  daytime,  and 
shut  in  the  night. f 

The  bridge  was  not  inferior  to  any  of  the  other  buildings 
either  in  beauty  or  magnificence  ;  it  was  a  furlong  in  length, 
and  thirty  feet  in  breadth,  built  with  wonderful  art,  to  sup- 
})ly  the  defect  of  a  foundation  in  the  bottom  of  the  river, 
which  was  sandy.:!:  The  arches  were  made  of  huge  stones, 
fastened  together  with  chains  of  iron  and  melted  lead.  Be- 
fore they  began  to  build  the  bridge,  they  turned  the  course 
of  the  river,  and  laid  its  channel  dry,  having  another  view 

*  Quint.  Curt.  1,  v.c.  1.  t  Her.  1.  i.  c.  ISO,  186.     Diod.  1.  ii.  p.  96. 

t  Diodorus  says  this  bridge  was  1  ve  furloups  in  length,  vvliioh  can  hardly  ba 
true,  since  the  Euphrates  was  but  one  furlong  broad.— Strab.  1.  xvi,  p.  758. 

29 


450  AXCIEXT    HISTORY. 

in  so  doing  besides  that  of  lapng  the  foundations  more  com^ 
niodiously,  as  I  shall  hereafter  explain.  And  as  every  thing 
was  prepared  beforehand,  both  the  bridge  and  tlie  quad's, 
which  I  have  already  described,  were  built  in  that  interval. 

III.    THE  LAKE,  DITCHES,  AND  CANALS  MADE  FOR    THE    DRAIN- 
ING   OF    THE    RIVER. 

These  works,  objects  of  admiration  for  the  skilful  in  all 
ages,  were  moi-e  useful  than  magnificent.  In  the  beginning 
of  the  summer,  the  melting  of  the  snow  upon  the  mountains 
of  Annenia,  causes  a  vast  increase  of  waters,  which,  running 
into  the  Euphrates  in  the  months  of  June,  July,  and  August, 
makes  it  overflows  its  banks,  and  occasions  such  another 
inundation  as  the  Nile  does  in  Egypt.* 

To  prevent  the  damage  which  both  the  city  and  country 
received  from  these  inundations,  at  a  very  considerable  dis- 
tance above  the  town,  two  artificial  canals  Avere  cut,  Avhich 
turned  the  course  ••of  these  waters  into  the  Tigris  before 
they  reached  Babylon.f  And  to  secure  the  country  yet 
more  from  the  danger  of  inundations,  and  to  keep  the  river 
Avithin  its  channel,  they  raised  prodigious  artificial  banks  on 
both  sides  the  river,  built  with  brick,  cemented  with  bitu- 
men, which  began  ft  the  head  of  the  artificial  canals,  and 
extended  below  tlie  city,  t 

To  facilitate  the  making  of  these  Avorks,  it  was  necessary 
to  turn  the  course  of  the  river  another  way  ;  for  which  pur- 
pose, to  the  west  of  Babylon,  was  dug  a  prodigious  artificial 
lake,  forty  miles  square,  §  one  hundred  and  sixty  in  com- 
pass, and  thirty-five  feet  deep,  according  to' Herodotus,  and 
scA^enty-five  feet  according  to  Megasthenes.  Into  this  lake 
the  whole  river  Avas  turned  by  an  artificial  canal,  cut  from 
the  Avest  side  of  it,  till  the  Avhole  Avork  Avas  finished,  Avhen  it 
Avas  made  to  flow  in  its  former  channel.  But  that  the  Eu- 
phrates, in  the  time  of  its  increase,  might  not  overfloAA^  the 
city  through  the  gates  on  its  sides,  this  lake,  Avith  the  canal 
from  the  river,  Avas  still  preserAcd.  The  Avater  receiAed  into 
the  lake  at  the  time  of  these  overflowings,  Avas  kept  there 
all  the  year,  as  a  common  reserA'oir,  for  the  benefit  of  the 
country,  to  be  let  out  by  sluices  at  conA'jnient  times  for 
watering   the  lands  below   it.      The   lake,   therefore,    was 

»  Strab.  1.  xvi.  p.  740.    Plin.  1.  v.c.  26.    t  Abyd.  ap.  Eus.  Prsep.  Evang.  1.  ix. 

t  Abyd.  ib.  Her.  1.  i.  c.  185. 

§  The  aiUhor  follows  Herodotus,  who  makes  it  four  hundred  and  twenty  fur- 
longs, or  Hfty-two  miles  square,  but  I  choose  to  follow  Dean  Prideaux,  who  in 
that  pref en  the  account  of  Megasthenes. 


THE    ASSYRIANS.  451 

equally  useful  in  securing  the  country  from  inundations, 
and  rendering  it  fertile.  I  relate  the  wonders  of  Babylon 
as  they  are  delivered  down  to  us  by  the  ancients,  but  there 
are  some  of  them  which  are  scarcely  to  be  comprehended  or 
believed,  of  which  number  is  the  lake  I  have  described.  I 
mean  with  respect  to  its  vast  extent. 

Berosus,  Megasthenes,  and  Abydenus,  quoted  by  Jose- 
phus  and  Eusebius,  made  Nebuchadnezzar  the  author  of  most 
of  these  works  ;  but  Herodotus  ascribes  the  bridge,  the  two 
quays  of  the  river,  and  the  lake,  to  Nitocris,  the  daughter-in- 
law  of  that  monarch.  Perhaps  Nitocris  might  only  finish 
what  her  father  left  imperfect  at  his  death,  on  which  account 
that  historian  might  give  her  the  honor  of  the  whole  under- 
taking. 

IV.    THE    PALACES    AXD    THE    HAXGIXG    GARDENS. 

At  the  two  ends  of  the  bridges  were  two  palaces,  which 
had  a  communication  with  each  other  by  a  vault,  built  under 
the  channel  of  the  river  at  the  time  of  its  being  dry.*  The 
old  palace,  which  stood  on  the  east  side  of  the  river,  was 
thirty  furlongs,  or  three  miles  and  three  quarters,  in  com- 
pass ;  near  which  stood  the  temple  of  Belus,  of  which  we 
shall  soon  speak.  The  new  palace,  which  stood  on  the  west 
side  of  the  river,  opposite  to  the  other,  was  sixty  furlongs, 
or  seven  miles  and  a  half,  in  compass.  It  was  surrounded 
with  three  walls,  one  within  another,  with  considerable 
spaces  between  them.  These  walls,  as  also  those  of  the 
other  palace,  were  embellished  with  an  infinite  variety  of 
sculptures,  re]iresenting  all  kinds  of  animals  to  the  life. 
Among  them  was  a  curious  hunting-piece,  in  which  Semir- 
amis,  on  horseback,  Avas  throwing  her  javelin  at  a  leopard, 
and  her  husband  Xinus  piercing  a  lion. 

In  this  last,  or  new  palace,  were  the  hanging  gardens,  so 
celebrated  among  the  Greeks.  They  contained  a  square  of 
four  plethra,  that  is,  of  four  hundred  feet,  on  every  side,  and 
were  carried  aloft  into  the  air,  in  the  manner  of  several  large 
terraces,  one  above  another,  till  the  height  equalled  that  of 
the  Avails  of  the  city.  The  ascent  was  from  terrace  to  ter- 
race, by  stairs  ten  feet  wide.  The  whole  pile  Avas  sustained 
by  vast  arches,  raised  upon  other  arches,  one  above  an- 
other, and  strengthened  by  a  Avail  twenty-tAVO  feet  thick, 
surrounding  it  on  eAX'ry  side.  On  the  top  of  the  arches  Avere 
first  laid  large  flat  stones,  sixteen  feet  long,  and  four  broad ; 

♦  Diod.  1.  ii.  pp.  96,  97. 


452  ANCIENT   HISTORY. 

over  these  was  a  layer  of  reeds,  mixed  with  a  great  quantity 
of  bitumen,  upon  which  Avere  two  rows  of  bricks,  closely 
cemented  together  with  plaister.  The  whole  was  covered 
with  thick  sheets  of  lead,  upon  which  lay  the  mould  of  the 
garden.  And  all  this  flooring  Avas  contrived  to  keep  the 
moisture  of  the  mould  from  running  througli  the  arches. 
The  mould,  or  earth,  laid  here,  was  so  deep,  that  the  greatest 
trees  might  take  root  in  it ;  and  with  such  the  terraces  Avere 
covered,  as  well  as  with  all  other  plants  and  flowers  that 
were  proper  for  a  garden  of  pleasure.  In  the  upper  terrace 
there  was  an  engine,  or  kind  of  pump,  by  which  Avater  Avas 
draAvn  up  out  of  the  river,  and  from  thence  the  Avhole  gar- 
den Avas  Avatered.  In  tlie  spaces  betAveen  the  several  arches, 
upon  Avhich  this  Avhole  structure  rested,  Avere  large  and 
magnificent  apai*tments,  that  Averc  A-ery  light,  and  had  the 
advantage  of  a  beautiful  jirospect.* 

Amytis,  the  Avife  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  haA'ing  been  bred 
in  Media  (for  she  Avas  the  daughter  of  Astyages,  the  king 
of  that  country),  was  highly  pleased  Avith  the  mountains 
and  Avoody  part  of  that  country.  And  as  she  desired  to 
haA'e  something  like  it  in  Babylon,  Xebuchodonosor,  to 
gratify  her,  caused  this  prodigious  edifice  to  be  erected,! 
Diodorus  gives  much  the  same  account  of  the  matter,  but 
without  naming  the  jjersons. 

V.    THE    TEMPLE    OF    BELUS. 

Another  of  the  great  Avorks  at  Babylon  was  the  temple 
of  Belus,  Avhich  stood,  as  I  haA'e  mentioned  already,  near  the 
old  palace,  t  It  Avas  most  remarkable  for  a  prodigious 
toAver  that  stood  in  the  middle  of  it.  At  the  foundation, 
according  to  Herodotus,  it  Avas  a  square  of  a  furlong  on  each 
side,  that  is,  half  a  mile  in  the  Avhole  compass  ;  and,  according 
*  to  Strabo,  it  Avas  also  a  furlong  in  height.  It  consisted  of 
eight  toAvers,  built  one  aboA'e  the  other ;  and  because  it  de- 
creased gradually  to  the  top,  Strabo  calls  the  Avhole  a  pyra- 
mid.  It  is  not  only  asserted,  but  ])roAed,  that  this  toAver  far 
exceeded  the  greatest  of  the  ]»yramids  of  EgA^pt  in  height. 
Therefore  Ave  haA'e  good  reason  to  believe,  as  Bochartus 
asserts,  that  this  is  the  very  same  toAver  Avhich  Avas  built 
there  at  the  confusion  of  languages ;  and  the  rather  because 
it  is  attested  by  several  profane  authors,  that  this  toAver  was 
entirely  built  of  bricks  and  bitumen,  as  the   Scripture   says 

»Diod.  pp.  98,  99.    Strabo.  1.  xvi.  p.  738.    Quint.  Curt.  1.  v.  c.  1. 

t  Beros.  ap.  Jos.  con.  App.  1.  i  c.  6. 

t  Herod.  1.  i.  c.  181.    Died.  1.  ii.  p.  98.  Strabo.  1.  xvi.  p.  738. 


THE    ASSYRIANS.  453 

the  tower  of  Babel  was.  The  ascent  to  tlie  top  Avas  by  stairs 
round  the  outside  of  it ;  that  is,  perhaps,  there  was  an  easj/ 
Sloping  ascent  in  the  side  of  the  outer  wall,  which  turning 
by  very  slow  degrees  in  a  spiral  line  eight  times  round  the 
tower  from  the  bottom  to  the  top,  had  the  same  a])pearance 
as  if  there  had  been  eight  towers  ]>laced  upon  one  another. 
In  these  different  stories  Avere  many  large  rooms,  with 
ai'ched  roofs  supported  by  ])illars.  Over  the  whole,  on  the 
to]>  of  the  tower,  was  an  observatory,  by  means  of  which 
the  Babylonians  became  more  expert  in  astronomy  than  all 
other  ntitions,  and  made  in  a  short  time  the  great  progress 
in  it  ascribed  to  them  in  history.* 

But  the  chief  use  to  which  this  tower  was  designed,  w^as 
the  worship  of  the  god  Belus,  or  Baal,  as  also  that  of  seve- 
ral other  deities  :  for  which  reason  there  was  a  multitude  of 
chaj)els  in  the  different  parts  of  the  tower.  The  riches  of 
this  temple  in  statues,  tables,  censers,  cups,  and  other  sacred 
vessels,  all  of  massy  gold,  were  immense.  Among  other 
imnges,  there  Avas  one  of  forty  feet  high,  Avhich  weighed  a 
thousand  Babylonish  talents.  The  Babylonish  talent,  accord- 
ing to  Pollux,  in  his  Onomasticon,  contained  seven  thousand 
Attic  drachmas,  and  consequently  Avas  a  sixth  part  more  than 
the  Attic  talent,  Avhich  contains  but  six  thousand  drachmas. 
According  to  the  calculation  which  Diodorus  makes  of  the 
riches  contained  in  this  tem])le,  the  siim  total  amounts  to  six 
thousand  three  hundred  Babylonish  talents  of  gold. 

The  sixth  part  of  six  thousand  three  hundred,  is  one 
thousand  and  fifty ;  consequently,  six  thousand  three  hun- 
dred Babylonish  talents  of  gold,  are  equivalent  to  scAcn 
thousand  three  hundred  and  fifty  Attic  talents  of  gold. 

Now,  seven  thousand  three  hundred  and  fifty  Attic  talents 
of  silver,  are  Avorth  upAvards  of  two  millions  and  one  hun- 
dred thousand  pounds  sterling.  The  proportion  between 
gold  and  silver  among  the  ancients,  Ave  reckon  as  ten  to  one  ; 
therefore  seven  thousand  three  hundred  and  fifty  Attic 
talents  of  gold  amount  to  above  one-and-tAventy  millions 
sterling,  t 

This  temple  stood  till  the  time  of  Xerxes ;  but  he  on  his 
return  from  his  Grecian  expedition,  demolished  it  entirely, 
after  liaving  first  plundered  it  of  all  its  immense  riches. 
Alexander,  on  his  return  to  Babylon  from  his  Indian  expedi- 
tion, purposed  to  have  rebuilt  it ;  and  in  order  thereto  set 
ten  thousand   men  to  work,  to  rid  the  place  of  its  rubbish  ; 

*  PLal.  part  1. 1.  i.  c.  9.  t  $93^40.000. 


454  ANCIEVT    HISTORY. 

but  nfter  they  had  labored  lierein  two  montlis,  Alexander 
died,  and  that  put  an  end  to  the  undertaking.* 

Such  were  the  chief  works  which  rendered  JBabvlon  so 
famous.  Some  of  them  are  ascribed  by  jn-ofane  authors  to 
Semiramis,  to  whose  history  it  is  now  time  to  return. 

When  she  had  finished  all  these  great  undertakings,  she 
thought  proper  to  make  a  tour  through  the  several  parts  of 
her  empire ;  and,  wherever  she  came,  left  monuments  of 
lier  magnificence,  by  many  noble  structures  which  she  erect- 
ed, either  for  the  convenience  or  ornament  of  her  cities  ;  slie 
applied  herself  particularly  to  have  water  brought  by  aque- 
ducts to  such  places  as  wanted  it,  and  to  make  the  higliways 
easy,  by  cutting  through  mountains,  and  filling  up  valleys. 
In  the  time  of  Diodorus,  there  were  still  monuments  to  be 
seen  in  many  places,  with  her  name  inscribed  u])on  them.f 

The  authority  this  queen  liad  over  her  })eople  seems  very 
extraordinary,  since  we  find  her  piTsence  alone  capable  of 
appeasing  a  sedition,  t  One  day,  as  she  was  dressing  her- 
self, word  was  brought  her  of  a  tumult  in  the  city.  Whej-e- 
upon  she  went  out  immediately,  with  her  head  half  dressed, 
and  did  not  return  till  the  disturbance  was  entirely  appeased. 
A  statue  was  erected  in  remembrance  of  this  action,  repre- 
senting her  in  that  very  condition  and  undress,  Avhich  had  not 
hindered  her  from  flying  to  her  duty. 

Not  satisfied  with  the  vast  extent  of  dominions  loft  her 
by  her  husband,  she  enlarged  them  by  the  conquest  of  a 
great  part  of  Ethiopia.  While  she  was  in  that  country,  she 
had  the  curiosity  to  visit  the  tem])le  of  Jujuter  Amnion,  to 
inquire  of  the  oracle  how  long  she  had  to  live.  According 
to  Diodorus,  the  answer  she  received  was,  that  she  should 
not  die  till  her  son  Ninyas  conspired  against  her ;  and  that 
after  her  death,  one  part  of  Asia  would  pay  her  divine 
honors. 

Her  greatest  and  last  expedition  was  against  India.  On 
this  occasion  she  raised  an  innumerable  army  out  of  all  the 
proA'inces  of  her  empire,  and  aj)pointed  Bactra  for  the  ren- 
dezvous. As  the  strength  of  the  Indians  consisted  chiefly  in 
their  great  number  of  ele])hants,  this  artful  queen  had  a  mul- 
titude of  camels  accoutred  in  the  form  of  elephants,  in  hopes 
of  deceiving  the  enemy.  It  is  said  that  Perseus  long  after 
used  the  same  stratagem  against  the  Romans,  but  neither  of 
them  succeeded   in  this  design.     The  Indian  king,  having 

*  Herod.  1.  i.  p.  1S3.     Strabo.  1.  xv.  p.  739.    Arrian.l.  vii.  p.  430. 

t  Diod.  L  U.  pp.  100-108.  t  Val.  Max.  lib.  ix.  c.  3. 


THE    ASSYRIANS.  455 

notice  of  her  approach,  sent  ambassadors  to  ask  her  wlio  she 
was,  and  with  what  right,  having  never  reeeiA'ed  any  injury 
from  him,  slie  came  wantonly  to  attack  his  dominions  ; 
adding,  tliat  her  boldness  should  soon  meet  with  the  punish- 
ment it  deserved.  Tell  your  master,  replied  the  queen,  that 
in  a  little  time  I  myself  will  let  him  know  who  I  am.  She 
advanced  immediately  towards  the  river  *  from  which  the 
country  takes  it  name ;  and  having  prej^ared  a  sufficient 
number  of  boats,  she  attempted  to  ])ass  it  with  her  army. 
Their  passage  was  a  long  time  disputed,  but  after  a  bloody 
battle,  she  put  her  enemies  to  flight.  More  than  a  thousand 
of  their  boats  were  sunk,  and  above  a  hundred  thousand  of 
their  men  taken  ])risoner8.  Encouraged  by  this  success,  she 
advanced  directly  into  the  country,  leaA^ng  sixty  thousand 
men  behind  to  guard  the  bridge  of  boats  which  she  had  built 
over  the  river.  This  -was  just  what  the  king  desired,  who 
fled  on  ])urpose  to  bring  her  to  an  engagement  in  the  heart 
of  his  country.  As  soon  as  he  thought  her  far  enough  ad- 
vanced, he  faced  about,  and  a  second  engagement  ensued, 
more  bloody  than  the  first.  The  disguised  camels  could  not 
long  sustain  the  shock  of  the  elephants,  which  routed  her 
army,  crushing  whatever  came  in  their  way.  Semiramis  did 
all  that  could  be  done  to  rally  and  encourage  her  troops,  but 
in  vain.  The  king,  perceiving  her  engaged  in  the  fight,  ad- 
vanced towards  her,  and  wounded  her  in  two  places,  but  not 
mortally.  The  swiftness  of  her  horse  soon  carried  her  be- 
yond the  reach  of  her  enemies.  As  her  men  crowded  to  the 
bridge,  to  repass  the  river,  great  numbers  of  them  perished, 
through  the  disorder  and  confusion  unavoidable  on  such  oc- 
casions. When  those  that  could  save  themselves  were  safely 
over,  she  destroyed  the  bridge,  rnd  by  that  means  stopped 
tiie  enemy;  and  the  king  likewise,  in  obedience  to  an  oracle, 
had  given  orders  to  liis  troops  not  to  pass  the  river,  nor  }3ur- 
sue  Semiramis  any  farther.  The  queen,  having  made  an  ex- 
change of  prisoners  at  Bactra,  returned  to  her  own  domin- 
ions with  scarcely  one-third  of  her  army,  which,  according  to 
Ctesias,  consisted  of  three  hundred  thousand  foot,  and  fifty 
thousand  horse,  besides  the  camels  and  chariots  armed  for 
war,  of  which  she  had  a  very  considerable  number.  She, 
and  Alexander  after  her,  were  the  only  persons  that  ever 
ventured  to  carry  the  war  beyond  the  river  Indus. 

I  must  own  I  am  somewhat  puzzled  with  a   difficulty 
which  may  be  raised  against  the  extraordinary  things  related 

•  Indus. 


456  ANCIENT    HISTORY. 

of  Ninns  and  Semiramis,  as  they  do  not  seem  to  agree  Avith 
the  times  so  near  the,  dehige  ;  such  vast  armies,  I  mean,  such 
a  numerous  cavalry,  so  many  chariots  armed  witli  scythes, 
and  such  immense  treasures  of  gold  and  silver,  all  Avliich 
seem  to  be  of  a  later  date.  The  same  tiling  may  likcAvise  be 
said  of  the  magnificence  of  the  buildings  ascribed  to  them. 
It  is  probable  the  Gi-eek  historians,  who  came  so  many  ages 
afterwards,  deceived  by  the  similarity  of  names,  through 
their  ignorance  in  chronology,  and  tlie  resemblance  of  one 
event  to  another,  may  have  ascribed  to  more  ancient  princes, 
such  acts  as  belonged  to  those  of  a  later  date  ;  or  may  have 
attributed  a  number  of  exploits  and  enterprises  to  one,  which 
ought  to  be  divided  among  a  series  of  them,  succeeding  one 
another. 

Semiramis,  some  time  after  her  return,  discoAcred  that 
her  son  Avas  plotting  against  her,  and  one  of  her  principal 
officers  had  offered  him  assistance.  She  then  called  to  mind 
the  oracle  of  Jupiter  Amnion,  and  believing  that  her  end 
approached,  Avithout  inflicting  any  punishment  on  the  officer, 
Avho  Avas  taken  into  custody,  she  Aoluntarily  abdicated  the 
throne,  put  the  goA'ernment  into  the  hands  of  her  son,  and 
AvithdrcAV  from  the  sight  of  men,  hojiing  speedily  to  haA^e 
divine  honors  paid  to  her,  according  to  the  ]n-omise  of  the 
oracle.  And  indeed  Ave  are  told  she  was  Avorshi}>ped  by  the 
Assyrians  under  the  form  of  a  doA'e.  She  lived  sixty-two 
years,  of  Avhich  she  reigned  forty-tAvo. 

There  are  jn  the  Memoirs  of  the  Academy  of  Belles  Let- 
tres,  two  learned  dissertations  upon  the  Assyrian  empire, 
and  particularly  on  the  reign  and  actions  of  Semiramis.* 

.  What  Justin  f  says  of  Semiramis,  namely,  that  after  her 
husband's  decease,  not  daring  either  to  comm.it  the  govern- 
ment to  her  son,  aa'Iio  Avas  then  too  young,  or  openly  to  take 
it  u])on  hei'self,  she goAcrned  under  the  name  and  authority 
of  Xinyas ;  and  that,  after  having  reigned  in  that  manner  more 
than  forty  years,  falling  passionately  in  love  Avith  her  own 
son,  she  endeaA'ored  to  bring  him  to  a  criminal  compliance, 
and  Avas  slain  by  him ;  all  this  is  void  of  eA-ery  a))pearance 
of  truth,  that  to  undertake  to  confute  it,  Avoidd  be  but  losing 
time.  It  must,  hoAve\'er,  be  oAvned,  that  almost  all  the  au- 
thors Avho  have  s])oken  oi  Semiramis,  gives  us  but  a  disad- 
vantageous idea  of  her  chastity. 

I  do  not  knoAv  but  the  glorious  reign  of  this  queen,  might 
partly  induce  Plato  t  to  maintain  in  his  commouAvealth,  that 

•  Vol.  UI.  p.  313,  &c  'tlib.  i.  c.  2.  J  Lib.  v.  de  Rep.  pp.  451-457. 


THE    ASSYRIANS.  457 

women,  as  well  as  men,  should  be  admitted  into  the  manage- 
ment of  public  affairs,  the  conducting  of  armies,  and  the 
government  of  states ;  and,  by  necessary  consequence,  ought 
to  be  trained  up  in  the  same  exercises  as  men,  as  well  for  the 
forming  of  the  body  as  the  mind.  Nor  does  he  so  much  as 
except  those  exercises,  whei*ein  it  was  customary  to  fight 
perfectly  naked,  alleging,  that  the  virtue  of  the  sex  would  be 
a  sufficient  covering  for  them.* 

It  is  just  matter  of  astonishment  to  find  a  philosopher  so 
judicious  in  other  respects,  openly  combating  the  most  com- 
mon and  most  natural  maxims  of  modesty  and  decency, 
which  virtues  are  the  principal  ornament  of  the  sex,  and  in- 
sisting so  strongly  upon  a  principle,  sufficiently  confuted  by 
the  constant  practice  of  all  ages,  and  of  almost  all  nations  in 
the  world. 

Aristotle,  wiser  in  this  than  his  master  Plato,  without 
doing  the  least  injustice  to  the  real  merit  and  essential  qual- 
ities of  the  sex,  has  with  great  judgm'ent  marked  out  the 
different  ends  to  which  man  and  woman  are  ordained,  from 
the  different  qualities  of  body  and  mind  wherewith  they  are 
endowed  by  the  Author  of  Nature,  who  has  given  tlie  one 
strength  of  body,  and  intrepidity  of  mind,  to  enable  him  to 
undergo  the  greatest  hardships,  and  face  the  most  imminent 
dangers ;  while  the  other,  on  the  contrary,  is  of  a  weak  and 
delicate  constitution,  accompanied  with  a  natural  softness 
and  modest  timidity,  Avhich  render  her  more  fit  for  a  seden- 
tary life,  and  dispose  her  to  keep  within  the  precincts  of 
the  house,  to  employ  herself  in  a  prudent  and  industrious 
economy.f 

Xenophon  is  of  the  same  opinion  with  Aristotle,  and  in 
order  to  set  off  the  occupation  of  the  wife,  who  confines  her- 
self within  her  house,  agreeably  compares  her  to  the  mother- 
bee,  commonly  called  the  queen  of  the  bees,  who  alone  gov- 
ei-ns  and  has  the  superintendence  of  the  whole  hive  ;  who 
distributes  all  their  employments,  encourages  their  industry, 
presides  over  the  building  of  their  little  cells,  takes  care  of 
the  nonrisiiment  and  subsistence  of  her  numerous  family ; 
regulates  the  quantity  of  honey  ap]winted  for  that  purpose, 
and  at  fixed  and  proper  seasons  sends  abroad  the  new  swarms 
in  colonies  to  relieve  and  discharge  the  hive  of  its  superfluous 
inhabitants.  -  He  remarks,  with  Aristotle,  the  difference  of 
constitution  and  inclinations,  designedly  given  by  the  Author 

*  'ETrctJrep  aperiji'  acTt  iiiariuv  o/x0i  ecrcrdi/Tai.  t  D®  Cure  Bei  Fam.  1.  i-  C.  3. 


458  ANCIENT    HISTORY. 

of  Nature  to  man  and  woman,  to  point  out  to  each  of  them 
their  proper  and  respective  offices  and  functions.* 

This  allotment,  far  from  degrading  or  lessening  the 
woman,  is  really  for  her  advantage  and  honor,  in  confiding 
to  her  a  kind  of  domestic  empire  and  goveinment,  adminis- 
tered only  by  gentleness,  reason,  equity,  and  good  nature  ; 
and  in  giving  lier  frequent  occasions  to  exert  the  most  valu- 
able and  excellent  qualities  under  the  inestimable  veil  of 
modesty  and  submission.  For  it  must  ingenuously  be  owned, 
that  at  all  times,  and  in  all  conditions,  there  have  been 
women  who  by  a  real  and  solid  merit,  have  distinguished 
themselves  above  their  sex  ;  as  there  have  been  innumerable 
instances  of  men,  who,  by  their  defects  have  dishonored 
theirs.  But  these  are  only  particular  cases,  which  form  no 
rule,  and  which  ought  not  to  prevail  against  an  establishment 
founded  in  nature,  and  prescribed  by  the  Creator  hiinself. 

Ninyas.  This  ])rince  was  in  no  respect  like  those  from 
whom  he  descended,  and  to  whose  throne  he  succeeded. 
Wholly  intent  upon  his  pleasures,  he  kept  himself  shut  up  in 
his  palace,  and  seldom  showed  himself  to  his  ])eople.  To 
keej)  them  in  their  duty,  he  had  always  at  Nineveh  a  certain 
number  of  regular  troops,  furnished  every  year  from  the  sev- 
eral provinces  of  his  empire,  at  the  expiration  of  which  terra 
they  were  sticceeded  by  the  like  number  of  other  troops  on 
the  same  conditions  ;  the  king,  placing  a  commander  at  the 
head  of  them,  on  whose  fidelity  he  could  depend.  lie  made 
use  of  this  method,  that  the  officers  might  not  have  time  to 
gain  the  affections  of  the  soldiers,  and  so  form  any  conspira- 
cies against  him.f 

His  successors  for  thirty  generations  followed  his  exam- 
ple, and  even  exceeded  him  in  indolence.  Their  history  is 
absolutely  unknown,  no  vestige  of  it  remaining. 

In  Abraham's  time,  the  Scri])ture  s})eaks  of  Amraphael, 
king  of  Sennaar,  the  country  where  Babylon  was  situated, 
M'ho,  with  two  other  princes,  followed  Chedorlaomer,  king 
of  the  Elamites,  whose  tributary  he  probably  was,  in  the  war 
carried  on  by  the  latter  against  five  kings  of  the  land  of 
Canaan. t 

It  was  under  the  government  of  these  inactive  princes 
tliat  Sesostris,  king  of  Egypt,  extended  his  conquests  so  far 
in  the  East.  But  as  his  pov/er  was  of  short  duration,  and 
not  supported  by  his  successors,  the  Assyrian  empire  soon 
returned  to  its  former  state.  § 

*De  Administr.  Dom.  p.  M9.  i  Diod.  1.  li.  p.  lOfi. 

t  A.  M.  2092.    Ant.  J.  C.  1912.  §  A.  M.  2513.    Aut.  J.  C.  1491. 


THE    ASSYRIAXS.  459 

Plato,  a  curious  observer  of  antiquities,  makes  the  Icings 
dom  of  Troy,  in*tlie  time  of  Priam,  dependent  on  the  Assyr- 
ian empire.  And  Ctesias  says  that  Teutamus,  the  twentieth 
king  after  Ninyas,  sent  a  considerable  body  of  troojjs  to  the 
assistance  of  the  Trojans,  under  the  conduct  of  Meinnon, 
the  son  of  Tithonus,  at  the  time  when  the  Assyrian  empire 
had  subsisted  above  a  thousand  years ;  which  agrees  exactly 
with  tlie  time  wherein  I  have  placed  the  foundation  of  that 
empire.*  But  the  silence  of  Homer  concerning  so  mighty 
a  peojde,  and  which  must  necessarily  liave  been  well  known, 
renders  this  fact  exceedingly  doubtful.  And  it  must  be 
owned,  that  whatever  relates  to  the  times  of  the  ancient  liis- 
tory  of  the  Assyrians  is  attended  with  great  difficulties,  into 
which  my  ])lan  does  not  permit  me  to  enter. 

Pul.  The  Scripture  informs  us  that  Pul,  king  of  As- 
syria, being  come  into  the  land  of  Israel,  had  a  thousand  tal- 
ents of  silver  given  him  by  Menahem,  king  of  the  ten  tribes, 
to  engage  him  to  lend  him  assistance,  and  secure  him  on  his 
throne. t 

This  Pul  is  supposed  to  be  the  king  of  Nineveh,  Avho  re- 
pented, with  all  his  people,  at  the  preaching  of  Jonah. 

He  is  also  thought  to  be  the  father  of  Sardanapalus,  the 
last  king  of  the  Assyrians,  called,  according  to  the  custom  of 
the  eastern  nations,  Sardan-pul ;  that  is  to  say,  Sardan  the 
son  of  Pul. 

Sardanapalus.  t  This  prince  surpassed  all  his  prede- 
cessors in  effeminacy,  luxury,  and  cowardice.  He  never 
went  out  of  his  palace,  but  spent  all  of  his  time  among  a  com- 
pany of  women,  dressed  and  painted  like  them,  and  em- 
ployed like  them  at  the  distaff.  He  placed  all  his  happiness 
and  glory  in  the  possession  of  immense  treasures,  in  feasting 
and  rioting,  and  indulging  himself  in  all  the  most  mfamous 
ana  criminal  pleasures.  He  ordered  two  verses  to  be  put 
upon  his  tomb  Avhen  he  died,  Avhich  imported,  that  he  car- 
ried away  with  him  all  that  he  had  eaten,  and  all  the  pleas- 
sures  he  had  enjoyed,  but  left  all  the  rest  behind  him. 

Hcee  habeo  qu;u  edi,  quwquo  exsaturata  libido 
Hausit :  at  ilia  jaceiit  inalta  et  pi'jeclara  relicta.  t 

An  epitaph,  says  Aristotle,  fit  for  a  hog. 

*  A.  >r.  2820.     Ant.  J.  C.  1184.     De  Leg.  1.  iii.  p.  685. 

t  A.  M.  3233.    Ant.  J.  C.  771.    II.  Kings  xv.  19. 

t  Oiod  1.  ii.  pp.  109-115.     Atli.  1.  xii.  pp.  52!),  5*).    Just.  1.  i.  c.  3. 

§  Keii''  e)(io  "oiTor'  ct^ayov,  Kat  e^uQpirra,  Kat    ^€t'  fptoTCK  TepTTU  (nadoi^  rd  5e   TToAAot 

Kai  6A3ia  vavTa  XeAeiTrrai.  Quid  aliud,  inqult  Aiistott.les,  ill  bovis,  non  in  regit 
sepiik-hro.  inscriberes  ?  Hiec  habere  sc  niortuum  dioit.  quae  ne  vivis  quidem 
diutius  habebat,  quam  frucbatar.— Cic.  Tusc.  QuaiSt.  lib.  v.  n.  101. 


460  AXCIENT    HISTORY. 

Arbaces,  governor  of  Media,  having  found  means  to  get 
into  the  palace,  and  with  his  own  eyes  to  see  Sardanapalus 
in  the  midst  of  an  infamous  seraglio,  enraged  at  such  a  scene, 
and  not  able  to  endure  that  so  many  brave  men  should  be 
subject  to  a  prince  more  soft  and  effeminate  than  the  women 
themselves,  immediately  formed  a  conspiracy  against  him, 
Belesis  governor  of  Babylon,  and  several  others,  entered  into 
it.  On  the  first  rumor  of  this  revolt  the  king  liid  liimself  in 
the  inmost  part  of  his  palace.  Being  obliged  afterwards  to 
take  the  field  with  some  forces  which  he  had  assembled,  he 
was  overcome  and  ]>ursued  to  the  gates  of  Nineveh  ;  wherein 
lie  shut  himself,  in  hopes  the  rebels  would  never  be  able  to 
take  a  city  so  well  fortified,  and  stored  Avith  ])rovisions  for  a 
considerable  time:  the  siege  proved  indeed  of  very  great 
length.  It  had  been  declared  by  an  ancient  oracle,  that 
Nineveh  could  never  be  taken,  unless  the  river  became  an 
enemy  to  the  city.  These  words  buoyed  u])  Sardanapalus, 
because  he  looked  upon  the  thing  as  impossible.  But  when  he 
saw  that  the  Tigris,  by  a  violent  inundation,  had  thrown 
down  twenty  stadia  *  of  the  city  wall,  and,  by  that  means 
opened  a  passage  to  the  enemy,  he  understood  the  meaning 
of  the  oracle,  and  thought  himself  lost.  lie  resolved,  how- 
ever, to  die  in  such  a  manner,  as,  according  to  his  o])inion, 
should  cover  the  infamy  of  his  scandalous  and  effeminate 
life.  He  ordered  a  pile  of  wood  to  be  made  in  his  i)alace, 
and  setting  fire  to  it,  burnt  himself,  his  eunuchs,  his  women, 
and  his  treasures.!  Athenaeus  makes  these  treasures  amount 
to  a  thousand  myriads  of  talents  of  gold,  t  and  ten  times  as 
many  talents  of  silver,  which,  without  reckoning  any  thing 
else,  is  a  sum  which  exceeds  all  credibility.  A  myriad  con- 
tains ten  thousand  ;  and  one  single  myriad  of  talents  of  sil- 
ver is  worth  thirty  millions  of  French  money,  or  about  six 
millions  two  hundred  and  sixteen  thousand  dollars.  A  man 
is  lost  if  he  attempts  to  sum  uj)  the  whole  value  ;  which  in- 
duces me  to  believe  that  Athenaeus  must  have  very  much  ex- 
aggerated in  his  computation  ;  we  may,  however,  be  assured 
from  his  account,  that  the  treasui'es  were  immensely  great. 

Plutarch,  in  his  second  treatise,  dedicated  to  the  praise 
of  Alexander  the  Great,  wherein  he  examines  in  what  the 
true  greatness  of  princes  consists,  after  having  shown  that 
it  can  arise  from  nothing  but  their  own  personal  merit,  con- 
firms it  by  two  different  examples,  taken  from  the  history 

*  Two  maes  and  a  half,      t  A.M.  3257.    Ant.  J.  C.  747..     J  About  56,216,000,00a 


THE    ASSYRIANS.  461 

of  the  Assyrians.*  Semiramis  and  Sardanapalus,  says  he, 
both  governed  the  same  kingdom  ;  both  had  the  same  people, 
the  same  extent  of  country,  the  same  revenues,  the  same 
forces  and  number  of  troops  ;  but  they  had  not  the  same 
dispositions^  nor  the  same  views.  Semiramis,  raising  lier- 
self  above  her  sex,  built  magnificent  cities,  equipped  fleets, 
armed  legions,  subdued  neighboring  nations,  penetrated  into 
Arabia  and  Elthiopia,  and  carried  her  victorious  arms  to  the 
extremities  of  Asia,  spreading  consternation  and  terror  every, 
where  ;  whereas  Sardanapalus,  as  if  he  had  entirely  renounced 
his  sex,  spent  all  liis  time  in  the  heart  of  his  palace,  perpet- 
ually surrovmded  with  a  company  of  women,  whose  habit, 
and  even  manners  he  had  taken,  ap])lying  himself  with  them 
to  the  spindle  and  the  distaff,  neither  understanding  nor 
doing  any  thing  else  than  spinning,  eating,  and  drinking, 
and  revelling  in  all  manner  of  infamous  pleasure.  Accord- 
ingly, a  statue  was  erected  to  him  after  his  death,  which 
represented  him  in  the  posture  of  a  dancer,  with  an  inscrip- 
tion upon  it,  in  which  he  addressed  himself  to  the  spectator 
in  these  words  :  Eat^  clrhtk,  and  be  merry  /  every  thing  else 
is  nothing,  f  An  inscription  very  suitable  to  the  epitaph  he 
himself  had  ordered  to  be  put  upon  his  monument. 

Plutarch  in  this  place  judges  of  Semiramis,  as  almost  all 
the  profane  historians  do  of  the  glory  of  conquerors.  But 
to  judge  correctly,  it  would  be  proper  for  us* to  ask,  was  the 
unbounded  ambition  of  that  queen  much  less  culpable  than 
the  dissolute  effeminacy  of  Sardanapalus  ?  which  of  the  two 
vices  was  most  injurious  to  mankind? 

We  are  not  to  wonder  that  the  Assyrian  empire  should 
fall  under  such  a  prince  ;  but  undoubtedly  it  was  not  till 
after  having  passed  through  various  augmentations,  diminu- 
tions, and  revolutions,  common  to  all  states,  even  to  the 
greatest,  during  the  course  of  several  ages.  This  empire  had 
subsisted  about  1450  years. 

Of  the  ruins  of  this  vast  empire,  were  formed  three  con- 
siderable kingdoms  ;  that  of  the  Medes,  which  Arbaces,  the 
principal  head  of  the  conspiracy,  restored  to  its  liberty ;  that 
of  the  Assyrians  of  Babylon,  which  was  given  to  Belesis, 
governor  of  that  city  ;  and  that  of  the  Assyrians  of  Nineveh, 
w^hose  first  king  took  the  name  of  Ninus  the  Younger. 

In  order  to  understand  the  history  of  the  second  Assyr- 
ian empire,  which  is  very  obscure,  and  of  which  little  is  said 
by  historians,  it  is  proper,  and  even  absolutely  necessary,  to 

*  Pages  335,  336.  t  "E<7flte,  nlvi,  a.^po&iaia.t,t  raAaA  6i  avhtv. 


ANCIENT    HISTORY. 

compare  what  is  said  of  it  by  profane  authors  with  Avhat  we 
find  of  it  in  Holy  Scripture ;  that  by  the  helj>  of  that  double 
light  we  may  have  the  clearer  idea  of  the  two  empires  of 
Nineveh  and  Babylon,  which  for  some  time  were  separate 
and  distinct,  but  afterwards  united  and  confounded  together. 
I  shall  first  treat  of  the  second  Assyrian  empire,  and  then 
return  to  the  kingdom  of  the  Medes. 


CHAPTER  II. 


THE    SECOND    ASSYRIAN    EMPIRE,    BOTH    OF    NINEVEH    AND 
BAliYLON. 

This  second  Assyrian  empire  continued  two  hundred  and 
ten  years,  reckoning  to  the  year  in  which  Cyrus,  who  was 
become  absolute  master  of  the  East,  by  the  death  of  his 
father  Cambyses,  and  his  father-in-law  Cyaxares,  ])ublished 
the  famous  edict  whereby  tlie  Jews  were  permitted  to  return 
into  their  own  country,  after  a  captivity  of  seventy  years  at 
Babylon. 

KINGS    OF    BABYLOX. 

Belesis.  He  is  the  same  as  Nabonassar,  from  whose 
reign  began  tlie. famous  astronomical  epochs  at  Babylon, 
called  from  his  name  the  era  of  Nabonassar.  In  the  Holy 
Scripture  he  is  called  Baladan.  He  reigned  but  twelve 
years,  and  was  succeeded  by  his  son,* 

Merodach-Baladan.  t  This  is  the  prince  who  sent  am- 
bassadors to  king  Hezekiah,  to  congratulate  him  on  the 
recovery  of  his  health,  of  which  we  shall  speak  hereafter. 
After  him  there  reigned  several  other  kings  at  Babylon, 
with  Avhose  story  we  are  entirely  unacquainted,  t  I  shall 
therefore  proceed  to  the  kings  of  Nineveh. 

KIXGS    OF    NINEVEH. 

Tiglath-Pileser.  §  This  is  the  name  given  by  the  Holy 
Scripture  to  the  king  who  is  supposed  to  be  the  first  that 
reigned  at  Nineveh,  after  the  destruction  of  the  ancient 
Assyrian  empire.  He  is  called  Thilgamus  by  JElian.  He 
is  said  to  have  taken  the  name  of  Ninus  the  Younger,  in 

*  A.  M.  3257.    Aitt.  J.  C.  747.    II.  Kings  xx.  12.         t  Ibid.         t  Can.  Ttol. 
§A.  M.  3257.    Ant.  J.  C.  747.    Lib.  xii.  Hist.  Auim.  c.  21.     CasLor     apud. 
Hoseti.  Chrou.  p.  49.    II.  Kiugs  x\i.  7,  &c. 


THE    ASSYRIAXS.  463 

order  to  honor  and  distinguish  his  reign  by  the  name  of  so 
ancient  and  ilhistrious  a  prince. 

Ahaz,  king  of  Judah,  whose  incorrigible  impiety  could 
not  be  reclaimed,  either  by  the  divine  favors  or  chastise- 
ments, finding  himself  attacked  at  once  by  the  kings  of  Syria 
and  Israel,  robbed  the  temple  of  part  of  its  gold  and  silver, 
and  sent  it  to  Tiglath-Pileser,  to  purchase  his  friendship  and 
assistance  ;  promising  him,  besides,  to  become  his  vassal,  and 
to  pay  him  tribute.  The  king  of  Assyria,  finding  so  favor- 
able an  opportunity  of  adding  Syria  and  Palestine  to  his 
empire,  readily  accepted  the  proposal.  Advancing  that  way 
with  a  numerous  arm.y,  he  beat  Rezin,  took  Damascus,  and 
])ut  an  end  to  the  kingdom  erected  there  by  the  Syrians,  as 
God  had  foretold  by  his  prophets  Isaiah  and  Amos.*  From 
thence  he  marched  against  Phacaea,  and  took  all  that  belonged 
to  the  kingdom  of  Israel  beyond  Jordon,  or  in  Galilee.  But 
he  made  Ahaz  pay  dear  for  his  protection,  still  exacting  of 
him  such  exorbitant  sums  of  money,  that  for  the  payment 
of  them  he  was  obliged  not  only  to  exhaust  his  own  treas- 
ures, but  to  take  all  the  gold  and  silver  out  of  the  temple. 
Thus  this  alliance  served  only  to  drain  the  kingdom  of  Judah, 
and  to  bring  into  its  neighborhood  the  powerful  kings  of 
Nineveh,  who  became  so  many  instruments  afterwards  in 
the  hand  of  God  for  the  chastisement  of  his  people. 

Salmanasar.f  Sabacus,  the  Ethiopian,  whom  the  Scrip- 
ture calls  So,  having  made  himself  master  of  Egypt,  Hosea, 
king  of  Samaria,  entered  into  an  alliance  with  him,  hoping 
by  that  means  to  shake  off  the  Assyrian  yoke.  To  this  end, 
he  withdrew  from  liis  dependence  upon  Salmanasar,  refusing 
to  pay  him  any  farther  tribute,  or  make  him  the  usual  pres- 
ents. 

Salmanasar,  to  punish  him  for  his  presumption,  marched 
against  him  with  a  powerful  army,  and  after  having  subdued 
all  the  plain  country,  shut  him  up  in  Samaria,  where  he  kept 
him  closely  besieged  for  three  years  ;  at  the  end  of  which  he 
took  the  city,  loaded  Hosea  with  chains,  and  threw  him  into 
prison  for  the  rest  of  his  days ;  carried  away  the  people  cap- 
tive, and  planted  them  in  Halah  and  Habor,  cities  of  the 
Medes.  And  thus  was  the  kingdom  of  Israel,  or  of  the  ten 
tribes,  destroyed,  as  God  had  often  threatened  by  his  proph- 
ets. This  kingdom,  from  the  time  of  its  separation  from 
that  of  Judah,  lasted  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  years. 

It  was  at  this  time  that  Tobit,  with  Anna  his  wife,  and 

*  Isa.  viii.  4.    Amos  i.  5.       t  A.  M.  32T6.    Ant.  J.  C.  728.    II.  Kings  xvii. 


464  A.NCIENT   HISTORY. 

his  son  Tobias,  was  carried  captive  into  Assyria,  where  ho 
became  one  of  the  principal  officers  to  king  Salmanasar.* 

Salmanasar  died,  after  having  reigned  fourteen  years,  and 
was  succeeded  by  his  son. 

Sennacherib. t  He  is  also  called  Sargon  in  Scripture. 
As  soon  as  this  prince  was  settled  on  the  throne,  he  renewed 
the  demand  of  the  tribute  exacted  by  his  father  from  Heze- 
kiah.  Upon  his  refusal,  he  declared  war  against  him,  and 
entered  into  Judea  with  a  mighty  army.  Hezekiah,  grieved 
to  see  his  kingdom  pillaged,  sent  ambassadors  to  him,  to 
desire  peace  upon  any  terms  he  would  prescribe.  Sen- 
nacherib, seemingly  pacified,  entered  into  treaty  with  him, 
and  demanded  a  very  great  sum  of  gold  and  silver.  The 
holy  king  exhausted  both  the  treasures  of  the  temple,  and 
his  own  coffers,  to  pay  it.  The  Assyrian,  regarding  neither 
the  sanction  of  oaths  nor  treaties,  still  continued  the  war, 
and  pushed  on  his  conquests  more  vigorously  than  ever. 
Nothing  was  able  to  withstand  his  power ;  and  of  all  the 
strong  places  of  Judah,  none  remained  untaken  but  Jeru- 
salem, which  was  however  reduced  to  the  utmost  extremity. 
At  this  very  juncture,  Sennacherib  was  informed  that 
Tirhakah,  king  of  Ethiopia,  who  had  joined  forces  with  the 
king  of  Egypt,  was  coming  up  to  succor  the  besieged  city. 
Now,  it  was  contrary  to  the  express  command  of  God,  as 
well  as  the  remonstrances  of  Isaiah  and  Hezekiah,  that  the 
chief  rulers  at  Jerusalem  had  required  any  foreign  assist- 
ance. The  Assyrian  prince  marched  immediately  to  meet 
the  approaching  enemy,  after  having  written  a  letter  to 
Hezekiah,  full  of  blasphemy  against  the  God  of  Israel,  whom 
he  insolently  boasted  he  would  speedily  vanquish,  as  he  had 
done  all  the  gods  of  the  other  nations  round  about  him.  In 
short,  he  discomfited  the  Egy]3tians,  and  pursued  them  even 
into  their  own  country,  which  he  ravaged,  and  returned  laden 
with  spoil,  t 

It  was  probablyduring  Sennacherib's  absence,  which  was 
pretty  long,  or  at  least  some  little  time  before,  that  Heze- 
kiah fell  sick,  and  was  cured  in  a  miraciilouc  manner ;  and 
that,  as  a  sign  of  God's  fulfilling  the  promise  he  had  made 
him  of  curing  him  so  perfectly,  that  within  three  days  he 
should  be  able  to  go  to  the  temple,  the  shadow  of  the  sun 
went  ten  degrees  backwards  upon  the  dial  of  the  palace. 
Merodach-Baladan,  king  of  Babylon,  being  informed  of  the 

*  Tobit.  ch.  i.       t  A.  M.  3287.  Ant.  J.  C.  717.  Isa,  ix.  I.   Kings,  xviii.  and  xix. 
t  II.  Kings  xix.  9.  . 


THE    ASSYRIANS.  465 

miraciilous  cure  of  king  Ilezekiah,  sent  ambassadors  to  him 
vrith  letters  and  ])resents,  to  congratulate  him  on  that  oc- 
casion, and  to  acquaint  themselves  with  the  miracle  that 
had  liappened  upon  earth  at  this  juncture,  with  respect  to 
the  sun  s  retrogradation  ten  degrees.  Hezekiah  was  ex- 
tremely sensible  of  the  honor  done  him  by  that  prince,  and 
very  forward  to  show  his  ambassadors  the  riches  and  treas- 
ures he  possessed,  and  to  let  them  see  all  the  magnificence 
of  his  palace.*  Humanly  speaking,  there  was  nothing  in 
this  i^roceeding  but  what  was  allowable  and  commendable-; 
but  in  the  eyes  of  the  Suju-eme  Judge  which  are  infinitely 
more  piercing  and  discriminating  than  ours,  this  action  dis- 
covered a  lurking  pride,  and  secret  vanity,  Avith  which  his 
righteousness  was  offended.  Accordingly,  he  instantly  in- 
formed the  king,  by  his  prophet  Isaiah,  that  the  riches  and 
treasures  he  had  been  showing  to  those  ambassadors  with  so 
much  ostentation,  should  one  day  be  transported  to  Babylon, 
and  that  his  children  should  be  carried  thither,  to  become 
servants  in  the  palace  of  that  monarch.  This  was  then 
utterly  im])robable  ;  for  Babylon,  at  the  time  we  are  sjieak- 
ing  of,  was  in  friendship  and  alliance  with  Jerusalem,  as  ap- 
pears on  her  having  sent  ambassadors  thither  ;  nor  did 
Jerusalem  then  seem  to  have  any  thing  to  fear  but  from 
Nineveli,  whose  power  Avas  at  that  time  formidable,  and  had 
entirely  declared  .against  her.  But  the  fortune  of  those  two 
cities  was  to  change,  and  the  word  of  God  was  literally  ac- 
complished. 

But  to  return  to  Sennacherib :  after  he  had  ravrged 
Egypt,  and  taken  a  vast  number  of  ])risoners,  he  came  bitk 
with  his  victorious  army,  encamped  before  Jerusalem,  i  nd 
again  besieged  it.  •  The  city  seem^ed  to  be  inevitably  lost ; 
it  was  without  resoui-ce,  and  without  hope  from  the  hands 
of  men,  but  had  a  powerful  Protector  in  heaven,  whose 
jealous  ears  had  heard  the  impious  blasphemies  uttei-ed  by 
the  king  of  Nineveh  against  his  sacred  name.  In  one  single 
night  a  liundred  and  eighty-five  thousand  men  of  his  army 
perished  by  the  sword  of  the  destroying  angel. t  After  so 
terrible  a  blow,  this  pretended  king  of  kings,  for  so  he  called 
himself,  this  triumpher  over  nations,  and  conqueror  of  gods, 
was  obliged  to  return  to  his  own  country,  with  the  miser- 
able remnant  of  his  army,  covered  with  shame  and  con- 
fusion ;  he  survived  his  defeat  only  a  few  months,  as  a  just 
retribution  to  an  offended  God,  whose  supreme  majesty  he 

•  II.  Kings  3UC.    II.  Chron.  xxxii.  24-31.  t  II .  iOngs  xix.  35-37. 

30 


406  ANCIEXT    HISTORY. 

had  presumed  to  insult,  and  who  now,  to  use  tlie  Scripture 
terms,  h.?ivh\g put  a  ring  into  his  nose,  and  a  hit  into  his 
mouth,  as  a  wild  beast,  made  him  return  in  tliat  liumble 
afflicted  condition,  through  those  very  countries  which  a 
little  before  had  beheld  him  so  haughty  and  imperious. 

Upon  his  return  to  Nineveh,  being  enraged  at  his  dis- 
grace, he  treated  his  subjects  in  a  most  cruel  and  tyrannical 
manner.  Tlie  effects  of  his  fury  fell  more  heavily  upon  the 
Jews  and  Israelites,  of  whom  he  caused  great  numbers  to  be 
massacred  every  day,  ordering  their  bodies  to  be  left  exposed 
in  the  streets,  and  suffering  no  man  to  give  them  burial.* 
Tobit,  to  avoid  his  cruelty,  was  obliged  to  conceal  himself 
for  some  time,  and  suffer  all  his  effects  to  be  confiscated.  In 
short,  the  king's  savage  temper  rendered  him  so  insupport- 
able to  his  own  family,  that  his  two  eldest  sons  conspired 
against  him,  and  killed  him  in  the  temple,  in  the  presence  of 
his  god  Nisroch,  as  he  lay  prostrate  before  him.f  But  these 
two  princes,  being  obliged,  after  this  parricide,  to  tly  into 
Armenia,  left  the  kingdom  to  Esar-haddon,  their  youngest 
brother. 

Esar-haddon.  %  We  have  already  observed,  that  after 
Merodach-Baladan,  there  was  a  succession  of  kings  of  Baby- 
lon, of  whom  history  has  transmitted  nothing  but  the  names. 
The  royal  family  becoming  extinct,  there  was  an  inter- 
regnum of  eight  years,  full  of  troubles  and  commotions. 
Esar-haddon  taking  advantage  of  this  juncture,  made  him- 
self master  of  Babylon,  and  annexing  it  to  his  former  do- 
minions, reigned  over  the  two  united  empires  thirteen  years. 

After  having  reunited  Syria  and  Palestine  to  the  Assyr- 
ian empire,  which  had  been  rent  from  it  in  the  j)receding 
reign,  he  entered  the  land  of  Israel,  where  he  took  captive 
as  many  as  were  left  there,  and  carried  them  into  Assyria, 
except  an  inconsiderable  number  that  escaped  his  pursuit. 
And  that  the  country  might  not  become  a  desert,  he  sent 
colonies  of  idolatrous  people,  taken  out  of  the  countries  be- 
yond the  Euphrates,  to  dwell  in  the  cities  of  Samaria.  The 
prediction  of  Isaiah  was  then  fulfilled;  within  threescore 
and  Jive  years  shall  £!phraim  be  broken,  that  it  be  no  inore 
a  jyeojyle.^  This  was  exactly  the  space  of  time  that  elapsed 
between  the  prediction  and  the  event ;  and  the  people  of 
Israel  did  then  truly  cease  to  be  a  visible  nation,  what  was 
left  to  them  being  altogether  mixed  and  confounded  with 
other  nations. 

*  Tobit  i.  13-24.  t  II.  Kin^s  six.  37. 

tA.  M.  3294.    Aiit.  J.  C.  710.    Cant.  Ptol.  §  Isa.  vii.  8. 


THE    ASSYRIAN'S.  467 

This  prince,  having  possessed  himself  of  the  land  of 
Israel,  sent  some  of  his  generals  with  a  jiart  of  his  army  into 
Judea,  to  reduce  that  country  likewise  under  his  subjection. 
These  generals  defeated  Manasseh,  and  having  taken  him 
prisoner,  bi'ought  him  to  Esar-haddon,  who  put  him  in 
chains,  and  carried  him  to  Babylon.  But  Manasseh,  having 
afterwards  aj^peased  the  wrath  of  God  by  a  sincere  and  lively 
repentance,  obtained  his  liberty,  and  returned  to  Jerusalem.* 

Meantime,  the  colonies  that  had  been  sent  into  Samaria, 
in  the  room  of  its  ancient  inhabitants,  were  grievously  in- 
fested with  lions.  The  king  of  Babylon,  being  told  that  the 
cause  of  this  calamity  Avas  their  not  worshipping  the  God  of 
the  country,  ordered  an  Israelitish  priest  to  be  sent  to  them, 
from  among  the  captives  taken  in  that  country,  to  teach 
them  the  worship  of  the  God  of  Israel.  But  these  idolaters, 
contented  with  admitting  the  true  God  among  their  ancient 
divinities,  worshipped  him  jointly  with  their  false  gods. 
This  corrupt  worship  continued  afterwards,  and  was  the 
source  of  the  aversion  entertained  by  the  Jews  against  the 
Samaritans. t 

Esar-haddon,  after  a  prosperous  reign  of  thirty-nine 
yeai-s,  over  the  Assyrians  and  thirteen  over  the  Babylonians, 
was  succeeded  by  his  son, 

Saosduchinus.  X  This  prince  is  called  in  Scripture,  Ne- 
buchodonosor,  which  name  was  common  to  the  kings  of 
Babylon.  To  distinguish  this  from  the  others,  he  is  called 
Nebuchodonosor  I. 

Tobit  was  still  alive  at  this  time,  and  dwelt  among  other 
captives  at  Nineveh.  Perceiving  his  end  approaching,  he 
foretold  to  his  children  the  sudden  destruction  of  that  city, 
of  which  there  was  not  then  the  least  appearance.  He  ad- 
vised them  to  quit  the  city  before  its  ruin  came  on,  and  to 
depart  as  soon  as  they  had  buried  him  and  his  wife.  § 

The  ruin  of  Nineveh  is  at  hand,  says  the  good  old  man, 
abide  no  longer  here,  for  I  perceive  the  wicl'edness  of  the 
city  will  occasion  its  destruction.  These  last  words  are 
very  remarkable,  the  wickedness  of  the  city  will  occasion  its 
destrtiction.  Men  will  be  apt  to  impute  the  ruin  of  Nine- 
veh to  any  other  reason,  but  we  are  taught  by  the  Holy 
Ghost,  that  her  unrighteousness  was  the  true  cause  of  it, 
as  it  will  be  with  other  states  that  imitate  her  crimes. 

Nebuchodonosor  defeated  the  king  of  the  Medes  in  a 

*  II.  Chron.  xxxiii.  11,  13.  t  IF.  Kings  xvii.  25-41. 

t  A.  M.  3335.    Ant.  J.  C.  66S.  §  Tobit  xiv.  5-13. 


468  ANCIENT   niSTOKT. 

battle  fonght  the  twelfth  year  of  his  reign,  upon  the  plain 
of  Ragau ;  he  took  Ecbatana,  the  capital  of  his  kingdom, 
and  returned  triumphant  to  Xineveh.*  When  we  come  to 
treat  of  the  history  of  the  Medes,  we  shall  give  a  more  par- 
ticular account  of  the  victory. 

It  was  immediately  after  this  expedition,  that  Bethulia 
was  besieged  by  Holofernes,  one  of  Nebuchodonosor's  gen- 
erals ;  and  that  the  famous  enterprise  of  Judith  was  ac- 
complished. 

Saracus,  otherwise  called  Chyna-Ladanus.f  This  prince 
succeeded  Saosduchinus,  and  having  rendered  himself  con- 
temptible to  his  subjects  by  his  effeminacy,  and  the  little 
care  he  took  of  his  dominions,  Nabopolassar,  a  Babylonian 
by  birth,  and  general  of  his  army,  usurped  that  part  of  the 
Assyrian  empire,  and  reigned  over  it  one  and  twenty  years. 

Nabopolassar.  t  This  prince,  the  better  to  maintain  his 
usurped  sovereignty,  made  an  alliance  with  Cyaxares,  king 
of  the  Medes.  With  their  joint  forces  they  besieged  and 
took  Nineveh,  killed  Saracus,  and  utterly  destroyed  that 
great  city.  We  shall  treat  more  extensively  of  this  great 
event  when  we  come  to  the  history  of  the  Medes.  From 
this  time  forward  the  city  of  Babylon  became  tlie  only 
capital  of  the  Assyrian  empire. 

The  Babylonians  and  the  Medes,  having  destroyed  Nine- 
veh, became  so  formidable,  that  they  drew  upon  themselves 
the  jealousy  of  all  their  neighbors.  Necho,  king  of  Egypt, 
W'as  so  alarmed  at  their  ])Ower,  that  to  stop  their  progress 
he  marched  towards  the  Euphrates,  at  the  head  of  a  ])ower- 
ful  army,  and  made  several  considerable  c(jnquests.  See  the 
history  of  the  Egyptians  for  what  concerns  this  expedition, 
and  the  consequences  that  attended  it. 

Nabopolassar  finding,  that,  after  the  taking  of  Carche- 
mish,  by  Necho,  all  Syria  and  Palestine  had  revolted  from 
him,  and  neither  his  age  nor  infirmities  ])ermitting  him  to 
go  in  person  to  recover  them,  he  made  his  son  Nebuchodon- 
osor  partner  with  him  in  the  empire,  and  sent  him  away 
with  an  army,  to  reduce  those  countries  to  their  former  sub- 
jection. § 

From  this  time  the  Jews  began  to  reckon  the  years  of 
Nebuchodonosor,  viz. :  from  the  end  of  the  third  year  of 
Jehoiakim,  king  of  Judah,  or  rather  from  the  beginning  of 
the  foui-th.     But  the  Babylonians  compute  the  reign  of  this 

*  Judith  i.  5,  6. 

t  A.  M.  a3o6.    Ant.  J.  C.  648.  Alex.  Polyhist.         }  A.  M.  3378-  Ant.  J.  C.  626i 

§  Beros.  apud  Joseph  Autiq.  1.  x.  c.  11,  et  cou.  Ap.  1.  L 


THE    ASSYRIANS.  469 

prince  only  from  the  death  of  his  father,  which  liappened 
two  years  latter.* 

Nebuchodonosor  II.  or  Nebuchadnezzar.f  This  ]  i:i('e 
defeated  Necho's  army  near  Euphrates,  and  retook  Car- 
chemish.  From  thence  he  marched  towards  SyriM  and  Pal- 
estine, and  reunited  those  provinces  to  his  dominions. 

He  likewise  entered  Judea,  besieged  Jerusalem,  and  took 
it ;  he  caused  Jehoiakim  to  be  ])ut  in  chains,  with  a  design 
to  have  him  carried  to  Babylon  ;  but  being  moved  with  his 
repentance,  and  affliction,  he  restored  him  to  his  throne. 
Great  numbers  of  the  Jews,  and  among  them  some  chil- 
dren of  the  royal  family,  were  carried  captive  to  Babylon, 
Avhither  all  the  treasures  of  the  king's  palace  and  a  part  of 
the  sacred  Aa^ssels  of  the  temple,  were  likewise  trans])orted.  t 
Thus  Avas  the  judgment  which  God  had  denounced  by  the 
prophet  Isaiah  to  King  Hezekiah  accomplished.  From  this 
famous  epoch,  which  was  the  fourth  year  of  Jehoiakim,  king 
of  Judah,  we  are  to  date  the  captivity  of  the  Jews  at  Baby- 
lon, so  often  foretold  by  Jeremiah.  Daniel,  then  but  eigh- 
teen years  old,  was  carried  captive  among  the  rest,  and 
Ezekiel  some  time  afterwards. 

Towards  the  end  of  the  fifth  year  of  Jehoiakim,  Nabo- 
l>olassar,  king  of  Babylon  died,  after  having  reigned  one-and- 
twenty  years.  §  As  soon  as  his  son  jSTebuchodonosor  was  in- 
formed of  his  death,  he  set  out  with  all  expedition  for 
Babylon,  taking  the  nearest  way  through  the  desert,  attend- 
ed only  by  a  small  retinue,  leaving  the  main  body  of  his 
army  with  his  generals,  to  be  conducted  to  Babylon  with  the 
captives  and  spoils.  On  his  arrival  he  received  the  govern- 
ment from  the  hands  of  those  who  had  carefully  })reserved 
it  for  him,  and  so  succeeded  to  all  the  dominions  of  his  fa- 
ther, which  comprehended  Chaldea,  Assyx-ia,  Arabia,  Syria, 
and  Palestine,  over  which,  according  to  Ptolemy,  he  reigned 
fort^ -three  years. 

In  the  fourth  year  of  his  reign  he  had  a  dream  at  which 
he  was  greatly  terrified,  though  he  could  not  call  it  again  to 
mind.  ||  He  thereupon  consulted  the  wise  men  and  diviners 
of  his  kingdom,  requiring  of  them  to  make  known  to  him 
the  substance  of  his  dream.  They  all  answered,  that  it  was 
beyond  the  reach  of  their  art  to  divine  the  thing  itself,  and 
that  the  utmost  they  could  do  was  to  give  the  interpretation 

*  A.M.  3308.    Ant.  .T.  C.  696.  t  Jer.  xlvj,  2.    II.  Kings  xxiv.  7. 

t  Dan.  i.  1-7.     II.  Chron.  xxxvi.  6,  7. 

§  Can.  Plol.  Beros.  apud  Joseph.  .'Vntiq.  1.  x.  c.  11,  et  con.  Ap.  1.  x, 

y  A.  M.  3401.    Ant.  J.  C.  603.    Dau.  c.  ii. 


470  '    ANCIENT    HISTOUY. 

of  his  dream,  when  he  had  made  it  known  to  them.  Aa 
absohite  princes  are  not  accustomed  to  meet  Avith  opposi- 
tion, but  will  be  obeyed  in  all  things,  Xebuchodont^sor,  im- 
agining that  they  dealt  insincerely  with  hifn,  fell  into  a  vio- 
lent rage,  and  condemned  them  all  to  death.  Daniel  and 
his  three  companions  were  included  in  the  sentence,  as  being 
ranked  among  the  wise  men.  But  Daniel,  having  first  in- 
voked his  God,  desired  to  be  introduced  to  the  king,  to 
whom  he  revealed  the  whole  substance  of  his  dream.  "  The 
thing  thou  sawest,"  said  he,  "  was  an  image  of  enormous 
size,  and  a  terrible  countenance.  The  head  thereof  was  of 
gold,  the  breast  and  arms  of  silver,  the  belly  and  thighs  of 
brass,  and  the  feet  jwirt  of  iron  and  part  of  clay.  And,  as 
the  king  was  attentivelj^  looking  upon  that  vision,  behold  a 
stone  was  cut  out  of  a  mountain,  without  hands,  and  the 
stone  smote  the  image  upon  his  feet  and  brake  them  to 
pieces  ;  the  whole  image  was  gi-ound  as  small  as  dust,  and 
the  stone  became  a  great  mountain  and  filled  the  whole 
earth."  When  Daniel  had  related  the  dream,  he  also  gave 
tiie  king  the  interpretation  thereof,  showing  him  that  it  sig- 
nified the  three  great  empires  which  were  to  succeed  that  of 
the  Assyrians,  namely,  the  Persian,  the  Grecian,  and  the 
Roman,  or,  according  to  some,  that  of  the  successors  of 
Alexander  the  Great.  "  After  these  kingdoms,  continued 
Daniel,  "  shall  the  God  of  heaven  set  up  a  kingdom,  Avhich 
shall  never  be  destroyed ;  and  this  kingdom  shall  not  be 
left  to  other  people,  but  shall  break  in  pieces  and  consume 
all  these  kingdoms,  and  shall  stand  for  ever."  By  which 
Daniel  plainly  foretold  the  kingdom  of  Jesus  Christ.  The 
king,  ravished  with  admiration  and  astonishment,  after  hav- 
ing acknowledged  and  loudly  declared,  that  the  God  of  the 
Israelites  was  really  the  God  of  gods,  advanced  Daniel  to 
tlie  highest  offices  in  the  kingdom,  made  him  chief  of  the 
governors  over  all  the  wise  men,  ruler  of  the  whole  province 
of  Babylon,  and  one  of  the  principal  lords  of  the  council, 
tliat  always  attended  tlie  court.  His  three  friends  were  also 
promoted  to  honors  and  highness. 

At  this  time  Jehoiakim  revolted  from  the  kingdom  of 
Babylon,  Avhose  generals  that  were  still  in  Judea,  marched 
against  him,  and  committed  all  kinds  of  hostilities  upon  his 
country.*  lie  slept  with  his  fathers,  is  all  the  Scripture 
Bays  of  his  death.  Jeremiah  had  prophesied  that  he  should 
neither  be  regretted  nor  lamented ;  but  should  he  buried  with 

*  U.  Kings  xxiv.  1,  2. 


THE    ASSYKIAXS.  471 

the  burial  of  an  ass,  dravm  and  cast  forth  beyond  the  gates 
of  Jerusalem :  this  was  no  doubt  ful^lled,  though  it  is  not 
known  in  what  manner. 

Jechonias*  succeeded  both  to  the  throne  and  iniquity 
of  his  father.  Nebuchadnezzar's  lieutenants  continuing  the 
blockade  of  Jerusalem,  in  three  months  time  he,  himself, 
came  at  the  head  of  his  army  and  made  himself  master  of 
the  city.  He  plundered  both  the  temple  and  the  king's  jial- 
ace  of  all  their  treasures,  and  sent  them  away  to  Babylon, 
together  with  all  the  golden  vessels  remaining,  which  Solo- 
man  had  made  for  the  use  of  the  temple  ;  he  carried  away, 
likewise,  a  vast  number  of  captives,  among  whom  were  king 
Jechonias,  his  motlier,  his  wives,  with  all  the  chief  officers 
and  great  men  of  his  kingdom.  In  the  room  of  Jechonias, 
he  set  upon  the  throne  his  uncle  Mattaniah,  who  was  other- 
wise called  Zedekiah. 

This  prince  had  as  little  religion  and  prosperity  as  his 
forefathers. t  Having  made  an  alliance  with  Pharaoh,  king 
of  Egypt,  he  broke  the  oath  of  fidelity  he  liad  taken  to  the 
king  of  Babylon.  The  latter  soon  chastised  him  for  it,  and 
immediately  laid  siege  to  Jerusalem.  The  king  of  Egypt's 
arrival  at  the  head  of  an  army,  gave  the  besieged  some 
hopes ;  but  their  joy  was  of  very  short  duration ;  the 
Egyptians  Avere  defeated,  and  the  conqueror  returned  to 
Jei'usalem,  and  renewed  his  siege,  Avhich  lasted  nearly  twelve 
months.  At  last  the  city  was  taken  by  storm,  and  a  terrible 
slaughter  ensued.  %  Zedekiah's  two  sons,  were,  by  Nebu- 
chadnezzar's orders,  killed  before  their  father's  face  with  all 
the  nobles  and  principal  men  of  Judea  :  Zedekiah  himself 
had  both  his  eyes  put  out,  was  loaded  with  fetters,  and  car- 
ried to  Babylon,  where  he  was  confined  in  prison  as  long  as 
he  lived.  The  city  and  temple  were  pillaged  and  burned 
and  all  their  fortifications  demolished. 

Upon  Nebuchadnezzar's  return  to  Babylon,  after  his  suc- 
cessful war  against  Judea,  lie  ordered  a  golden  statue  to  be 
made  sixty  cubits  high,  §  assembled  all  the  great  men  of  the 
kingdom  to  celebrate  the  dedication  of  it,  and  commanded 
all  his  subjects  to  Avorshij)  it,  threatening  to  cast  those  that 
should  refuse  into  the  midst  of  a  burning  fiery  furnace.  It 
was  upon  this  occasion,  that  the  three  young  Hebrews, 
Ananias,  Misael,  and  Azarias,  who,  with  an  invincible  cour- 
age refused  to  comply  with  the  king's  impious  ordinance, 

*  Alias,  Jehoiachiii.  II.  Kings  xxiv.  6-18.  t  II.  Kings  xxiv.  17-20,  and  xxv.  1-lOt 
%  A.  M.  3415.    Aut.  J.  C.  589.  §  Ninety  feet. 


472  ANCIENT    HISTORY. 

were  preserved,  after  a  miraculous  manner,  in  the  midst  of 
the  flames.  The  king,  liiniself,  a  witness  of  this  astonishing 
miracle,  published  an  edict  whereby  all  persons  wliatever 
were  forbid,  under  pain  of  death,  to  speak  any  thing  against 
the  god  of  Ananias,  Misael,  and  Azarias.  He  likewise  pro- 
moted these  three  young  men  to  the  highest  honors  and  em- 
ployments.* 

Nebuchadnezzar,  in  the  twenty-first  year  of  his  reign, 
and  the  fourth  after  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  marched 
again  into  Syria,  and  besieged  Tyre,  under  the  reign  of  Itho- 
bal.  Tyre  wns  a  strong  and  opulent  city,  Avhich  had  never 
been  subject  to  any  foreign  power,  and  was  then  in  great 
repute  for  its  commerce,  by  which  many  of  its  citizens  were 
become  like  so  many  princes  in  wealth,  and  magnificence.f 
It  was  built  by  the  Sidonians,  two  hundred  and  forty  years 
before  the  temple  of  Jerusalem.  For  Sidon  being  taken  by 
the  Philistines  of  Ascalon,  many  of  its  inhabitants  made 
their  escape  in  ships,  and  founded  the  city  of  Tyre.  And  for 
this  reason  Ave  find  it  called  in  Isaiah,  the  daughter  of 
Sidon.X  But  the  daughter  soon  sur]>assed  the  mother  in 
grandeur,  riches,  and  power.  Accordingly,  at  the  time  we 
are  sj^eaking  of,  she  was  in  a  condition  to  resist,  thirteen 
years  together,  a  monarch,  to  whose  yoke  all  the  rest  of  the 
East  had  submitted. 

It  was  not  till  after  so  many  years,  that  Nebuchadnezzar 
made  himself  master  of  Tyre.§  His  troops  suffered  incredible 
hardships  before  it ;  so  that,  according  to  the  prophet's  ex- 
pression, every  head  roas  made  bald,  and  every  shotdder  was 
peeled.  ||  Before  the  city  was  reduced  to  the  last  extremity, 
its  inhabitants  retired,  with  the  greatest  part  of  their  effects, 
into  a  neighboring  isle,  half  a  mile  from  the  shore,  where 
they  built  a  new  city ;  the  name  and  glory  of  which  ex- 
tinguished the  remembrance  of  the  old  one,  which  from 
thenceforward  became  a  mere  village,  retaining  the  name  of 
ancient  Tyre. 

Nebuchadnezzar  and  his  army  having  undergone  the  ut- 
most fatigues  during  so  long  and  difficult  a  siege,  and  having 
found  nothing  in  the  place  to  recjuite  them  for  the  service 
they  had  rendered  Almighty  God.  (it  is  the  cx])ression  of  the 
prophet),  in  executing  his  vengeance  upon  that  city,  God 
was  ])leased  to  promise  by  the  mouth  of  Ezekiel,  that  he 
would  give  them  the  spoils  of  Egypt  as  a  recompense. IF  And. 

*  Dan.  ill.  t  Ezek.  xxvi.  and  xxvii.    Isa.  xxiii.  8.    Just.  1.  xviii.  c.  3. 
X  Is;».  xxiii.  12.           §  Jos.  Ant.  1.  x.  c.  11,  et  con.  Ap.  1,  i. 

•  Ezek.  xxix.  18, 19.  U  Ezek.  xxix.  18-20 


THE    ASSYEIAXS.  473 

indeed  Nebuchadnezzar  conquered  Egypt  soon  after,  as  I 
have  more  fully  related  in  the  history  of  the  Egyptians. 
When  tins  jjrince  happily  finished  all  his  wars,  and  was  in  a 
state  of  perfect  jDeace  and  tranquillity,  he  put  the  last  hand 
to  the  building,  or  rather  to  the  embellishing  of  Babylon. 
The  reader  may  see  in  Josephus,*  an  account  of  the  magnif- 
icent structures  ascribed  to  this  monarch  hj  several  writei's. 
I  have  mentioned  a  great  part  of  them  in  the  descrij)tion 
already  given  of  that  stately  city. 

While  nothing  seemed  wanting  to  complete  Nebuchad- 
nezzar's hap})iness,  a  frightful  dream  disturbed  his  repose, 
and  filled  him  M'ith  great  anxiety.  He  dreamed  "  he  saw  a 
tree  in  the  midst  of  the  earth,  whose  height  Avas  great :  the 
tree  grew  and  was  strong,  and  the  height  of  it  reached  unto 
heaven,  and  the  sight  thereof  to  the  end  of  the  earth.  The 
leaves  were  fair,  and  the  fruit  much  ;  and  in  it  was  meat  for 
all :  the  beasts  of  the  field  had  shadow  under  it,  and  the 
fowls  of  the  heaven  dwelt  in  the  boughs  thereof ;  and  all 
flesh  was  fed  of  it.  Then  a  watcher  and  a  holy  one  came 
down  from  heaven  and  cried,  liew  down  the  tree,  and  cut 
off  its  branches,  sliake  off  its  leaves,  and  scatter  its  fruit ;  let 
the  beasts  get  away  from  under  it,  and  the  fowls  from  its 
branches. 

Nevertheless,  leave  the  stump  of  its  roots  in  the  earth, 
even  with  a  band  of  iron  and  brass,  in  the  tender  grass  of 
the  field  ;  and  let  it  be  wet  with  the  dew  of  heaven,  and  let 
its  portion  be  with  the  beasts  in  the  grass  of  the  earth.  Let 
his  heart  be  changed  from  man's,  and  let  a  beast's  heart  be 
given  unto  him,  and  let  seven  times  pass  over  him.  This 
matter  is  by  the  decree  of  the  watchers,  and  the  demand  by 
the  word  of  the  holy  ones,  to  the  intent  that  the  living  may 
know,  that  the  Most  High  ruleth  in  the  kingdom  of  men,  and 
giA^eth  it  to  whomsoever  he  will,  and  setteth  up  over  it  the 
basest  of  men."  f 

The  king,  justly  alarmed  at  this  terrible  dream,  consulted 
all  his  wise  men  and  magicians,  but  to  no  purpose.  He  was 
obliged  to  have  recourse  to  Daniel,  who  ex'})ounded  the 
dream,  and  ajjplied  it  to  the  king's  own  ])erson,  plainly  de- 
claring to  him,  "  That  he  should  be  driven  from  the  com- 
pany of  men  for  seven  years,  should  be  reduced  to  the  con- 
dition and  fellowship  of  the  beasts  of  the  field,  and  feed 
upon  grass  like  a  bullock  :  that  his  kingdom  nevertheless 
should  be  preserved  for  him,  and  he  should  repossess  hia 

*  Antiq.  1.  x.  c.  11.  t  Daii.  iv. 


474  ANCIENT    HISTORY. 

throne,  when  he  should  have  learned  to  know  and  acknowl- 
edge that  all  power  is  from  above,  and  coineth  from  heaven. 
After  this,  he  exhorteth  him  to  break  off  hia  sins  by 
righteousness,  and  his  iniquities  by  showing  mercy  to  the 
poor." 

All  these  things  came  to  pass  upon  Nebuchadnezzar,  as 
the  projjhet  had  foretold.  At  the  end  of  twelve  months,  as 
he  was  walking  in  his  palace,  and  admiring  the  beauty  and 
magnificence  of  his  buildings,  he  said,  "  Is  not  this  great 
Babylon  which  I  have  built  for  the  house  of  the  kingdcm, 
by  the  might  of  my  power,  and  for  the  honor  of  my 
jnajesty?"  "Would  a  secret  impulse  of  complacency  and 
vanity  in  a  prince,  at  the  sight  of  such  noble  structures 
erected  by  himself,  appear  to  us  so  very  criminal  ? 
and  yet,  hardly  were  the  words  out  of  his  mouth,  when  a 
voice  came  down  from  heaven,  and  pronounced  his  sen- 
tence :  "  In  the  same  hour  his  imderstanding  went  from  liim  ; 
he  was  driven  from  men,  and  did  eat  grass  like  oxen,  and 
his  body  was  wet  with  the  dew  of  heaven,  till  his  hairs  were 
grown  like  eagles'  feathers,  and  his  nails  like  birds'  claws." 

After  the  expiration  of  the  appointed  time,  he  recovered 
his  senses,  and  the  use  of  his  understanding  :  "  He  lifted  up 
his  eyes  unto  heaven,"  says  the  Scripture,  "  and  blessed  the 
Most  High  ;  he  ])raised  and  honored  him  that  liveth  for 
ever,  whose  dominion,  and  whose  kingdom  is  from  genera- 
tion to  generation : "  confessing,  "  that  all  the  inhabitants 
of  the  earth  are  as  nothing  before  him,  and  that  he  doeth 
according  to  his  will  in  the  army  of  heaven,  and  among  the 
inhabitants  of  the  earth  ;  and  none  can  stay  his  hand,  or  say 
unto  him,  what  dost  thou?"  Now  he  recovered  his  former 
countenance  and  form.  His  courtiers  went  out  to  seek  him  ; 
he  was  restored  to  his  throne,  and  became  greater  and  m.oie 
powerful  than  ever.  Being  affected  with  the  most  sincere 
gratitude,  he  caused,  by  a  solemn  edict,  to  be  published 
through  the  whole  extent  of  his  dominions,  what  astonish- 
ing and  miraculous  things  God  had  wrought  in  his  person. 

One  year  after  this,  Nebuchadnezzar  died,  having  reigned 
forty-three  years,  reckoning  from  the  death  of  his  father. 
He  was  one  of  the  greatest  monarchs  that  ever  reigned  in 
the  East.     He  was  succeeded  by  his  son, 

Evil-Merodach.*  As  soon  as  he  was  settled  on  the 
throne,  he  released  Jechonias,  king  of  Judah,  out  of  prison, 
"where  he  had  been  confined  near  seven  and  thirty  years. 

•A.  M.  3«1.    Aut.  J.  C.  5632.    U.  Kiugs  xxt.  27-30. 


THE    ASSYRIANS.  475 

In  the  reign  of  this  Evil-Merodach,  wliicli  lasted  but  two 
years,  tlie  learned  ])lace  Daniel's  deteetion  of  the  fraud  prac- 
ticed by  the  priests  of  Bel ;  the  innocent  artifice  by  which 
he  contrived  to  kill  the  dragon  which  was  worshipped  as  a 
god  ;  and  the  miraculous  deliverance  of  the  same  ])ro]ihct 
out  of  the  den  of  lions,  where  he  had  victuals  brought  hin^ 
by  the  ])rophet  Ilabakknk. 

Evil-Merodach  rendered  himself  so  odious  by  his  de- 
bancliery,  and  other  extravagancies,  that  his  own  relations 
cons]nred  against  him  and  put  him  to  death.* 

Neriglissar,  his  sister's  husband,  and  one  of  the  chief 
conspirators,  reigned  in  his  stead. t 

Jnunediately  on  liis  accession  to  the  crown,  he  made 
great  j)reparations  for  war  against  the  Medes,  wiilcii  made 
Cyaxares  send  for  Cyrus  out  of  Persia  to  his  assistance. 
This  story  will  be  more  particularly  related  by  and  by, 
whei-e  we  shall  find  tJiat  this  prince  was  slain  in  battle,  in 
the  fourth  year  of  his  reign. 

Laborosonrchod,  t  his  son,  succeeded  to  the  throne.  This 
was  a  very  wicked  prince.  Being  naturally  of  the  most 
vicious  inclinations,  lie  indulged  them  without  restraint 
when  he  came  to  the  crown  ;  as  if  he  had  been  invested 
wdth  sovereign  power,  only  to  have  the  privilege  of  com- 
mitting with  impunity  the  most  infamous  and  barbarous  ac- 
tions. He  reigned  but  nine  months;  his  own  subjects,  eon- 
spiring  against  him,  put  him  to  death.     His  successor  was 

Labynit,  or  Nabonid.  §  This  prince  had  likewise  other 
names,  and  in  Scripture  that  of  Belshazzar.  It  is  reasona- 
bly supposed  that  lie  was  the  son  of  Evil-Merodach,  by  his 
wife  Nitocris,  and  consequently  grandson  to  Nebuchadnez- 
zar, to  whom,  according  to  Jeremiah's  prophecy,  the  nations 
of  the  East  were  to  be  subject,  as  also  to  his  son,  and  his 
grandson  after  him  :  all  nations  shall  serve  htm,  and  his 
son,  and  his  son''s  son,  until  the  very  time  of  his  land  shall 
come.  II 

Nitocris  raised  many  noble  edifices  in  Babylon;  she 
caixsed  her  own  monument  to  be  placed  over  one  of  the  most 
remarkable  gates  of  the  city,  with  an  inscription,  dissuading 
her  successoi'S  from  touching  the  treasures  laid  up  in  it, 
without  the  most  urgent  and  indispensable  necessity.  The 
tomb  remained  unopened  till  the  reign  of  Darius,  who,  upon 
his  breaking  it  open,  instead  of  those   iinjiiense  treasures 

*  Beros.  Megasthen. 

t  A.  M.  3444.    Ant.  ,1.  C.  5(0.    Cyrop.  1.  i.  J  A. M.  3448.  Ant.  J.  C.  656. 

§  A.  M.  3449.    Aat.  J.  C.  555.  II  Jer.  xxvii.  7. 


476  ANCIENT    niSTORY. 

with  which  he  had  flattered  himself,  found  nntliiiipr  but  the 
following  inscription  : 

'•'•  If  thou  hadst  not  an  insatiable  thirst  after  money ^ 
and  a  most  sordid^  avaricious  soidy  thou  worddst  never  have 
broken  open  the  tnommients  of  the  deadP  * 

In  the  first  year  of  Belshnzz:ir'.s  reign,  Daniel  had  the 
vision  of  the  four  beasts,  which  re{)resentod  the  four  great 
monarchies,  and  the  kingdom  of  the  Messiah,  \\hich  was  to 
succeed  them.f  In  the  third  year  of  tlie  same  reign,  he  had 
the  vision  of  the  ram  and  the  he-goat,  Avhich  prefigured  the 
destruction  of  the  Persian  empire  by  Alexander  the  Great, 
and  the  persecution  which  Antiochus  Epi])hanes,  king  of 
Syria,  should  bring  u])on  tlie  Jews,  t  I  sliall  liereaftermake 
some  reflections  upon  these  prophecies,  and  give  a  more 
particular  account  of  tbicm. 

Belshazzar,  while  his  enemies  were  besieging  Babylon, 
gave  a  great  entertainment  to  his  whole  court,  upon  a  cer- 
tain festival,  which  was  annually  celebrated  with  great  re- 
joicing. §  The  joy  of  this  feast  was  greatly  disturbed  by  a 
vision,  and  still  more  so  by  the  explication  which  Daniel 
gave  of  it  to. the  king.  The  sentence  written  upon  the  wall 
imported  that  his  kingdom  was  taken  from  him,  and  given 
to  the  Medes  and  Persians.  That  very  night  the  city  was 
taken,  and  Belshazzar  killed. 

Thus  ended  the  Babylonish  empire,  after  having  sub- 
sisted two  hundred  and  ten  years  from  the  destruction  of 
the  great  Assyrian  empii-e.  || 

The  particular  circumstances  of  the  siege,  and  the  tak- 
ing of  Babylon,  shall  be  related  in  the  history  of  Cyrus. 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE    HISTORY    OF    THE    KINGDOM    OF    THE  MEDES. 

I  OBSERVED,  in  speaking  of  the  destruction  of  the  ancient 
Assyrian  empire,  If  that  Arbaces,  general  of  the  Medes, 
was  one  of  the  chief  authors  of  the  conspiracy  against  Sar- 
danapalus  ;  and  several  writers  believed  that  he  then  im- 
mediately became  sovereign  master  of  Media,  and  many 
other  provinces,-'and  assumed  the  title  of  king.     Herodotus 

•Her.  1.  i.  oap.  1R5,  &o.  t  Dan.  vii.  t  CLap.  viii.  §  Chap.  v. 

y  A.  M.  3468.   Aut.  J.C.  536.  \  A.  M.  3257.    Ant.  J.  C.  747. 


THE    ASSYRIANS.  477 

is  not  of  this  opinion.  I  shall  relate  Avhat  that  celebrated 
historian  says  ui)on  the  subject. 

The  Assyrians,  who  had  for  many  ages  held  the  empire 
of  Asia,  began  to  decline  in  their  power  by  the  revolt  of 
several  nations.  The  Medes  first  threw  off  their  yoke,  and 
maintained  for  some  time  the  liberty  they  had  acquired  by 
their  valor ;  but  that  liberty  degenerating  into  licentious- 
ness, and  their  govei*nment  not  being  well  established,  they 
fell  into  a  kind  of  anarchy,  worse  than  their  former  sid)jcc- 
tion.  Injustice,  violence  and  rapine,  prevailed  everywhere, 
because  there  was  nobody  that  had  either  ])ower  enough  to 
restrain  them,  or  sufficient  authority  to  punish  the  offend- 
ers. But  all  these  disorders  induced  the  people  to  settle  a 
form  of  government,  which  rendered  the  state  more  flour- 
ishing than  it  ever  was  before.* 

Tlio  nation  of  the  Medes  was  then  divided  into  tribes. 
Almost  all  tlie  people  dwelt  in  villages,  Avhen  Dejoces,  the 
son  of  Pliraortes,  a  Mede  by  birth,  erected  tlie  state  into  a 
monarchy.  This  ])erson,  seeing  the  great  disorders  that  pre- 
vailed throughout  all  Media,  resolved  to  take  advantage  of 
those  troubles,  and  make  them  serve  to  exalt  him  to  the 
royal  dignity.  He  enjoyed  great  reputation  in  his  own 
country,  and  passed  for  a  man,  not  only  regular  in  his  con- 
duct, but  possessed  of  all  the  prudence  and  equity  necessary 
for  a  governor. 

As  soon  as  he  had  formed  the  design  of  obtaining  the 
throne,  he  labored  to  make  the  good  qualities  that  had  beeit 
observed  in  him  more  conspicuous  than  ever;  he  succeeded 
so  well,  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  village  where  he  lived 
made  him  their  judge.  In  this  office  he  acquitted  himself 
with  great  prudence,  and  his  cares  were  attended  with  all 
the  success  expected  from  them,  for  he  brought  the  peo))le 
of  that  village  to  a  sober  and  regular  life.  The  inhabitants 
of  other  villages,  who  were  perpetually  in  disorder,  observ- 
ing the  regularity  Dejoces  had  introduced  in  the  place 
where  he  })i-esided  as  judge,  began  to  address  themselves  to 
him,  and  make  him  arbitrator  of  their  differences.  The 
fame  of  his  equity  daily  increasing,  all  such  as  had  any  af- 
fair of  consequence,  brought  it  before  him,  expecting  to  find 
that  equity  in  Dejoces  which  they  could  meet  with  no 
where  else. 

When  he  found  liimself  thus  far  advanced  in  his  designs, 
he  judged  it  a  proper  time  to  set  his  last  engines  to  work 

*  Herod.  1.  i.  c.  95. 


478  ANCIEKT   HISTORY. 

for  the  accomplishment  of  his  object.  He  therefore  retired 
from  business,  pretending  to  be  over-fatigued  with  the  mul- 
titude of  people  that  resorted  to  him  from  all  quarters,  and 
would  not  exercise  the  office  of  judge  any  longer,  not  with- 
standing all  the  importunity  of  such  as  wished  Avell  to  the 
public  tranquillity.  Whenever  any  persons  addressed  them- 
seh'es  to  him,  he  told  them  that  his  own  domestic  affairs 
would  not  allow  him  to  attend  to  those  of  other  peo]ile. 

The  licentiousness  which  had  been  for  some  time  re- 
strained by  the  management  of  Dejoces,  began  to  prevail 
more  than  ever,  as  soon  as  he  had  withdrawn  himself  from 
the  administration  of  affairs,  and  the  evil  increased  to  such 
a  degree,  that  the  Medes  were  obliged  to  assemble  and 
deliberate  upon  the  means  of  curing  so  dangerous  a  disor- 
der. 

There  are  different  sorts  of  ambition  ;  some  persons,  vio- 
lent and  impetuous,  carrying  every  thing  as  it  were  by  storm, 
restrained  by  no  kind  of  cruelty  or  murder ;  another  sort, 
more  gentle,  like  those  w^e  are  speaking  of,  put  on  an  apjjear- 
ance  of  moderation  and  justice,  and  yet  by  clandestine 
means,  arrive  at  their  point  as  surely  as  the  other.  De- 
joces, who  saw  things  succeeding  according  to  his  wish, 
sent  his  emissaries  to  the  assembly,  after  having  instructed 
them  in  the  part  they  M^ere  to  act.  When  expedients 
for  stopping  the  course  of  the  public  evils  came  to  be 
proposed,  these  emissaries,  speaking  in  their  turn,  rejv 
resented  that,  unless  the  state  of  the  republic  was  en- 
tirely changed,  their  country  would  become  uninliabit- 
able ;  that  the  only  means  to  remedy  tlie  present  dis- 
orders was  to  elect  a  king,  who  should  have  authority  to 
restrain  violence,  and  make  laws  for  the  government  of  the 
nation.  Then  every  man  could  prosecute  his  own  affairs 
in  peace  and  safety;  whereas  the  injustice  that  now  reigned 
in  all  parts,  "would  quickly  force  the  people  to  abandon  the 
country.  Tliis  opinion  was  generally  approved,  and  the 
whole  company  was  convinced  that  no  expedient  could  be 
devised  more  effectual  for  curing  the  ]>resent  evil,  than  that 
of  converting  the  state  into  a  monarchy.  The  only  thing 
then  to  be  done  was  to  choose  a  king,  which  did  not  take 
long  for  deliberation.  They  all  agreed  there  was  not  a  man 
in  Media  so  capable  of  governing  as  Dejoces,  so  that  he 
was  immediately,  with  common  consent,  elected  king. 

If  w'e  reflect  in  the  least  on  the  first  establishment  of 
kingdoms,  in  any  age  or  country  whatever,  we  shall  find 


THE    MEDES.  479 

that  the  maintenance  of  order,  and  the  care  of  the  public 
good,  was  the  original  design  of  monarchy.  Indeed,  there 
would  be  no  possibility  of  establishing  order  and  i)eace,  if 
all  men  were  resolved  to  be  independent,  and  would  not 
submit  to  an  authority  which  takes  from  them  a  part  of 
their  liberty,  in  order  to  preserve  the  rest.  Mankind  must 
be  per])etually  at  war  if  they  will  always  be  striving  fot 
dominion  over  others,  or  refuse  to  submit  to  the  strongest. 
For  the  sake  of  their  own  j^eace  and  safety  they  must  have 
a  master,  and  must  consent  to  obey  him.  This  is  the  human 
origin  of  government.  And  the  Scriptures  teach  us,  that 
Divine  Providence  has  not  only  allowed  the  project,  and 
the  execution  of  it,  but  consecrated  it  likewise  by  an  imme- 
diate communication  of  his  own  power.* 

There  is  nothing  certaiidy  more  noble  and  gi-eat  than  to 
see  a  private  person,  eminent  for  liis  merit  and  virtue,  and 
fitted  by  his  excellent  talents  for  the  highest  employment, 
and  yet,  through  inclination  and  modesty,  preferring  a  life 
of  obscurity  and  retirement ;  than  to  see  such  a  man  sin- 
cerely refuse  the  offer  made  to  him  of  reigning  over  a  whole 
nation,  and  at  last  consent  to  undergo  the  toil  of  govern- 
ment, from  no  other  motive  tlian  that  of  being  serviceable 
to  his  fellow-citizens.  His  first  disposition,  by  which  he 
declares  that  he  is  acquainted  with  the  duties,  and  conse- 
quently with  the  dangers  annexed  to  sovereign  power, 
shows  him  to  have  a  soul  more  elevated  and  great  than 
greatness  itself;  or,  to  speak  more  justly,  a  soul  superior  to 
all  ambition ;  nothing  can  show  liim  so  perfectly  worthy  of 
that  important  charge,  as  the  opinion  he  has  of  his  not  being 
so,  and  his  fears  of  being  unequal  to  it.  But  when  he  gen- 
erously sacrifices  his  own  quiet  and  satisfaction  to  the  wel- 
fare and  tranquillity  of  the  pviblic,  it  is  plain  he  understands 
what  that  sovereign  power  has  in  it  really  good,  or  truly 
valuable  ;  which  is,  that  it  })uts  a  man  in  a  condition  of  be- 
coming the  defender  of  his  country,  of  procuring  it  many 
advantages,  and  of  redressing  various  evils  ;  of  causing  law 
and  justice  to  flourish,  of  bringing  virtue  and  probity  into 
reputation,  and  of  establishing  ])eace  and  plenty ;  and  he 
comforts  himself  for  the  cares  and  troubles  to  which  he  is 
exposed,  by  the  prospect  of  the  many  benefits  resulting  from 
them  to  the  public.  Such  a  governor  was  Numa  at  Rome, 
and  such  have  been  some  other  em})erors  whom  the  people 
have  constrained  to  accept  the  supreme  power. 

•  Rom.  xiii.  1,  2. 


480  ANCTESTT    HTSTORY. 

It  must  be  owned  I  cannot  help  repeating  it,  tliat  there 
is  notliiiig  more  noble  or  great  than  such  a  disposition. 
But  to  put  on  the  mask  of  modesty  and  A'irtue,  in  order  to 
satisfy  one's  ambition,  as  Dejoces  did  ;  to  affect  to  appear 
outwardly,  what  a  man  is  not  inwardly,  to  refuse  for  a  time, 
and  then  accept  with  a  seeming  re])ugnancy,  what  a  man 
tnxrnestly  desires,  and  what  he  has  been  laboring  by  seci-et 
underhand  practices  to  obtain  ;  has  so  much  meanness  in 
it,  that  it  necessarily  lessens  our  opinion  of  the  person,  and 
greatly  ecli})ses  his  merit,  be  his  talents  at  the  same  time 
ever  so  extraordinary. 

Dejoces  reigned  fifty-three  years.*  When  Dejoces  had 
ascended  the  throne,  he  endeavored  to  convince  the  people 
that  they  were  not  mistaken  in  the  choice  they  had  made  of 
him,  for  restoring  order.  At  first,  he  resolved  to  have  liis 
dignity  of  king  attended  with  all  the  marks  that  could  in- 
spire awe  and  res))ect  for  his  person.  He  obliged  his  sub- 
jects to  build  him  a  magnificent  ])alace  in  the  jdace  he  ap- 
pointed. This  palace  he  strongly  fortified,  and  chose  out 
from  among  his  peojile  such  persons  as  he  judged  most  fit 
to  be  his  guards. 

After  having  thus  provided  for  his  own  security,  he  ap- 
plied himself  to  polish  and  civilize  his  subjects,  who,  having 
been  accustomed  to  live  in  the  country,  and  in  vilbiges, 
almost  without  laws  and  without  ])olity,  had  contracted 
a  savage  disposition.  To  this  end,  he  commanded  them 
to  build  a  city,  himself  marking  out  the  place  and  cir- 
cumference of  the  walls.  This  city  was  surrounded  with 
seven  distinct  walls,  all  disposed  in  such  a  manner,  that 
Ihe  outermost  did  not  hinder  the  parapet  of  the  second 
from  being  seen,  nor  the  second  that  of  the  third,  and 
so  of  all  the  rest.  The  situation  of  the  jdace  was 
extremely  favorable  for  such  a  design,  for  it  was  a  reg- 
idar  hill,  whose  ascent  was  equal  on  every  side.  Within 
the  last  and  smallest  enclosure  stood  the  king's  palace, 
with  all  his  treasures  ;  in  the  sixth,  which  was  next  to  that, 
there  were  several  apartments  for  lodging  the  ofiicers  of  his 
household  ;  and  the  intermediate  spaces,  between  the  other 
walls,  were  appointed  for  the  habitation  of  the  people  ;  the 
first  and  largest  enclosure  was  about  the  size  of  Athens. 
The  name  of  the  city  was  Ecbatana. 

The  j)rospect  of  it  was  magnificent  and  beautiful  ;  for, 
besides  the  disposition  of  the  walls,  which  formed  a  kind  of 

♦  A.  M.  asm.    Aut.  J.  C.  710.    Her.  1.  i.  9fr-101. 


THE    MEDES.  481 

amphitheatre,  the  different  colors  wherewith  the  several 
parapets  were  painted,  formed  a  delightful  variety. 

After  the  city  av as  finished,  and  Dejoces  had  obliged 
part  of  the  Medes  to  settle  in  it,  he  turned  all  his  attention 
to  composing  laws  for  the  good  of  the  state.  But  being 
persuaded  that  the  majesty  of  kings  is  most  respected  afar 
off,  major  ex  longinquo  reverentia,  *  he  began  to  keep  him- 
self at  a  distance  from  his  people,  was  almost  inaccessible 
and  invisible  to  his  subjects,  not  suffering  them  to  speak,  or 
communicate  their  affairs  to  him  but  only  by  petitions,  and 
the  interposition  of  his  officers.  And  even  those  that  had 
the  privilege  of  approaching  him,  might  neither  laugh  nor 
spit  in  his  presence. 

This  great  statesman  acted  in  this  manner,  in  order  the 
better  to  secure  to  himself  the  possession  of  the  crown. 
For,  having  to  deal  with  men  yet  uncivilized,  and  not  very 
capable  judges  of  true  merit,  he  was  afraid  that  too  great 
a  familiarity  with  him  might  induce  contempt,  and  occasion 
plots  and  conspiracies  against  a  growing  power,  which  is 
generally  looked  upon  with  envy  and  discontent.  But  by 
keeping  himself  thus  concealed  from  the  eyes  of  the  people, 
and  making  himself  known  only  by  the  wise  laws  he  made, 
and  the  strict  justice  he  took  care  to  administer  to  every 
one,  he  acquired  the  respect  and  esteem  of  all  his  subjects. 

It  is  said  that  from  the  innermost  parts  of  his  palace  he 
knew  every  thing  that  was  done  in  his  dominions,  by  means 
of  his  emissaries,  who  brought  him  accounts,  and  informed 
him  of  all  transactions.  By  this  means-,  no  crime  escaped 
either  the  knowledge  of  the  prince,  or  the  rigor  of  the  law  ; 
and  the  punishment  closely  following  the  offence,  kept  the 
wicked  in  awe,  and  stopped  the  coux'se  of  violence  and 
justice. 

Things  might  possibly  pass  in  this  manner  to  a  certain 
degree,  during  his  administration ;  but  there  is  nothing 
more  obvious  than  the  great  inconveniences  necessarily 
resulting  from  the  custom  introduced  by  Dejoces,  and 
wherein  he  has  been  imitated  by  the  rest  of  the  Eastern 
potentates  ;  the  custom,  I  mean,  of  living  concealed  in  his 
palace,  of  governing  by  spies  dispersed  throu-^iuut  his  king- 
dom, of  relying  solely  upon  their  sincerity  ior  the  truth  of 
facts,  of  not  suffering  truth,  the  complaints  of  the  oppressed, 
and  the  just  reasons  of  innocent  persons,  to  be  conveyed  to 
him  in  any  other  way  than  through  foreign  channels,  that 

•  Tacitus. 

31 


482  ANCIEJVT    HISTORY. 

is,  by  men  liable  to  be  prejudiced  or  corrupted  ;  men  that 
stopped  up  all  avenues  to  remonstrances,  or  the  reparation 
of  injuries,  and  that  were  capable  of  doing  the  greatest 
injustice  themselves,  with  so  much  the  more  ease  and  as- 
surance, as  their  iniquity  remained  "in discovered,  and  con- 
sequently unpunished.  But  besides  ail  this,  that  very  affec- 
tation in  princes  of  being  invisible,  shows  them  to  be  con- 
scious of  their  slender  merit,  which  shuns  the  light,  and 
dares  not  stand  the  test  of  a  near  examination. 

Dejoces  was  so  Avholly  taken  up  in  humanizing  and  soft- 
ening the  manners,  and  making  laws  for  the  good  govern- 
ment of  his  people,  that  he  never  engaged  in  any  entei^jrise 
against  his  neighbors,  though  he  reigned  for  the  long  period 
of  fifty-three  years. 

Phraortes  reigned  twenty-two  years.  *  After  the  death 
of  Dejoces  his  son  Phraortes,  otherwise  called  A]ihraartes,t 
succeeded.  The  sole  affinity  between  these  two  names, 
would  make  one  believe  that  this  is  the  king  called  in 
Scripture  Arpliaxad  ;  but  that  opinion  has  many  other  sul)- 
stantial  reasons  to  support  it,  as  may  be  seen  in  Father 
Montfaucon's  learned  dissertation,  of  which  I  have  made  gi'eat 
use  in  this  treatise.  The  passage  in  Judith,  that  Arphaxad 
built  a  very  strong  city ^  and  called  it  Ecbatana,  has  deceived 
most  authors,  and  made  them  believe  that  Arphaxad  must 
be  Dejoces,  who  was  certainly  the  founder  of  that  city. 
But  the  Greek  text  of  Judith,  which  the  vulgar  translation 
renders  ce.dificavit,  only  says,  that  Arphaxad  added  new 
buildings  to  Ecbatana.  %  And  what  can  be  more  natural 
than  that,  the  father  not  having  entirelj^  perfected  so  con- 
siderable a  work,  the  son  shojild  put  the  last  hand  to  it,  and 
make  such  additions  as  were  wanting  ? 

Phraortes,  being  of  a  very  Avarlike  temper,  and  not  con- 
tented with  the  kingdom  of  Media,  left  him  by  his  father, 
attacked  the  Persians,  and  defeating  them  in  a  decisive  bat- 
tle, brought  them  under  subjection  to  his  empire.  Then, 
strengthened  by  the  accession  of  their  troops,  he  attacked 
other  neighboring  nations,  one  after  another,  till  he  made 
himself  master  of  almost  all  Upper  Asia,  which  compre- 
hends all  that  lies  north  of  Mount  Taurus,  from  Media,  as 
far  as  the  river  Halys.  § 

Elated  with  his  success,  he  ventured  to  turn  his  arms 
against    the   Assyrians,    at  that    time    indeed,   weakened 

•A.M.  aH7.    Ant.  J.  C.  657.    Her.  o.  102. 

t  Ho  is  called  so  by  Eusebius.Chron.  Gnco.  and  by  Geor.  Sybcel.  Jnditb,  i.  t, 

t  "ETT'l'Kood/jujcrt-  ini  'EK/jaracots.    Juditll.  Text.  Gr.  §  Herod.  1.  i.  c.  103. 


THE    MEDES.  483 

through  the  I'cvolt  of  several  nations,  but  yet  very  powerful 
in  themselves.  Nebuchodonosor,  their  king,  otherwise 
called  Saosduchinus,  raised  a  great  army  in  his  own  country, 
and  sent  ambassadors  to  several  other  nations  of  the  East, 
to  require  their  assistance.*  They  all  refused  him  with 
contempt,  and  ignominiously  treated  his  ambassadors,  let- 
ting him  see  that  they  no  longer  dreaded  that  empire, 
which  had  formerly  ke})t  the  greatest  part  of  them  in  a 
slavisli  subjection. 

The  king,  highly  enraged  at  such  insolent  treatment, 
swoi'e  by  his  thi-one  and  his  reign,  that  he  would  be  re- 
venged of  all  those  nations,  and  put  them  every  one  to  the 
•swoi'd.  He  then  prepared  for  battle  Avith  what  forces  he 
had,  in  the  plain,  of  Rngau.  A  great  battle  ensued  there, 
which  proved  fatal  to  Phraortes.  He  was  defeated,  his 
cavalry  tied,  his  chariots  were  overturned  and  thrown  into 
disorder,  and  Xebuchodonosor  gained  a  comjjlete  victory. 
Then,  taking  advantage  of  the  defeat  and  confusiou  of  tlie 
Medes,  he  entered  their  country,  took  their  cities,  ])ushed 
on  his  conquest  even  to  Ecbatana,  forced  the  towers  and 
the  walls  by  storm,  and  gave  the  city  to  be  pillaged  by  his 
soldiers,  who  plundered  it,  and  stri2)ped  it  of  all  its  orna- 
ments. 

The  unfortunate  Phraortes,  who  had  escaped  into  the 
mountains  of  Ragau,  fell  at  last  into  the  hands  of  Nebu- 
chodonosor, Avho  cruelly  caused  him  to  be  shot  to  death 
with  darts.  After  that,  he  returned  to  Nineveh  with  all 
his  army,  which  was  still  very  numerous,  and  for  four 
months  together,  did  nothing  but  feast  and  divert  himself 
with  those  that  had  accompanied  him  in  this  expedition. 

In  Judith  we  read,  that  the  king  of  Assyria  sent  Holo- 
fernes,  with  a  powerful  army,  to  revenge  himself  of  those 
that  had  refused  him  succors.  The  progress  and  cruelty  of 
that  commander,  the  general  consternation  of  all  the  people, 
the  courageous  resolution  of  the  Israelites  to  withstand  him, 
in  hopes  that  their  God  would  defend  them,  the  extremity 
to  which  Bethulia  and  the  whole  nation  was  reduced,  the 
miraculous  deliverance  of  that  city  by  the  courage  and  con- 
duct of  the  brave  Judith,  and  the  complete  overthrow  of 
the  Assyrian  army,  are  all  related  in  the  same  book. 

Cyaxares  I.  reigned  forty  years,  t  This  prince  suc- 
ceeded to  the  throne  immediately  after  his  father's  death. 

*  The  Greek  text  pla^jcs  these  embassies  before  the  battle. 

♦  A.  M.  S369.    Ant.  J.  C  eS5.    Herod.  1.  i.  c.  103-106. 


484  ANCIENT    HISTORY. 

He  was  a  very  brave,  enterprising  prince,  and  knew  how  to 
take  advantage  of  the  late  overthrow  of  the  Assyrian  army. 
He  first  settled  himself  well  in  his  kingdom  of  Media,  and 
then  conquered  all  Upjier  Asia.  But  his  most  ardent  wish 
was  to  go  and  attack  Nineveh,  to  revenge  the  death  of  his 
father  by  the  destruction  of  that  great  city. 

The  Assyrians  came  out  to  meet  him,  having  only  the 
remains  of  the  great  army  which  was  destroyed  before 
Bethuliu.  A  battle  ensued,  Avherein  the  Assyrians  were 
defeated  and  driven  back  to  Nineveh.  Cyaxares,  pursuing 
his  victory,  laid  siege  to  the  city,  which  was  upon  the  point 
of  falling  into  his  hands,  but  that  the  time  was  not  yet  come 
when  God  designed  to  punish  that  city  for  her  crimes,  and 
for  the  calamities  she  had  brought  upon  his  people,  as  well 
as  other  nations.  It  was  delivered  from  its  present  danger 
in  the  following  manner. 

A  formidable  army  of  Scythians,  from  the  neighborhood 
of  the  Palus  Mreotis,  had  driven  the  Cimmerians  out  of 
Europe,  and  was  still  marching  under  the  conduct  of  king 
Madyes  in  pursuit  of  them.  Tlie  Cimmerians  had  found 
means  to  escai^e  from  the  Scythians,  who  Avere  advancing 
-into  Media.  Cyaxares,  hearing  of  this  irruption,  raised  the 
siege  of  Nineveh  and  marched  with  all  his  forces  against 
that  mighty  army,  which,  like  an  impetuous  torrent,  was 
about  to  overrun  all  Asia.  The  two  armies  engnged,  and 
the  Medes  wei*e  vanquished.  The  barbarians,  finding  no 
other  obstacle  in  their  way,  overspread  not  only  Media,  but 
almost  all  Asia.  After  that,  they  marched  towards  Egypt, 
from  whence  Psammeticus  diverted  their  course  by  ]>resents. 
T])ey  then  returned  into  Palestine,  where  some  of  them  plun- 
dered the  temple  of  Venus  at  Ascalon,  the  most  ancient  tem- 
ple dedicated  to  that  goddess.  Some  of  these  Scythians 
settled  at  Bethshean,  a  city  in  the  tribe  of  Manasseh,  on  this 
side  Jordan,  which  from  them  was  afterwards  called  Scyth- 
opolis. 

The  Scythians  for  the  space  of  twenty-eight  years  were 
masters  of  Upper  Asia  ;  namely,  the  two  Arnienius,  Caj)pa- 
docia,  Pontus,  Colchis,  and  Iberia  ;  during  which  time  they 
spread  desolation  wherever  they  came.  The  Medes  had  no 
way  of  getting  rid  of  them  but  by  a  treacherous  stratagem. 
Under  pretence  of  cultivating  and  strengthening  the  alliance 
they  had  made  together,  they  invited  the  greatest  part  of 
them  to  a  general  feast,  which  was  made  in  every  family. 
Each  master  of  the  feast  made  his  guests  drunk,  and  in  that 


THE    MEDES.  485 

condition  the  Scythians  were  massacred.  Tlie  Medes  tlieu 
repossessed  themselves  of  the  provinces  they  had  lost,  and 
once  more  extended  their  empire  to  the  banks  of  the  Ilalys, 
which  was  their  ancient  western  boundary. 

The  remainincr  Scytliians,  who  were  not  at  the  b;inquet, 
having  heard  of  the  massacre  of  their  countrymen,  fled  into 
Lydia^  to  king  Halyttes,  avIio  received  them  witli  great 
hninanity.  *  Tliis  occasioned  a  war  between  those  two 
princes.  Cyaxares  immediately  led  liis  troojjs  to  the  fron- 
tiei-s  of  Lydia.  Many  battles  were  fouglit  during  the  space 
of  five  years,  with  almost  equal  advantage  on  both  sides. 
Tlie  battle  fought  in  the  sixth  year  was  very  remarkable,  on 
account  of  an  eclipse  of  the  sun  which  happened  dui-ing  the 
engagement,  when  on  a  sudden  the  day  was  turned  into  a 
dark  night.  Thales,  the  Milesian,  had  foretold  this  eclipse. 
The  Medes  and  Lydians,  who  were  then  in  the  heat  of  the 
battle,  equally  terrified  with  this  unforeseen  event,  which 
they  looked  upon  as  a  sign  of  the  anger  of  the  gods,  imme- 
diately retreated  on  both  sides,  and  made  peace.  Siennesis, 
king  of  Cilicia,  and  Nebuchodonosor,t  king  of  Babylon, 
were  the  mediators.  To  render  the  friendship  more  firm 
and  inviolable,  the  two  princes  agreed  to  strengthen  it  by 
the  tie  of  marriage,  and  agreed  that  Halyttes  should  give 
his  daughter  Aryenis  to  Astyages  eldest  son  of  Cyaxares. 

The  manner  those  people  had  of  contracting  alliance  with 
one  another,  is  very  remarkable.  Besides  other  ceremonies 
which  they  had  in  common  with  the  Greeks,  the  following 
was  peculiar  to  themselves,  namely,  the  two  contracting  par- 
ties made  incisions  in  their  own  arms,  and  licked  one  an- 
other's blood. 

The  first  care  of  Cyaxares,  as  soon  as  he  found  himself 
again  in  peace,  was  to  resume  the  siege  of  Nineveh,  which 
the  irruptions  of  the  Scythians  had  obliged  him  to  raise. 
Nabopolassar,  king  of  Babjlon,  with  whom  he  had  lately 
contracted  a  particular  alliance,  joined  with  him  in  the 
league  against  the  Assyrians.  Having,  therefore,  united 
their  forces,  they  besieged  Nineveh,  took  it,  killed  Saracus 
the  king,  and  utterly  destroyed  that  mighty  city,  t 

God  had  foretold  by  his  prophets,  above  a  hundred  years 
before,  that  he  would  bring  vengeance  upon  that  impious 
city  for  the  blood  of  his  servants,  with  which  the  kings 
thereof  had  gorged  themselves,  like  ravenous  lions  ;    that  he 

*  Herod.  1,  i.  c.  74.  t  In  Herodotns  he  is  called  Labynetus. 

t  A.  \E.  3:!78.     Ant.  J.  C.  C2C.     Herod.  1.  c.  20U. 


486  ANCIENT    HISTORY. 

himself  ■wotild  mnrcli  at  the  head  of  the  troops  tlmt  should 
come  to  besiege  it;  that  he  would  cause  consternation  and 
terror  to  go  before  them  ;  tliat  he  would  deliver  the  old  men, 
the  mothers,  and  their  cliildren,  into  the  merciless  hands  of 
the  soldiers  ;  that  all  the  treasures  of  the  city  should  fall  into 
the  hands  of  rapacious  and  insatiable  plunderers  ;  and  that 
the  city  itself  should  be  so  totally  and  utterly  destroyed  that 
not  so  much  as  a  trace  of  it  should  be  left ;  and  that  the  peo- 
ple should  ask  hereafter,  where  did  the  proud  city  of  Nine- 
veh stand  ? 

But  let  us  hear  the  language  of  the  prophets  themselves; 
"  woe  to  the  bloody  city,  cries  Nahum ;  it  is  all  full  of  lies 
and  robbery :  *  he  that  dasheth  in  ])ieces  is  come  uj)  before 
thy  face.  The  Lord  cometh  to  avenge  the  cruelties  done  to 
Jacob  and  Israel. t  I  hear  already  the  noise  of  the  whip, 
and  the  noise  of  the  rattling  of  the  wheels,  and  of  the  pranc- 
ing horses,  and  of  the  bounding  ch  iriots.  The  horseman 
lifteth  up  both  the  bright  sword  and  the  glittering  spear,  t 
The  shield  of  his  mighty  men  is  made  red  ;  the  valiant  men 
are  in  scarlet.  They  shall  seem  like  torches,  they  shall 
run  like  the  lightning.  §  God  is  jealous  ;  the  Lord  re- 
vengeth,  and  is  furious.  The  mountains  quake  at  him,  and 
the  hills  melt,  and  the  earth  is  burnt  at  his  ]jresence :  who 
can  stand  before  his  indignation  ?  And  who  can  abide  in 
the  fierceness  of  his  anger":'  ||  Behold  I  am  with  thee,  saith 
the  Lord  of  hosts  ;  I  will  strip  thee  of  all  thy  ornaments.  IT 
Take  ye  the  spoil  of  silver,  take  the  spoil  of  gold  ;  for  there 
is  no  end  of  the  store  and  glory  out  of  all  the  ])leasant  furni- 
ture. She  is  empty,  and  void,  and  waste.  Nineveh  is  de- 
stroyed ;  she  is  overthrown,  she  is  desolate.**  Tlie  gates  of 
the  rivers  shall  be  opened,  and  the  palace  shall  be  dissolved. tf 
And  Huzzab  .shall  be  led  away  captive ;  she  shall  he  brought 
up,  and  her  maids  shall  lead  her  as  with  the  voice  of  doves 
taboring  upon  their  breasts.  tX  I  see  a  multitude  of  slain, 
and  a  great  number  of  carcasses  ;  §§  and  there  is  no  end  of 
their  corpses;  they  stumble  upon  their  corpses. ||i|  Where 
is  the  dwelling  of  lions,  and  the  feeding  place  of  the  young 
lions,  where  the  lion,  even  the  old  lion,  walked,  and  the 
lion's  whelp,  and  none  made  them  afraid  :  where  the  lion  did 

*  Nivbum,  iii.  1.        t  Chap.  ii.  1.  2.        t  Chap.  iii.  2,  3.        §  Chap.  ii.  .3.  4. 

1!  Nahum.  i.  2.  .">,  6.  ITChap.  iii.  5.  ♦*  Chap.  ii.  9,  in. 

tt  The  author  ill  this  place  renders  it,  her  temple  is  destroyed  to  the  fornida^ 
tion.  But  1  have  chosen  to  follow  our  English  Bible,  thoughiu  the  Latin  it  is 
temp'um.  tt  Kabtim  ii.  6.  §§  Chap.  iii.  3. 

III!  This  is  a  noble  imaije  of  the  cruel  avarice  of  tlie  Assyrian  kiiiffs,  who  pil- 
laged and  plundered  all  tJieir  neicfliboriiig  nations,  especially  .Judea,uiid  carried 
away  the  spoils  of  them  to  Kiueveh. 


THE    MEDES.  487 

tear  in  pieces  enough  for  his  whelps,  and  strangled  for  his 
lionesses;  and  filled  his  holes  .with  pre}',  and  his  dens  with 
rapine  ?  *  The  Lord  shall  destroy  Assur.  He  shall  de- 
)>opulate  that  city,  which  was  so  heautiful,  and  turn  it  into  a 
land  wliere  no  man  cometli,  and  into  a  desert.  It  shall  be  a 
dwelling  ])lace  for  wild  beasts,  and  the  birds  of  night  shall 
lurk  tlierein.  Behold,  it  shall  be  said,  see  that  proud  city, 
which  was  so  stately,  and  so  exalted ;  which  said  in  her  heart, 
I  am  the  oidy  city,  and  besides  me  there  is  no  other.  All 
they  that  ])ass  by  her,  shall  scoff  at  her,  and  shall  insult  lier 
Avith  hissings  and  contem])tuous  gestures."  f 

The  two  armies  enriched  themselves  with  the  spoils  of 
Nineveh  ;  and  Cyaxares,  prosecuting  his  A'ictories,  made  him- 
self master  of  all  the  cities  of  the  kingdom  of  Assyria,  except 
Babylon  and  Chaldea,  which  belonged  to  Nabopolassar. 

After  this  expedition,  Cyaxares  died,  and  left  his  domin- 
ions to  his  son  Astyages. 

Astyages  reigned  thirty-five  years.  |  This  prince  is 
called  in  Scrii)ture  Ahasuerus.  Though  his  reign  continued 
no  less  than  thirty-five  years,  yet  we  have  no  })articulars  re- 
corded of  it  in  history.  He  had  two  childi'eu,  whose  names 
are  famous,  namely,  Cyaxares,  by  his  wife  Aryenis,  and 
Mandana  by  a  former  marriage.  In  his  father's  lifetime,  he 
married  Mandana  to  Cambyses,  the  son  of  Acheinenes,  king 
of  Persia ;  from  this  marriage  sprung  Cyrus,  who  Avas  born 
but  one  year  after  the  birth  of  his  uncle  Cyaxares.  The 
latter  succeeded  his  father  in  the  kingdom  of  the  Medes. 

Cyaxares  II.  This  prince  is  in  Scripture  called  Darius 
the  Mede. 

Cyrus,  having  taken  Babylon,  in  conjunction  with  his 
uncle  Cyaxares,  left  it  under  his  government.  After  the 
death  of  his  uncle,  and  his  father  Cambyses,  he  united  the 
kingdoms  of  the  Medes  and  Persians  into  one  ;  in  the  sequel, 
therefore,  of  this  discourse,  they  will  be  considered  only  as 
one  empire.  I  shall  begin  the  history  of  that  empire  with 
the  reign  of  Cyrus ;  which  will  include  also  what  is  known 
of  the  reigns  of  his  two  predecessors,  Cyaxares  and  Asty- 
ages. But  I  shall  previously  give  some  account  of  the  king- 
dom of  Lydia,  because  Croesus,  its  king,  has  a  considerable 
share  in  the  events  of  which  I  am  to  speak. 

*  Nahum  ii.  11,  12.         +  Zephan.  ii.  13-15.         t  A.  M.  3409.    Ant.  J.  C.  595. 


48S  AXeiENT   HISTORY. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

THE    HISTOPwY    OF    THE    LYDIANS. 

The  kings  who  first  reigiied  over  the  Lydians,  are  by 
Herodotus  called  Atyades;  that  is,  descendants  from  Atys.* 
These,  he  tells  us,  derived  their  origin  from  Lydus,  the  son 
of  Atys  ;  and  Lydus  gave  the  name  of  Lydians  to  that  peo- 
ple, who,  before  his  time,  Avere  called  3I(jeonians. 

These  Atyades  were  succeeded  by  the  Heraclida,  or  de- 
scendants of  Hercules,  who  possessed  this  kingdom  for  the 
space  of  five  hundred  and  five  years, 

Argo,  great-grandson  of  Alcaeus,  son  of  Hercules,  was 
the  first  of  the  HeraclidfB  who  reigiied  in  Lydia.f 

The  last  was 

Candaules.  This  prince  was  married  to  a  lady  of  ex- 
quisite beauty,  and  being  infatuated  by  his  passion  for  her, 
was  perpetually  boasting  of  her  charms  to  others.  Nothing 
would  serve  him  but  that  Gyges,  one  of  his  chief  officers, 
should  see  and  judge  of  them  by  his  own  eyes,  +  as  if  the 
husband's  own  knowledge  of  theni  was  not  sufficient  for  his 
happiness,  or  the  beauty  of  his  wife  Avould  have  been  im- 
paired by  his  silence.  For  this  purpose,  the  king  ])laced 
Gyges  secretly  in  a  convenient  place ;  but,  notwithstanding 
that  precaution,  the  queen  perceived  him  when  he  retired, 
yet  took  no  manner  of  notice  of  it :  judging,  as  the  historian 
represents  it,  that  the  most  valuable  treasure  of  a  woman  is 
her  modesty  ;  she  studied  a  signal  revenge  for  the  injury 
she  liad  received,  and  to  punish  the  fault  of  her  husband, 
committed  a  still  greater  crime.  Possibly  a  secret  passion 
for  Gyges  had  as  great  a  share  in  that  action  as  her  resent- 
ment for  the  dishonor  done  her.  Be  that  as  it  will,  she 
sent  for  Gyges,  and  obliged  him  to  expiate  his  crime  either 
by  his  own  death  or  the  king's,  at  his  own  option.  After 
some  remonstrances  to  no  purpose,  he  resolved  upon  the 
latter,  and  by  the  murder  of  Candaules,  became  master  of 
his  queen  and  his  throne.  Ijv  this  means  the  kingdom 
passed  from  the  family  of  the  Heraelidae  into  that  of  the 
Mermnades.  § 

•Herod,  l.i.  c.  7-13.  ,A.  M.  27R1.    Ant.  J.  C.  1223. 

t  Non  contentus  voliiptatum  siiannn  lacita  coiiscieutia — piorsurj  quoiii  silen* 
tiuni  damnum  milchritudinis  esset. — Justin.  1.  i.  e.  7. 
§  A.  -M.  23S6.    Aiit.  J.  C.  71(*. 


THE    LYDIAXS.  489 

Archilochus,  the  poet,  lived  at  tliis  time,  and,  as  Hero- 
dotus informs  us,  spoke  of  this  adventure  of  Gyges  in  his 
poems. 

I  cannot  forbear  mentioning,  in  this  place,  what  is  re- 
lated by  Herodotus,  that  among  the  Lydians,  and  almost  all 
other  barbarians,  it  was  considered  shameful  and  infamous 
even  for  a  man  to  appear  naked.  These  instances  of  mod- 
esty, which  are  met  with  among  pagans,  ought  to  be  greatly 
admired.  We  are  assured  that,  among  the  Romans,  a  son, 
who  was  come  to  the  age  of  maturity,  never  went  into  the 
baths  with  his  father,  nor  even  a  son-in-laAv  with  liis  father- 
in-law  ;  and  this  modesty  and  decency  Avere  looked  upon  b}c 
them  as  a  law  of  nature,  the  violation  of  which  was  crimi- 
nal.* It  is  astonishing,  that  among  us  our  magistrates  take 
no  care  to  prevent  this  disorder,  Avhich  in  the  midst  of  Paris, 
at  the  season  of  bathing,  is  openly  committed  with  impunity ; 
a  disorder  so  visibly  contrary  to  the  rules  of  common  de- 
cency, so  dangerous  to  young  ])ersons  of  both  sexes,  and  so 
severely  condemned  by  paganism  itself. 

Plato  relates  the  story  of  G^'ges  in  a  different  manner 
from  Herodotus.  He  tells  us  that  Gyges  wore  a  ring,  the 
stone  of  v\'hich,  when  turned  towards  him,  rendered  him  in- 
visible ;  so  that  he  had  the  advantage  of  seeing  others,  witli- 
out  being  seen  himself ;  and  that  by  means  of  that  ring, 
with  the  concurrence  of  the  queen,  he  deprived  Candaules 
of  his  life  and  throne.  This  probably  signifies,  that  in  order 
to  compass  his  criminal  design,  he  used  all  the  tricks  and 
stratagems  the  world  calls  subtle  and  refined  ])olicy,  which 
penetrates  into  the  most  secret  pui'poses  of  others,  Avithout 
making  the  least  discovery  of  its  own.  The  story,  thus  ex- 
plained, carries  in  it  a  greater  appearance  of  truth  than 
what  we  read  in  Herodotus. f 

Cicero,  after  having  related  this  fable  of  Gyges's  famous 
ring,  adds,  that  if  a  wise  man  had  such  a  ring,  he  would  not 
use  it  to  any  wicked  pur])ose  ;  because  virtue  considers  what 
is  honorable  and  just,  and  has  no  occasion  for  darkness. :|: 

Gyges  §  reigned  thirty-eight  years.  The  murder  of 
Candaules  raised  a  sedition  among  the  Lydians.     The  two 

*  Nostro  quidem  more  cum  parentibus  puberes  filii,  cum  soceris  geiieri,  non 
lavaniur.  Retiiienda  est  igitur  liujiis  gv^neris  verecuudia,  praesertim  naUua  ijisa 
maqistra  et  duce.— Cic.  1.  i.  de  Oflic.  n.  129. — Nudare  se  iiefas  esse  credebatur. — 
Val.  Max.  l.ii.  cap.  1. 

t  Plato  de  Rep.  1.  ii.  p.  359. 

t  Hunc  ipsum  aiinulum  si  habeat  sapiens,  iiihilo  plus  sibi  licere  putet  pec- 
care,  qunm  si  noil  liaberet.  Honesta  enira  bonis  viris,  non  occulta,  qiisBmntur. 
—Lib.  iii.  de  Offic.  n.  38. 

§  A.  M.  328C.    Ant.  J.  C.  718.    Herod.  1.  i.  c.  13,  44. 


49Q-  ANCIENT    HISTORY, 

parties,  instead  of  coming  to  blows,  agreed  to  refer  the  mat- 
ter to  the  decision  of  the  Delphic  oracle,  who  declared  in 
favor  of  Gyges.  The  king  made  large  ])resents  to  the  tem- 
ple at  Delphos,which  undoubtedly  preceded,  and  had  no  little 
influence  upon  the  oracle's  answer.  Among  other  things  of 
value,  Herodotus  mentions  six  golden  cups,  weighing  thirty 
talents,  amounting  to  near  a  million  of  French  money.* 

As  soon  as  he  was  in  peaceable  possession  of  the  throne, 
he  made  war  against  Miletus,  Smyrna,  and  Colo])hon,  three 
powerful  cities  belonging  to  the  neighboring  states. 

After  he  had  reigned  thirty-eight  years  he  died,  and  was 
succeeded  by  his  son, 

Ardys,t  who  reigned  forty-nine  years.  It  was  in  the 
reign  of  this  prince  that  the  Cimmerians,  driven  out  of  their 
country  by  the  Scythian  Nomades,  went  into  Asia,  and  took 
the  city  of  Sardis,  but  not  the  citadel. 

Sadyattes  t  reigned  twelve  years.  This  pi'ince  declared 
war  against  the  Milesians,  and  laid  siege  to  their  city.  In 
tliose  days  the  sieges,  which  Avere  generally  nothing  more 
than  blockades,  were  carried  on  A^ery  slowly,  and  lasted 
many  years.  This  king  died  before  he  had  finished  that  of 
Miletus,  and  was  succeeded  by  his  son. 

Halyttes  §  reigned  fifty-seven  years.  This  j^rince  made 
war  against  Cyaxares,  king  of  Media.  He  likewise  drove 
the  Ciminerians  out  of  Asia.  He  attacked  and  took  the 
cities  of  Smyrna  and  Clazomena?.  He  vigorously  prose- 
cuted the  war  against  the  Milesians,  begun  by  his  father, 
and  continued  the  siege  of  their  city,  which  had  lasted  six 
years  under  his  father,  and  continued  as  many  under  him. 
It  ended  at  length  in  the  following  manner :  Halyttes, 
upon  an  answer  he  received  from  the  Delphic  oracle,  had 
sent  an  ambassador  into  the  city,  to  propose  a  truce  for 
some  months.  Thrasybidus,  tj-rant  of  Miletus,  having  notice 
of  his  coming,  ordered  all  the  corn,  and  other  provisions, 
collected  by  him  and  his  subjects  for  their  support,  to  be 
brought  into  the  public  market,  and  commanded  the  citi- 
zens, that  at  the  appearance  of  a  given  signal,  there  should 
be  general  feasting  and  jollity.  The  thing  was  executed 
according  to  his  oi-ders.  The  Lydian  ambassador,  at  his 
arrival,  was  in  the  utmost  surprise  to  see  such  a  plenty  in 
the  market,  and  such  cheerfulness  in  the  city.  His  master, 
to  whom  he  gave  an  account  of  what  he  liad  seen,  conclud- 

*  About  ?213,120.  t  A.  M.  a'?24.    Ant.  .T.  C.  C80.    Herod.  1.  i.  c.  15. 

t  A.  M.  337.3.    Ant.  J.  C.  631.    Herod.  1.  i.  c.  IG,  22. 
§  A.  M.  3385.    Ant.  J.  C.  619.    Herod,  c.  21,  22. 


THE    LYDIAXS.  491 

ing  tliat  his  project  of  reducing  tlie  place  by  famine  would 
never  succeed,  preferred  peace  to  so  fruitless  a  war,  and 
immediately  raised  the  siege. 

Croesus.*  His  very  name,  which  is  become  a  proverb, 
carries  in  it  an  idea  of  immense  riches.  The  wealth  of  this 
prince,  to  judge  of  it  only  by  the  j^resents  he  made  to  the 
temple  of  Deljjhos,  must  have  been  excessively  great.  Most 
of  those  presents  were  still  to  be  seen  in  the  time  of  He- 
rodotus, and  were  worth  several  millions.  We  may  })ai-tly 
account  for  the  treasures  of  this  prince,  from  certain  mines 
that  he  had,  situated,  according  to  Straljo,  between  Pei-ga- 
mus  and  Atarnes  ;  as  also  from  the  little  river  Pactolus,  the 
sand  of  which  was  gold.  But  in  Strabo's  time  this  river  had 
not  the  same  advantage.! 

It  is  worthy  of  notice  that  this  uncommon  affluence  did 
not  enervate  or  soften  the  courage  of  Croesus.  He  thought 
it  unworthy  of  a  prince  to  sj^end  his  time  in  idleness  and 
.  pleasure.  On  the  contrary  he  was  constantly  engaged  in 
war,  made  several  conquests,  and  enlarged  his  dominions  l>y 
the  addition  of  all  the  contiguous  provinces,  as  Phrygia, 
Mysia,  Pa])hlagonia,  Bithynia,  Pamphylia,  and  all  the  coun- 
try of  the  Carians,  lonians,  Dorians,  and  vEolians.  Hero- 
dotus observes  that  he  was  the  first  conqueror  of  the  Greeks, 
who  till  then  had  never  been  subject  to  a  foreign  jiower. 
Doubtless  he  must  mean  the  Greeks  settled  in  Asia  Minor,  t 

But  what  is  still  more  extraordinary  in  this  prince, 
though  he  was  so  immensely  rich,  and  so  great  a  warrior,  yet 
his  chief  delight  was  in  literature  and  the  sciences.  ITis 
court  was  the  ordinary  residence  of  those  famous  learned 
men,  so  revered  by  antiquity,  distinguished  by  the  name  of 
the  seven  wise  men  of  Greece. 

Solon,  one  of  the  most  celebrated  among  them,  after 
having  estidilished  new  laws  at  Athens,  thought  lie  might 
absent  himself  for  some  years,  and  improve  that  time  by 
travelling.  He  went  to  Sardis,  where  he  Avas  received  in  a 
manner  suitable  to  the  reputation  of  so  great  a  man.  The 
king,  attended  with  a  numerous  court,  appeared  in  all  his 
regal  pomp  and  splendor,  dressed  in  the  most  magnificent 
apparel,  enriched  with  gold,  and  glittering  with  diamonds. 
Notwithstanding  the  novelty  of  this  spectacle  to  Solon,  it 
did  not  appear  that  he  was  the  least  moved  at  it,  or  that  he 
uttered  a  word  which  discovered  the  least  surprise  or  ad- 

*A.  M.  3442.    Ant.  . I.  C.  562.  t  Strab.  1.  xiii.  p.  C2.1,  and  1.  xiv.  p.  G30. 

t  Herod.  1.  i.  c.  26-28. 


492-  AXCIEXT    HISTORY, 

miration.  On  the  contrary,  people  of  sense  miijht  suffi- 
ciently discern,  from  bis  behavior,  that  he  looked  upon  all 
this  outward  pomp  as  an  indication  of  a  little  mind,  which 
knows  not  in  what  true  greatness  and  dignity  consist.  This 
coldness  and  indifference  in  Solon's  first  approach,  gave  tlie 
king  no  favorable  opinion  of  his  new  guest.* 

He  afterwards  ordered  that  all  his  treasures,  his  magnifi- 
cent apartments,  and  costly  furniture,  should  be  exhibited 
to  him ;  as  if  he  expected,  by  the  multitude  of  his  fine  ves- 
sels, diamonds,  status's,  and  paintings,  to  conquer  the  phi- 
losopher's indifference.  But  these  things  were  not  the 
king ;  and  it  was  the  king  that  Solon  had  come  to  visit,  and 
not  the  walls  or  chambers  of  his  palace.  He  had  no  notion 
of  making  a  judgment  of  the  king,  or  an  estimate  of  his 
woi-th,  by  these  outward  appendages,  but  by  liimself,  and 
his  OAvn  personal  qualities.  Were  Ave  to  judge  at  present 
by  the  same  rule,  we  should  find  many  of  our  great  men 
wretchedly  naked  and  destitute. 

When  Solon  had  seen  all,  he  Avas  brought  back  to  the 
king.  Croesus  then  asked  him,  AA^hich  of  mankind,  in  all  his 
traA'els,  he  had  found  the  most  truly  happy  ?  "  One  Tellus," 
replied  Solon,  "  a  citizen  of  Athens,  a  A^ery  honest  and  good 
man,  Avho  lived  all  his  days  Avithout  indigence,  had  always 
seen  his  country  in  a  flourishing  condition,  had  children  that 
were  universally  esteemed,  Avith  the  satisfaction  of  seeing 
those  children's  children,  and  at  last  died  gloriously  in  fight- 
ing for  his  counti-y." 

Such  an  answer  as  this,  in  which  gold  and  siher  were 
accounted  as  nothing,  seemed  to  Croesus  to  argue  a  strange 
ignorance  and  stupidity.  HoAveA'er,  as  he  flattered  himself 
of  being  ranked  in  the  second  degree  of  happiness,  he  asked 
him,  "  who,  of  all  those  he  had  seen,  Avas  the  next  in  felicity 
to  Tellus?"  Solon  answered,  "Cleobis  and  Biton,  of  Argos, 
tAvo  brothers,!  Avho  had  left  behind  them  a  perfect  pattern 
of  fraternal  affection,  and  of  the  respect  due  from  children 
to  their  parents.  IJpon  a  solemn  festival,  Avhen  their 
mother,  a  priestess  of  Juno,  was  to  go  to  the  temple,  the 
oxen  that  Avere  to  draAV  her  not  being  ready,  the  tAvo  sons 
put  themselves  to  the  yoke,  and  drew  their  mother's  chariot 
thither,  AA'hich  Avas  above  five  miles  distant.  All  .  the 
mothers  of  the  place,  filled  Avith  admiration,  congratulated 
the  priestess  on  the  .piety  of  her  sons.     She,  in  the  trans- 

*  Herod.  1.  c.  29-33.    Plut.  in  Solone,  pp.  93,  94. 
t  *tAa6eAous  rai  (/xAojuqTopat  Si.a<j>tp6vTai  aj'Spas* 


THE    LYDIANS.  493 

ports  of  her  joy  and  thankfulness,  earnestly  entreated  the 
goddess  to  reward  her  children  with  the  best  thing  that 
heaven  can  give  to  man.  Her  prayers  were  heard.  When 
the  sacrifice  was  over,  her  two  sons  fell  asleep  in  the  very 
temple,  and  there  died  in  a  soft  and  peaceful  slumber.*  In 
honor  of  their  piety,  the  people  of  Argos  consecrated  statues 
to  them  in  the  temple  of  Delphos." 

"  What  then,"  says  Croesus,  in  a  tone  that  showed  his 
discontent,  "  you  do  not  reckon  me  in  the  number  of  the 
happy?"  Solon,  Avho  was  not  willing  either  to  flatter,  or 
f'xasperate  him  any  farther,  replied  calmly:  "King  of 
Lydia,  besides  many  other  advantages,  the  gods  have  given 
lis  Grecians  a  spirit  of  moderation  and  reserve,  which  has 
produced  among  us  a  plain,  popular  kind  of  philosophy,  ac- 
companied with  a  certain  generous  freedom,  void  of  pride 
or  ostentation,  and  therefore  not  well  suited  to  the  courts 
of  kings ;  this  philosophy,  considering  what  an  infinite 
number  of  vicissitudes  and  accidents  the  life  of  man  is  liable 
to,  does  not  allow  us  either  to  glory  in  any  prosperity  we 
ourselves  enjoy,  or  to  admire  happiness  in  others,  which 
perhaps  may  prove  only  transient  or  superficial."  From 
hence  he  took  occasion  to  represent  to  him  farther,  "  that 
the  life  of  man  seldom  exceeds  seventy  years,  wliich  make 
up  in  all  six  thousand  two  hundred  and  fifty  days,  of  Avhich 
no  two  are  exactly  alike ;  so  that  the  time  to  come  is  noth- 
ing but  a  series  of  various  accidents  which  cannot  be  fore- 
seen. Therefore,  in  our  opinion,"  continued  he,  "  no  man 
can  be  esteemed  happy,  but  he  whose  happiness  God  con- 
tinues to  the  end  of  his  life  ;  as  for  others,  who  are  perpetu- 
ally exjjosed  to  a  thousand  dangers,  we  account  their  happi- 
ness as  uncertain  as  the  crown  is  to  a  person  that  is  still 
engaged  in  battle,  and  has  not  yet  obtained  the  victory." 
Solon  retired  when  he  had  spoken  these  words,  Avhich 
served  only  to  mortify  Croesus,  but  not  to  reform  him.t 

-<Esop,  the  author  of  the  fables,  was  then  at  the  court  of 
this  prince,  by  whom  he  w^as  very  kindly  entertained.  He 
was  concerned  at  the  unhandsome  treatment  Solon  received, 
and  said  to  him  by  way  of  advice,  t  "  Solon,  we  must  either 
not  come  near  princes  at  all,  or  speak  things  that  agreeable 
to  them."      "  Say  rather,"  replied  Solon,  "  that  we  should 

*  The  fatigue  of  drawing  the  chariot  might  be  the  cause  of  it. 

t   AvTrriaa^  M^''>  ov  vov,i^cTr)<ras,  &e  Toi/  Kpoi<70V. 

§  O  %6\u>v  e<^r)  Tois  Pa<T^^€vcrl.  &ei  ws  TJKi'cTTa  17  W9  riSnTTa  'of/iXiiv.  Kal  6  ^o'Xuiv. 
Ma  Ai  eiTrevaAA'  <us  tjKKrra  r;  109    apicTTa-       The    jingl",   of    the    WOrds    <o<;  7)Ki'<rTa  rj  m? 

i]&L(7Ta,  wliicli  is  a  beauty  in  the  original,  because  it  is  founded  in  the  eenee,  can- 
not be  rendered  into  any  other  language. 


494  ANCIENT   HrSTORY. 

either  never  come  near  them  at  all,  or  else  speak  such  things 
as  may  be  for  their  good." 

In  Plutarch's  time,  some  of  the  learned  were  of  o|)inion 
that  this  interview  between  Solon  and  Crcesus  did  not  agree 
with  the  dates  of  chronology.  But  as  those  dates  are  very 
uncertain,  that  judicious  author  did  not  think  this  objection 
ought  to  ])revail  against  the  authority  of  several  creditable 
writers,  by  whom  this  story  is  attested. 

What  we  have  now  related  of  Croesus  is  a  very  natural 
picture  of  the  behavior  of  kings  and  great  men,  who  for  the 
most  part  are  seduced  by  flattery,  and  shows  us,  at  the  same 
time,  the  two  sources  from  whence  that  blindness  generally 
proceeds.  The  one  is,  a  secret  inclination  which  all  men 
have  but  especially  the  great,  of  receiving  praise  without 
any  precaution,  and  judging  favorably  of  all  that  admire 
them,  or  show  an  unlimited  submission  and  complaisance  to 
their  humors.  The  other  is,  the  great  resemblance  there  is 
between  flattery  and  a  sincere  affection,  or  a  reason-ible  re- 
spect ;  Avhich  is  sometimes  counterfeited  so  exactly,  that  the 
wisest  may  be  deceived,  if  they  are  not  very  much  upon 
their  guard. 

Croesus,  if  we  judge  of  him  by  the  character  he  bears  in 
history,  was  a  very  good  ]>rince,  and  worthy  of  esteem  in 
many  respects.  He  had  a  great  deal  of  good  nature,  affabil- 
ity, and  humanity.  His  palace  was  a  resort  for  men  of  wit 
and  learning,  which  shows  that  he  himself  was  a  person  of 
learning,  and  had  a  taste  for  sciences.  His  weakness  was, 
that  he  laid  a  great  stress  upon  riches  and  magnificence, 
thought  himself  great  and  happy  in  proportion  to  his  pos- 
sessions, mistook  regal  pomp  and  splendor  for  true  and  solid 
greatness,  and  fed  his  vanity  with  the  excessive  submissions 
of  those  that  stood  in  a  kind  of  adoration  before  hira. 

Those  learned  men,  those  wits,  and  other  courtiers,  who 
surrounded  this  prince,  eat  at  his  table,  partook  of  his  pleas- 
ures, shared  his  confidence,  and  enriched  themselves  by  his 
bounty  and  liberality,  took  care  not  to  differ  from  the 
prince's  taste,  and  never  thought  of  undeceiving  him  with 
respect  to  liis  errors  or  false  ideas.  On  the  contrary,  they 
made  it  their  business  to  cherish  and  strengthen  them  in  him, 
extolling  him  perpetually  as  the  most  opulent  prince  of  his 
age,  and  never  speaking  of  his  wealth,  or  the  magnificence 
of  his  palace,  but  in  terms  of  admiration  and  rapture  ;  be- 
cause they  knew  this  was  the  sure  way  to  please  him,  and 
to  secure  his  favor.     For  flattery  is  nothing  else  than  a 


THE    LYDIANS.  495 

commerce  of  falsehood  and  lying,  founded  npon  interest  on 
one  side,  and  vanity  on  the  other.  The  flatterer  desires  to 
advance  himself  and  make  his  fortune  ;  the  prince  to  be 
praised  and  admired,  because  he  is  his  own  first  flatterer, 
and  carries  within  himself  a  more  subtile  and  better  pre- 
pared poison  than  any  adulation  can  give  him. 

That  saying  of  ^sop,  who  had  formerly  been  a  slave,  and 
still  retained  someAvhat  of  thesi)irit  and  character  of  slavery, 
though  he  had  varnished  it  over  with  the  address  of  an  art- 
ful courtier  ;  "  that  wo  should  either  not  come  near  kings, 
or  say  what  is  agreeable  to  them,"  shows  us  with  what  kind 
of  men  Croesus  had  filled  his  court,  and  by  what  means  he 
had  banished  all  sincerity,  integrity,  and  duty  from  his  pres- 
ence. Therefore  we  see  he  could  not  bear  that  noble  and 
generous  freedom  in  the  ])hilosopher,  u])on  which  he  ought 
to  have  set  an  infinite  value,  as  he  would  have  done,  had 
he  but  understood  the  worth  of  a  friend,  who,  attaching 
himself  to  the  person,  and  not  to  the  fortime  of  a  ])riiice, 
has  the  courage  to  tell  him  disagreeable  truths  ;  truths  un- 
palatable, and  bitter  to  self-love  at  the  present,  but  that  may 
prove  very  salutary  and  serviceable  for  the  future.  Die 
illis,  noil  quod  volunt  audire^  sed  quod  audisse  semper 
volent.  These  are  Seneca's  own  words,  where  he  is  endea- 
voring to  show  of  what  great  use  a  faithful  and  sincere 
friend  may  be  to  a  princa ;  and  whit  he  adds  farther  seems 
to  be  written  on  purpose  for  Croesus  :  "Give  him,"  says  he, 
"  wholesome  advice.  Let  a  Avord  of  truth  once  reach  those 
ears,  which  are  perpetually  fed  and  entertained  with  flattery. 
You'll  ask  me,  what  service  can  be  done  to  a  person  arrived 
at  the  highest  pitch  of  felicity  ?  It  will  teach  him  not  to 
trust  in  his  prosperity ;  it  will  remove  that  vain  confidence 
he  has  in  his  power  and  greatness,  as  if  they  were  to  endure 
for  ever ;  make  him  understand,  that  every  thing  which 
belongs  to  and  depends  upon  fortune,  is  as  unstable  as  her- 
self ;  and  that  there  is  often  but  the  space  of  a  moment  be- 
tween the  highest  elevation  and  the  most  unhappy  down- 
fall." * 

It  was  not  long  before  Croesus  experienced  the  truth  of 
what  Solon  had  told  him.  He  had  two  sons  ;  one  of  whom 
being  dumb,  was  a  perpetual  subject  of  afliiction  to  him  ; 

*  Plenas  aures  aflnlati6nibus  aliquando  vera  vox  intret ;  da  coiisilium  utile. 
Quaeris,  quid  f elici  praeslaie  possis ?  Effloe,  iie  felicitati  suas  credat.  Parumhi 
illiitn  contuleris,  si  illi  seniel  stultam  fiduoiam  pevmagnuesB  semper  pot<>i!ti!o 
cxcnssnris,  docucrisqiio  niobilia  osso  quaR  dedit  raus  jic  s^a^pc  inlcr  fovtuiiam 
luaximaiu  et  uliimum  niliil  iiitercsse. — Sen.  de  Bouef.  1.  vi.  c-  J3. 


496  AXCIENT    HISTORY. 

the  other,  named  Atys,  was  distinguished  by  every  good 
quality,  and  his  great  consolation  and  delight.  The  father 
dreamed  one  niglit,  which  made  a  great  iinpression  u}x)n  his 
mind,  that  this  beloved  son  of  his  was  to  perish  by  iron. 
This  became  a  new  source  of  anxiety  and  trouble,  and  care 
Avas  taken  to  i-emove  out  of  the  young  prince's  way  every 
thing  made  of  iron,  as  partisans,  lances,  javelins,  etc.  No 
mention  was  made  of  armies,  wars,  or  sieges,  before  him. 
But  one  day  there  was  to  be  an  extraordinary  hunting-match 
for  the  killing  of  a  wild  boar,  which  had  committed  great 
ravage  in  the  neighborhood.  All  the  young  lords  of  the 
court  were  to  be  at  this  hunting.  Atys  very  earnestly  im- 
portuned his  father,  that  he  would  give  him  leave'  to  be 
present,  at  lea.st  as  a  s]>ectator.  The  king  could  not  refuse 
him  that  request,  but  let  him  go  under  the  care  of  a  discreet 
young  ])rincc,  who  had  taken  refuge  in  his  court,  and  was 
named  xVdrastus.  And  this  very  Adrastus,  as  he  Avas  aiming 
to  throw  his  javelin  at  the  boar,  unfortunately  killed  Atys. 
It  is  impossible  to  express  either  the  affliction  of  the  father, 
wlien  he  heard  of  this  fatal  accident,  or  of  the  unhap]>y  prince, 
the  innocent  author  of  the  murder,  Avho  expiated  liis  fault 
Avith  his  blood,  stabbing  himself  in  the  breast  with  his  own 
sword,  upon  the  funeral-pile  of  the  unfortunate  Atys.* 

Tavo  years  were  spent  on  this  occasion  in  deep  mourning, 
the  afflicted  father's  thoughts  beijig  wholly  taken  up  Avith 
the  loss  he  had  sustained.  But  the  growing  reputation  and 
great  qualities  of  Cyrus,  Avho  began  to  make  himself  knoAvn, 
roused  him  out  of  his  lethargy.  He  thought  it  behoeved  him 
to  put  a  stop  to  the  poAver  of  the  Persians,  Avhich  Avas  en- 
larging itself  CA'ery  day.  As  he  Avas  A^ery  religious  in  his 
Avay,  lie  Avould  never  enter  upon  any  enterprise,  Avithout 
consulting  the  gods.  But,  that  he  might  not  act  blindly, 
and  to  be  able  to  form  a  certain  judgment  on  the  ansAvers 
he  should  receive,  he  Avas  Avilling  to  assure  himself  before- 
hand of  the  truth  of  the  oracles :  For  which  ])urpose,  he  sent 
messengers  to  all  the  most  celebrated  oracles  both  of  Greece 
and  Africa,  with  orders  to  inquire,  every  one  at  his  respec- 
tive oracle,  Avhat  Croesus  Avas  doing  on  such  a  day,  and  such 
an  houi',  before  agreed  on.  His  orders  Avere  pimctually 
obserA'ed,  and  of  all  the  oracles,  none  gaA'e  a  true  ansAver  but 
that  of  DelphOs.  The  answer  was  given  in  Greek  hexameter 
verses,  and  Avas  in  substance  as  follows  :  I  know  the  number 
of  the  grains  of  sand  on  the  sea-shore,  and  the  measure  of  the 

*  Herod.  1.  i.  c.  34,  35. 


THE    LYDIAXS.  497 

ocean'' s  vast  extent.  I  can  hear  the  dumb,  and  Jiim  that  has 
not  yet  learned  to  speak.  A  strong  smell  of  a  tortoise  boiled 
in  brass,  tor/ether  with  sheep' s  flesh,  has  reached  my  nostrils, 
brass  beneath,  brass  above.  And  indeed,  tlie  king,  thinking 
to  invent  something  that  could  not  possible  be  guessed  at, 
had  employed  himself,  on  the  day  and  hour  set  down,  in 
boiling  a  tortoise  and  a  lamb  in  a  brass  j^ot,  Avhich  had  a 
brass  cover.  St.  Austin  observes  in  several  places,  that  God, 
to  punish  the  blindness  of  the  pagans,  sometimes  permitted 
the  devils  to  give  answers  conformably  to  the  truth.* 

Crcesus,  thus  assured  of  the  god's  veracity,  whom  he 
designed  to  consult,  offered  three  thousand  victims  to  liis 
honor,  and  ordered  an  infinite  number  of  vessels,  tripods,  and 
golden  tables,  to  be  melted  down,  and  converted  into  ingots 
of  gold,  to  the  number  of  a  hundred  and  seventeen,  to  aug- 
ment the  treasures  of  the  Delphic  temple.  Each  of  these 
ingots  weighed  at  least  two  talents  ;  besides  which,  he  made 
several  other  presents  :  among  them  Herodotus  mentions  a 
golden  lion,  weighing  ten  talents,  and  two  vessels  of  an  ex- 
traordinary size,  one  of  gold,  which  weighed  eight  talents 
and  a  half,  and  twelve  mina?  ;  the  other  of  silver,  which  con- 
tained six  hundred  of  the  measures  called  amphoras.  All 
these  presents,  and  many  more,  which,  for  brevity's  sake,  I 
omit,  were  to  be  seen  in  the  time  of  Herodotus. 

The  messengers  were  ordered  to  consult  the  god  upon 
two  points  ;  first,  whether  CrcESUs  should  undertake  a  war 
against  the  Persians ;  secondly,  if  he  did,  whether  he  should 
require  the  succor  of  any  auxiliary  troops.  The  oracle 
answered  upon  the  first  article,  that  if  he  carried  his  arms 
against  the  Persians,  he  Avould  subvert  a  great  empire  ;  upon 
the  second,  he  would  do  well  to  make  alliances  with  the  most 
powerful  states  of  Greece.  He  consulted  the  oracle  again  to 
know  how  long  the  duration  of  his  empire  would  be.  The 
answer  was,  it  should  subsist  till  a  mule  came  to  possess  the 
thi'one  of  3Iedia ;  which  he  construed  to  signify  the  per- 
petual duration  of  his  kingdom. 

Pursuant  to  the  direction  of  the  oracle,  Croesus  entered 
into  an  alliance  with  the  Athenians,  who  at  that  time  had 
Pisistratus  at  their  head,  and  with  the  Laceda;monians,  who 
were  indisjiutably  the  two  most  ])owerful  states  of  Greece. 

A  certain  Lydian,  much  esteemed  for  his  prudence,  gave 
CrcEsus  on  this  occasion  very  judicious  advice.  "  O  prince," 
says  he  to  him,  "  why  do  you  think  of  turning  your  arms 

*  Herod.  1.  i.  c.  46-56. 

32 


498  AXCIENT    HISTORY. 

against  such  a  people  as  the  Persians,  who,  being  born  in  a 
wild,  rugged  country,  are  inured  from  their  infancy  to  every 
kind  of  hardship  and  fatigue;  who,  being  coarsely  clad,  and 
coarsely  fed,  can  content  themselves  with  bread  and  water  ; 
who  are  absolute  sti*angers  to  all  the  delicacies  and  con- 
veniences of  life;  Avho,  in  a  word,  have  nothing  to  lose 
if  you  conquer  them,  and  every  thing  to  gain  if  they  con- 
quer you  ;  and  whom  it  would  be  very  difficult  to  drive 
out  of  our  country,  if  they  should  once  come  to  taste  tlie 
sweets  and  advantages  of  it  ?  So  far,  therefore,  from  think- 
ing of  commencing  a  Avar  against  them,  it  is  my  opinion  we 
ought  to  thank  the  gods,  that  they  have  never  put  it  into 
the  heads  of  the  Persians  to  come  and  attack  the  Lydians." 
But  Croesus  had  taken  liis  resolution,  and  would  not  be 
diverted  from  it.* 

What  remains  of  the  history  of  Croesus  will  be  found  in 
that  of  Cyrus,  which  I  shall  now  commence. 

*  H«rod.  1.  i.  c.  71. 


BOOK   FOURTH. 


THE 

FOUNDATIOX   OF   THE   EMPIRE 

OF    THE 

MEDES  AND  PERSIANS. 

BY    CYRUS. 

CONTAINIIfG    THE    REIGNS    OF 

CYRUS,  CAMBYSES  AND  SMERDIS  THE  MAGIAN. 


PLAN. 

These  three  reigiis  will  be  the  subject  matter  of  the  Fourth  Book.  But  as  the 
two  latter  are  very  short  and  coiiiaiii  few  important  facts,  this  book,  properly 
speaking,  may  be  called  the  History  of  Cyrus. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  HISTORY  OF  CYRUS. 

The  history  of  this  prince  is  differently  related  by  Herod- 
otus and  Xenophon.  I  follow  the  latter,  as  infinitely  more 
worthy  of  credit  in  this  respect  than  the  former.  As  to 
those  facts  wherein  they  differ,  I  shall  briefly  relate  what 
Herodotus  says  of  them.  It  is  well  known  that  Xenophon 
served  a  long  time  under  Cyrn*<  the  younger,  who  had  in  his 
troops  a  great  number  of  Per.-ii  in  noblemen,  with  whom  un- 
doubtedly this  writer,  who  Wiis  of  an  inquisitiv^e  mind,  often 
conversed,  that  he  might  acquaint  himself  by  these  means 
with  the  manners  and  customs  of  the  Persians,  with  their 
conquests  in  general,  but  more  particularly  with  those  of  the 
prince  who  had  founded  their  monarchy,  and  whose  history 
he  proposed  to  write.  This  he  tells  us  himself,  in  the  begin- 
ning of  his  Cyropaedia :  "  Having  always  looked  upon  this 
great  man  as  worthy  of  admiration,  I  took  a  pleasure  in  in- 
forming myself  of  his  birth,  his  natural  temper,  and  educa- 
tion, that  I  might  know  by  what  means  he  became  so  great 
a  prince  :  and  herein  I  advance  nothing  but  what  has  been 
related  to  me." 


500  AXCIENT    HISTORY. 

As  to  what  Cicero  says,  in  his  first  letter  to  his  brother, 
Quintus,  "  that  Xenophon's  design,  in  writing  the  history  oi 
Cyrus,  was  not  so  mucli  to  follow  truth,  as  to  give  a  model  of 
a  just  government ;  "  *  this  ought  not  to  lessen  the  authority 
of  that  judicious  historian,  or  make  us  give  the  less  credit  to 
what  he  relates.  All  that  can  be  inferred  from  thence  is, 
that  the  design  of  Xenophon,  who  Avas  a  great  ])hilosopher, 
as  well  as  a  great  captain,  was  not  merely  to  write  the  his- 
tory of  Cyrus,  but  to  represent  him  as  a  model  and  example 
to  princes,  for  their  instruction  in  the  art  of  governing,  and 
of  gaining  the  love  of  their  subjects,  notwithstanding  the 
pomp  and  elevation  of  their  stations.  With  this  view  he 
may  possibly  have  lent  his  hero  some  thoughts,  some  senti- 
ments, or  discourses  of  his  own.  But  the  substance  of  the 
facts  and  events  he  relates  are  to  be  deemed  true ;  and  of 
this  their  conformity  "with  the  holy  Scripture  is  of  itself  a 
sufficient  proof.  The  reader  may  see  the  dissertation  of  the 
Abbe  Banier  upon  this  subject,  in  the  Memoirs  of  the 
Academy  of  Polite  Literature. f 

For  greater  perspicuity  I  have  divided  the  history  of 
,  Cyrus  into  three  parts.  The  first  Avill  reach  from  his  birth 
to  the  siege  of  Babylon ;  the  second  will  comprehend  the 
description  of  the  siege,  and  the  taking  of  that  city,  with 
every  thing  else  that  relates  to  that  great  event ;  the  third 
will  contain  that  prince's  history,  from  the  taking  of  Baby- 
lon to  his  death. 

ARTICLE  I. 

THE    HISTORY    OF    CYRUS    FROM    HIS    INFANCY    TO    THE    SIEGE 
OF    BABYLON. 

This  interval,  besides  his  education,  and  the  journey  he 
made  to  his  grandfather  Astyages  in  Media,  includes  the 
first  campaigns  of  Cyrus,  and  the  important  expeditions 
subsequent  to  them. 

SECTION   I. ^EDUCATION    OF    CYRUS. 

Cyrus  was  the  son  of  Cambyses,  king  of  Persia,  and  of 
Mandana,  daughter  of  Astyages,  king  of  the  Medes.l  He 
was  born  one  year  after  his  uncle  Cyaxares,  the  brother  of 
Mandana.  § 

The  Persians  consisted  at  this  time  of  twelve  tribes,  who 

*  Cyrus  iUe  a  Xenopbonte,  non  ad  lilstorias  fldem  Bcriptus,  sed  adeffigicm  justi 
imperii, 
t  Vol.  vi.  p.  400.  t  Xen.  Cyrop.  1.  i.  p.  3.  §  A.  M.  3105.Aiit.  J.  C.  599. 


HISTORY    OF    CYRUS.  '  501 

inhabited  only  one  province  of  that  vast  country  "whicli  has 
since  borne  the  name  of  Persia,  and  did  not  amount  to  more 
than  one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  men.  But  this 
people  having  afterwards,  through  the  vrisdom  and  valor  of 
Cyrus,  acquired  the  empire  of  the  East,  the  name  of  Persia 
extended  itself  with  their  conquests  and  fortune,  and  com- 
prehended all  that  vast  tract  of  land,  M'hich  reaches  fi-om 
east  to  west,  from  the  r'nev  Indus  to  the  Tigris  ;  and  from 
north  to  south,  from  the  Caspian  sea  to  the  ocean.* 

Cyrus  was  beautiful  in  his  person,  and  still  more  lovely 
for  the  qualities  of  his  mind  ;  was  of  a  ver}^  sweet  disposi- 
tion, full  of  good-nature  and  humanity,  and  had  a  great 
desire  to  learn,  and  a  noble  ardor  for  glor}'.  He  was  never 
afraid  of  any  danger,  or  discouraged  by  any  hardship  or 
difficulty,  where  honor  was  to  be  acquired.  He  was  brought 
up  according  to  the  laws  and  customs  of  the  Persians,  wdiich 
were  excellent  in  those  days  Avith  respect  to  education. 

The  puV)lic  good,  the  common  benefit  of  the  nation,  was 
the  only  principle  and  end  of  all  their  laws.  The  education 
of  children  was  looked  upon  as  the  most  important  dixty, 
and  the  most  essential  part  of  government :  it  was  not  left  to 
the  care  of  fathers  and  mothers,  whose  blind  affection  and 
fondness  often  render  them  incapable  of  that  office  ;  but  the 
state  took  it  upon  themselves.  Boys  were  all  brought  up 
in  common,  after  one  uniform  manner ;  where  every  thing 
was  regulated,  the  place  and  length  of  their  exercises,  the 
times  of  eating,  the  quality  of  their  meat  and  drink,  and 
their  different  kinds  of  punishment.  The  only  food  allowed 
either  the  children  or  the  young  men  was  bread,  cresses, 
and  water ;  for  their  design  was  to  accustom  them  early  to 
temperance  and  sobriety  :  besides,  they  considered  that  a 
plain  frugal  diet,  without  any  mixture  of  sauces  or  ragcuts, 
would  strengthen  the  body,  and  lay  such  a  foundation  of 
health,  as  would  enable  them  to  undergo  the  hardships  and 
fatigues  of  war  to  a  good  old  age.f 

Here  boys  went  to  school  to  learn  justice  and  virtue,  as 
they  do  in  other  places  to  learn  arts  and  sciences ;  and  the 
crime  most  severely  punished  among  them  was  ingratitude. 

The  design  of  the  Persians,  in  all  these  wise  regulations, 
was  to  prevent  evil,  being  convinced  how  much  better  it  is 
to  prevent  faults  than  to  punish  them  ;  and  whereas,  in  other 
states,  the  legislators  are  satisfied  with  establishing  punish- 

*  Persia  continued  to  occupy  the  same  extent  of  teiritory,  until  the  kingdom 
ef  Cabul  waa  recently  erected,  from  the  eastern  part.  t  Cyrop.  1.  i.  pp.  3-8. 


502  AXCIEXT    HISTORY. 

ments  for  criminals,  the  Persians  endeavored  so  to  order  it, 
as  to  have  no  criminals  among  them. 

Till  sixteen  or  seventeen  years  of  age,  the  boys  remained 
in  the  class  of  children,  in  which  they  learned  to  draw  the 
bow,  and  to  throw  the  dai't  or  javelin  ;  after  which,  they 
were  i-eceived  into  the  class  of  young  men.  In  this  class 
they  were  more  nru-rowly  Avatched,  and  kept  in  stricter  sub- 
jection than  before,  because  that  age  requires  the  closest  in- 
spection, and  has  the  greatest  need  of  restraint.  Here  they 
remained  ten  years  ;  during  which  time  they  passed  all  their 
nights  in  kee]nng  guard,  as  well  for  the  safety  of  the  city,  as 
to  inure  themselves  to  fatigue.  In  the  day-time  they  w^aited 
upon  their  governors,  to  receive  their  orders,  attended  the 
king  in  his  hunting,  or  improved  themselves  in  their  ex- 
ercises. 

The  third  class  consisted  of  men  grown  up,  and  formed ; 
and  in  this  they  remained  five  and  twenty  years.  Out  of 
these,  all  the  officers  that  were  to  command  in  the  troops, 
and  all  such  as  were  to  fill  the  different  ])osts  and  employ- 
ments in  the  state,  w^ere  chosen.  When  fifty  years  of  age, 
they  were  not  obliged  to  carry  arms  out  of  their  own 
country. 

Besides  these,  there  was  a  fourth  or  last  class,  from 
whence  men  of  the  greatest  wisdom  and  experience  were 
chosen,  for  forming  the  public  council,  and  presiding  in  the 
courts  of  judicature. 

By  these  mean-s  every  citizen  might  aspire  to  the  chief 
posts  in  the  government ;  but  no  one  could  arrive  at  them 
till  he  had  passed  through  all  these  several  classes,  and  made 
himself  capable  of  them  by  all  these  exercises.  The  classes 
were  open  to  all ;  but  generally  such  only  as  were  rich 
enough  to  maintain  their  children  without  working,  sent 
them  thither. 

Cyrus  himself  was  educated  in  this  manner,  and  sur- 
passed all  of  his  age,  not  only  in  aptness  to  learn,  but  in 
courage  and  address  in  executing  whatever  he  undertook.* 

JOURNEY    OF    CYRUS    TO    HIS    GRANDFATHER    ASTYAGES,    AND 
HIS    RETURN    INTO    PERSIA. 

When  Cyrus  was  twelve  years  old,  his  mother  Mandana 
took  him  with  her  into  Media,  to  his  grandfather  Astyages, 
who,  from  the  many  things  he  had  heard  in  favor  of  the 
young  prince,  had  a  great  desire  to  see  him.     In  this  court 

*  Cyrop.  1.  i.  pp.  8-22. 


lIISTOliY    OF    CYllUS.  503 

young  Cyrus  found  very  different  manners  from  those  of  his 
own  country.  Pride,  luxury,  and  magnificence,  reigned 
here  universally.  Astyages  hiras 'If  was  richly  clothed,  had 
his  eyes  colored,*  his  face  painted,  and  his  hair  embellished 
with  artificial  locks.  For  the  Medes  affected  an  effeminate 
life  ;  to  be  dressed  in  scarlet,  and  to  wear  necklaces  and 
bracelets  ;  whereas  the  habits  of  the  Persians  Avere  very 
plain  and  coarse.  All  this  finery  had  no  effect  upon  Cyrus, 
who,  without  criticising  or  condemning  what  he  saw,  was 
content  to  live  as  he  had  been  brought  up,  and  adhered  to 
the  principles  he  had  imbibed  from  his  infancy.  Tie  charmed 
his  grandfather  with  his  sprightliness  and  Avit,  and  gained  the 
favor  of  all  by  his  noble  and  engaging  behavior.  I  shall 
only  mention  one  instance,  whereby  we  may  judge  of  the 
rest. 

Astyages,  to  make  his  grandson  unwilling  to  return 
home,  made  a  sumptuous  entertainment,  in  which  there  Avas 
a  vast  plenty  and  profusion  of  every  thing  that  Avas  nice  and 
delicate.  Cyrus  looked  upon  all  this  exquisite  cheer  and  mag- 
nificent preparation,  with  great  indifference,  and  observing 
that  it  excited  the  surprise  of  Astyages,  "  The  Persians," 
says  he  to  the  king,  "  instead  of  going  such  a  round-about  Avay 
to  appease  their  hunger,  have  a  much  shorter  to  the  same 
end ;  a  little  bread  and  cresses  with  them  answer  the  pur- 
pose." Astyages  desiring  Cyrus  to  dispose  of  all  the  meats 
as  he  thought  fit,  the  latter  immediately  distributed  them  to 
the  king's  oflacers  in  waiting ;  to  one,  because  he  taught  him 
to  ride ;  to  another,  because  he  waited  well  upon  his  grand- 
father ;  and  to  a  third,  because  he  took  great  care  of  his 
mother.  Sacas,  the  king's  cup-bearer,  was  the  only  person 
to  AA'hom  he  gave  nothing.  This  officer,  besides  the  post  of 
cup-bearer,  had  that  likewise  of  introducing  those  who  were 
to  have  audience  of  the  king ;  and  as  he  could  not  possibly 
grant  that  favor  to  Cyrus  as  often  as  he  desired  it,  he  had 
the  misfortune  to  displease  the  prince,  who  took  this  occa- 
sion to  show  his  resentment.  Astyages  manifesting  some 
concern  at  the  neglect  of  this  officer,  for  whom  he  had  a  par- 
ticular regard,  and  who  deserved  it,  as  he  said,  on  account 

*  The  ancients,  in  order  to  set  off  tlie  beauty  of  the  face,  and  to  give  more  life 
to  their  ooniplexion,  used  to  foiin  their  eye-brows  into  perfect  arclies.  and 
to  color  them  with  black.  To  give  the  greater  lustre  to  their  eyes,  they  niatle 
their  eye-lashes  of  the  same  blackness.  This  artifice  was  much  in  use  among  the 
Hebrews.  It  is  said  of  Jezebel.  "  Depinxit  oculos  suos  stibio."  2  Kings,  ix.  30. 
Tliis  drug  had  an  asiringent  quality  which  shrunk  up  the  eye-lids,  and  made  the 
eyes  appear  the  larger,  which  at  tliat  time  was  reckoned  a  beauty.— Plin.  1.  xxxiii. 
c.  P.  From  hence  comes  that  epithet,  which  Homer  so  often  gives  to  his  god- 
desses.— Bouffts  "HpT),  great-eyed  Juuo. 


504  AXCIENT    HISTORY. 

of  the  wonderful  dexterity  with  wliich  he  served  Iuth  ;  "  Is 
that  all,  father?"  replied  Cyrus;  "if  that  be  sufficient  to 
merit  your  favor,  you  shall  see  I  will'  quickly  obtain  it  ;  for 
I  will  take  upon  me  to  serve  you  better  than  he."  Cyrus, 
immediately  equii>ped  as  a  cup-bearer,  and  advancing 
gravely  witli  a  serious  countenance,  a  napkin  upon  his 
shoulder,  and  liolduig  the  cup  nicely  with  three  of  his  fin- 
gers, presented  it  to  the  king  Avith  a  dexterity  and  a  grace 
that  charmed  both  Ast-yages  and  Mandana.  Wlieu  he  had 
done,  he  threw  himself  upon  his  grandfather's  neck,  and  kiss- 
ing him,  cried  out  with  great  joy,  "  O  Sacas^  poor  Sacas, 
thou  art  undone.  I  shall  have  thy  place."  *  Astyages  em- 
braced him  with  great  fondness,  and  said,  "I  am  highly 
pleased,  my  dear  child ;  nobody  can  serve  with  a  better 
grace;  but  you  have  forgot  one  essential  ceremony,  which 
is  that  of  tasting."  And,  indeed,  the  cup-bearer  was  used  to 
pour  some  of  the  liquor  into  his  left  hand,  and  to  tnste  it, 
before  he  presented  it  to  the  king.  "  No,"  replied  Cyrus, 
"  it  was  not  through  forgetfulness  that  I  omitted  that  cere- 
mony." "Why  then,"  says  Astyages,  "for  Avhat  reason 
did  yon  not  do  it  ?  "  "  Because  I  apprehended  there  was 
poison  in  the  liquor."  "  Poison,  child  !  how  could  you  think 
so  ?  "  "  Yes,  poison,  father,  for  not  long  ago,  at  an  enter- 
tainment you  gave  to  the  lords  of  your  court,  after  the 
guests  had  drunk  a  little  of  that  liquor,  I  perceived  all  their 
heads  were  turned  ;  they  sung,  made  a  noise,  and  talked 
they  did  not  knoAV  what ;  you,  yourself,  seemed  to  have  for- 
got that  you  were  king,  and  they,  that  they  were  subjects  ; 
and  when  you  would  have  danced,  you  could  not  stand 
upon  your  legs."  "Why,"  says  Astyages,  "have  you  never 
seen  the  same  thing  happen  to  your  father?"  "  No,  never," 
says  Cyrus.  "What  then?  How  is  it  with  him  when  he 
drinks  ?"  "Why,  when  he  has  drunk,  his  thirst  is  quenched, 
and  that  is  all." 

We  cannot  too  much  admire  the  skill  of  the  historian,  in 
giving  him  such  an  excellent  lesson  of  sobriety  in  this  story. 
He  might  have  done  it  in  a  serious,  grave  way,  and  have 
spoken  with  the  air  of  a  philosopher  ;  for  Xenophon,  although 
a  great  warrior,  was  as  excellent  a  philosopher  as  his  master 
Socrates.  But  instead  of  that,  he  puts  the  instruction  into 
the  mouth  of  a  child,  and  conceals  it  under  the  veil  of  a 
story,  which  in  the  original  is  told  with  all  the  wit  and 
agi'eeableness  imaginable. 


HISTORY    OF    CYKUS.  .  505 

Manclana  being  upon  the  point  of  returning  to  Persia, 
Cyrus  joyfully  complied  with  the  repeated  requests  his 
grandfather  had  made  to  him  to  stay  in  Media ;  being  de- 
sirous, as  he  said,  to  perfect  himself  in  the  art  of  riding, 
which  he  was  not  yet  master  of,  and  wliich  was  not  known 
in  Persia,  where  the  barrenness  of  the  country,  and  its 
cragi^y  mountainous  situation,  rendered  it  unfit  for  the 
breeding  of  horses. 

During  the  time  of  his  residence  at  this  court,  his  beha- 
vior ])rocured  him  infinite  love  and  esteem.  He  was  gentle, 
aff.ible,  beneficent,  and  generous.  Whenever  the  young 
lords  had  any  favor  to  ask  of  the  king,  Cyrus  was  tlieir 
solicitor.  If  the  king  had  any  subject  of  complaint  against 
them,  Cyrus  was  their  mediator ;  their  affairs  became  his, 
and  he  always  managed  them  so  well,  that  he  obtained  what- 
ever he  desired. 

When  Cyrus  was  about  sixteen  years  of  age,  the  son  of 
the  king  of  the  Babylonians  *  (this  was  Evil-Merodach,  son 
of  Xebuchadnezzar),  at  a  hunting  match  a  short  time  before 
his  marriage,  thought  fit  to  show  his  bravery  by  making  an 
irruption  into  the  territories  of  the  Medes ;  w^hich  obliged 
Astyages  to  take  the  field,  to  oppose  the  invader.  Here  it 
was  that  Cyrus,  having  followed  his  grandfather,  served  his 
apprenticeship  in  war.  He  behaved  so  well  on  this  occasion, 
that  the  victory  Avhich  the  Medes  gained  over  the  Babylo- 
nians was  chiefly  owing  to  his  valor. 

Tiie  year  after,  his  father  recalling  him,  that  he  might 
accomplish  his  time  in  the  Persian  exercises,  he  departed 
immediately  from  the  court  of  Media,  that  neither  his  father 
nor  his  country  might  have  any  room  to  complain  of  his 
delay.  This  occasion  showed  how  much  he  was  beloved. 
At  his  departure  he  was  accompanied  by  all  sorts  of  people, 
young  and  old.  Astyages  himself  conducted  him  a  good 
part  of  his  journey  on  horseback  ;  and  when  the  sad  moment 
came  that  they  must  part,  the  whole  company  were  bathed 
in  tears. t 

Thus  Cyrus  returned  into  his  own  country,  and  re-entered 
the  class  of  children,  where  he  continued  a  year  longer.  His 
companions,  after  his  long  residence  in  so  voluptuous  and 
luxurious  a  court  as  that  of  the  Medes,  expected  to  find  a 
great   change  in  his  manners.     But  when  they  saw  that  he 

*  In  Xeiiophon,  this  people  are  always  called  Assyrians  ;  and  in  truth  tliey  are 
Assyrians,  but  AssyiiauB  of  Babylon,  whom  we  must  not  confound  with  those  of 
Nineveh,  whose  empire,  as  we  have  seen  already,  was  utterly  destroyed  by  the 
ruin  of  Nineveh,  the  capital  city.  t  -A--  M.  342X.    Ant.  J.  C  583." 


506  ■  ANCIENT    HISTOKY. 

was  content  with  their  ordinary  table,  and  that,  when  he  was 
present  at  any  entertainment,  lie  Avas  more  sober  and  tem- 
perate than  any  of  the  company,  they  looktMl  upon  him  with 
new  admiration. 

From  this  first  class  he  passed  into  the  second,  which  is 
the  class  of  youths  ;  and  there  it  quickly  appeared  that  he 
had  not  his  equal  in  dexterity,  address,  patience,  and  obe- 
dience. 

Ten  years  after,  he  was  admitted  into  the  men's  class, 
wherein  he  remained  thirteen  years,  till  he  set  out  at  the 
head  of  the  Persian  army,  to  go  to  the  aid  of  his  uncle 
Cyaxares. 

SECTION  III.  THE  FIRST  CAMPAIGN  OF  CYRUS,  WHO  GOES 
TO  SUCCOR  HIS  UNCLE  CYAXARES  AGAINST  THE  BABY- 
LONIANS. 

Astyages,  king  of  the  Medes,  dying,  was  succeeded  by 
his  son  Cyaxares,  brother  to  Cyrus's  mother.*  Cyaxares 
was  no  sooner  on  the  throne,  that  he  Avas  engaged  in  a  terri- 
ble war.  He  was  informed  that  the  king  of  the  Babylonians 
(Neriglissor)  was  preparing  a  powerful  army  against  him, 
and  that  he  had  already  engaged  several  princes  on  his  side, 
and  among  others  Croesus,  king  of  Lydia ;  that  he  had  like- 
wise sent  ambassadors  to  the  king  of  India,  to  give  him  im- 
just  impressions  of  the  Medes  and  Persians,  by  representing 
to  him  how  dangerous  a  closer  alliance  and  union  between 
two  nations,  already  so  powerful,  might  be,  since  they  could 
in  the  end  subdue  all  the  nations  around  them,  if  a  vigorous 
opposition  was  not  made  to  the  progress  of  tlieir  power. 
Cyaxares,  therefore,  despatched  ambassadors  to  Cambyses, 
to  desire  succors  from  him  ;  and  ordered  them  to  bring  it 
about,  that  Cyrus  should  have  the  command  of  the  troops 
his  father  was  to  send.  This  was  readily  granted.  As  soon 
as  it  was  known  that  Cyrus  was  to  march  at  the  head  of  the 
army,  the  joy  was  universal.  The  army  consisted  of  thirty 
thousand  men,  all  infantry,  for  the  Persians  had  as  yet  no 
cavalry  ;  but  they  were  all  chosen  men,  and  such  as  had  been 
raised  in  a  particular  manner.  First  of  all,  Cyrus  chose  out 
of  the  nobility  two  hundred  of  the  bravest  officers,  each  of 
whom  was  ordered  to  choose  out  four  more  of  the  same  sort, 
which  made  a  thousand  in  all ;  and  these  were  the  officers 
that  were  called  ^OiioriiJAi'.  f  and  who  signalized  themselves 

*  A.  M.  3444.    Ant.  J.  C.  SCO.    Cyrop.  1.  i.  pp.  22-3T. 
t  Meu  of  the  same  dignity. 


HISTORY    OF    CYRUS.  507 

afterwards  so  gloriously  niwn  all  occasions.  Every  one  of 
this  thousand  was  appointed  to  raise  among  the  people  ten 
light-armed  pikemen,  ten  slingers,  and  ten  bowmen,  which 
amounted  in  the  whole  to  one  and  thirty  thousand  men. 

Before  they  proceeded  to  this  choice,  Cyrus  thought  fit 
to  make  a  speech  to  the  two  hundred  officers,  whom,  after 
having  highly  praised  for  their  courage,  he  inspired  with  the 
strongest  assurance  of  victory  and  success.  "  Do  you  know," 
says  he  to  them,  "  the  nature  of  the  enemy  you  have  to  deal 
with?  They  are  soft,  effeminate,  enervated  men,  already 
half  conquered  by  their  own  luxury  and  voluptuousness  ;  men 
not  able  to  bear  either  hunger  or  thirst ;  equally  incapable 
of  supporting  the  toil  of  war,  or  tlie  sight  of  danger ;  a\  hereas 
you,  that  are  inured  from  your  infancy  to  a  sobei'  and  hard 
way  of  living ;  to  you,  I  say,  hanger  and  thirst  are  but  the 
sauce,  and  the  only  sauce  to  your  meals  ;  fatigues  are  your 
pleasures,  dangers  your  delight,  and  the  love  of  your  country 
and  of  glory  your  only  passion.  Besides,  the  justice  of  our 
cause  is  anotlier  considerable  advantage.  They  are  the  ag- 
gressors. It  is  the  enemy  that  attacks  us,  and  they  are  our 
friends  and  allies  that  require  our  aid.  Can  any  thing  be 
more  just  than  to  repel  the  injujy  they  would  bring  upon 
us  ?  Is  there  any  thing  more  honorable  than  to  fly  to  the 
assistance  of  our  friends  ?  But  what  ought  to  be  the  princi- 
pal motive  of  your  confidence  is,  that  I  do  not  engage  in  this 
expedition  without  having  first  consulted  the  gods,  and  im- 
plored their  protection ;  for  you  know  it  is  my  custom  to 
begin  all  my  actions,  and  all  my  undertakings,  in  that  man- 
ner." 

Soon  after,  Cyrus  set  out  without  loss  of  time  ;  but  before 
his  departure  he  invoked  the  gods  of  the  country  a  second 
time.  For  his  great  maxim  was,  and  he  had  it  from  his  father, 
that  a  man  ought  not  to  form  any  enterprise,  great  or  small, 
without  consulting  the  Divinity,  and  imploring  his  protection. 
Cambyses  had  often  taught  him  to  consider  that  the  pru- 
dence of  men  is  very  short,  and  their  views  very  limited ; 
that  they  cannot  penetrate  into  futurity ;  and  that  many 
times  what  they  think  must  needs  turn  to  their  advantage, 
proves  their  ruin  ;  Avliereas  the  gods,  being  eternal,  know  all 
things,  future  as  well  as  i>ast,  and  inspire  those  they  love  to 
undertake  what  is  most  expedient  for  them,  which  is  a  favor 
and  a  protection  they  owe  to  no  man,  and  grant  only  to  those 
that  invoke  and  consult  them.* 

♦A.M.  3445.    Ant.  J.  U.  559. 


508  AXCIENT    HISTORY. 

Cambyses  accompanied  his  son  as  far  as  the  frontiers  of 
Persia;  and,  in  the  Avay,  gave  him  excellent  instructions 
concerning  the  duties  of  the  general  of  an  army.  Cyrus 
thought  himself  ignorant  of  nothing  that  related  to  the  busi- 
ness of  war,  after  the  many  lessons  he  had  received  from 
the  most  able  masters  of  that  tiiiie.  "  Have  your  masters," 
says  Cambyses  to  him,  "given  you  any  instructions  concern- 
ing economy,  that  is  to  say,  concerning  the  manner  of  su]>-- 
])lying  an  army  with  all  necessary  provisions,  of  preventing 
sickness,  and  preserving  the  health  of  the  soldiers ;  of 
strengthening  their  bodies  by  frequent  exercises  ;  of  excit- 
ing a  generous  emulation  among  them  ;  of  making  yourself 
obeyed,  esteemed,  and  beloved  by  your  soldiers  ?  "  Upon 
each  of  these  points,  and  upon  several  others  mentioned  by 
the  king,  Cyrus  owned  he  had  never  heard  one  word  spoken, 
and  that  it  was  all  entirely  new  to  him.  "What  is  it  that 
your  masters  have  taught  you  ?  "  "  They  have  taught  me 
to  fence,"  replied  the  prince,  "  to  draw  the  bow,  to  fling  the 
javelin,  to  mark  out  a  camp,  to  draw  the  plan  of  a  fortifica- 
tion, to  range  troops  in  order  of  battle,  to  review  them,  to 
see  them  march,  file  off,  and  encamp."  Cambyses,  smiling, 
gave  his  son  to  understand  that  they  had  taught  him  nothing 
of  what  was  most  material  and  essential  for  a  good  officer, 
and  an  expert  commander  to  know.  And  in  one  single  con- 
versation, which  certainly  deserves  to  be  well  studied  by  all 
young  gentlemen  designed  for  the  army,  he  taught  him  in- 
finitely more  than  all  the  celebrated  masters  had  done,  m  the 
course  of  several  years.  I  shall  give  but  one  short  instance 
of  this  discourse,  which  may  give  the  reader  an  idea  of  the 
rest. 

The  question  was,  what  are  the  proper  maans  of  making 
the  soldiers  obedient  and  submissive  ?  "  The  way  to  effect 
that,"  says  Cyrus,  "  seems  to  be  very  easy,  and  very  certain  ; 
it  is  only  to  praise  and  reward  those  that  obey,  and  to  pun- 
ish and  stigmatise  such  as  fail  in  their  duty."  "  You  say 
well,"  replied  Cambyses,  "  that  is  the  way  to  make  them 
obey  you  by  force  ;  but  the  chief  ])oint  is  to  make  them  obey 
you  Avillingly  and  freely.  Now,  the  sure  method  of  effect- 
'ing  this,  is  to  convince  those  you  command,  that  you  know 
better  what  is  for  their  advantage  than  they  do  themselves  ; 
for  all  mankind  readily  submit  to  those  of  whom  they  have 
that  opinion.  This  is  the  principle  from  whence  that  blind 
submission  proceeds,  which  you  see  sick  persons  pay  to  their 
physician,  travellers  to  their  guide,  and  a  ship's  company  to 


HISTORY    OF    CYRUS.  509 

their  pilot.  Their  obedience  is  only  founded  upon  their  per- 
suasion that  the  physician,  the  guide,  and  the  pilot,  are  all 
more  skilful  and  knowing  in  their  respective  callings,  th;m 
themselves."  "  But  what  shall  a  man  do,"  says  Cyrus  to  his 
father,  "  to  appear  more  skilful  and  exjjert  than  others  ?  " 
"  He  must  be  really  so,"  replied  Cambyses  ;  "  and  in  order 
to  be  so,  he  must  aj^ply  himself  closely  to  his  profession,  dili- 
gently study  all  the  rules  of  it,  considt  the  most  able  and 
experienced  masters,  neglect  no  circumstance  that  may  con- 
tribute to  the  success  of  his  enterprises ;  and,  above  all,  he 
must  have  recourse  to  the  protection  of  the  gods,  from  whom 
alone  we  receive  all  our  wisdom,  and  all  our  success." 

As  soon  as  Cyrus  had  reached  Cyaxares,  the  first  thing 
he  did,  after  the  usual  compliments  had  passed,  was  to  in- 
form himself  of  the  quality  and  number  of  the  forces  on 
both  sides.  It  appeared  by  the  computation  rnade  of  them, 
that  the  enemy's  army  amounted  to  two  hundred  thousand 
foot,  and  sixty  thousand  horse  ;  and  that  the  united  armies 
of  the  Medes  and  Persians  scarcely  amounted  to  half  the 
number  of  foot ;  and  as  to  the  cavalry,  the  Medes  had  not 
so  many  by  a  third.  This  great  inequality  ]nit  Cyaxares  in 
in  terrible  fears  and  perplexities.  He  could  think  of  no 
other  expedient,  than  to  send  for  another  body  of  troops 
from  Persia,  more  numerous  than  that  already  arrived.  But 
this  expedient,  besides  that  it  would  have  taken  too  much 
time,  appeared  in  itself  impracticable.  Cyrus  immediately 
proposed  another,  more  sure  and  more  expeditious,  which 
Avas,  that  his  Persian  soldiers  should  change  their  arms.  As 
they  chiefly  used  the  boAV  and  the  javelin,  and  consequently 
their  manner  of  fighting  was  at  a  distance,  in  which  kind  of 
engagement  the  greater  number  was  easily  superior  to  the 
lesser ;  Cyrus  was  of  opinion,  that  they  should  be  armed 
with  such  weapons  as  should  oblige  them  to  come  to  blows 
with  the  enemy  immediately,  and  by  that  means  render  the 
superiority  of  their  numbers  useless.  This  project  was 
mightily  approved,  and  instantly  put  in  execution.* 

Cyrus  established  a  Avonderful  order  among  the  troops, 
and  inspired  them  with  a  surprising  emulation,  by  the  re- 
wards he  promised,  and  by  his  obliging  and  engaging  de- 
portment towards  all.  As  for  money,  the  only  A-alue  he  set 
upon  it  was  to  give  it  away.  He  w^as  continually  making 
presents  to  one  or  other,  according  to  their  rank  or  their 
'  mtiit  i  to  one  a  buckler,  to  another  a  sword,  or  something 

*  Cyrop.  1.  ii.  pp.  38-40. 


510  AXCIEXT    HISTORY. 

of  tlw  same  kind  equally  acceptable.  By  this  generosity, 
this  greatness  of  soul,  and  beneficent  disposition,  he  thought 
a  general  ought  to  distinguish  himself,  and  not  by  the  luxury 
of  his  table,  or  the  richness  of  his  clothes,  and  still  less  by 
his  haughtiness  and  imperious  demeanor.*  "  A  command- 
tr  could  not,"  he  said,  "  give  actual  proofs  of  his  munifi- 
cence to  everybody,  and  for  that  very  reason  he  thought 
himself  obliged  to  convince  everybody  of  his  inclination 
and  good-will ;  for  though  a  prince  might  exhaust  his 
treasures  by  making  presents,  yet  he  could  not  injure  him- 
self by  benevolence  and  humanity,  by  being  sincerely  con- 
cerned in  the  good  or  evil  that  haj)pens  to  others,  and  by 
making  it  appear  that  he  is  so."  f 

One  day  as  Cyrus  was  reviewing  his  army,  a  messenger 
came  to  him  from  Cyaxares,  to  acquaint  him  that  some 
ambassadors  being  arrived  from  the  king  of  the  Indians,  he 
desired  his  presence  immediately.  "  For  that  purpose," 
says  he,  "  I  have  brought  you  a  rich  garment,  for  the  king 
desires  you  would  appear  magnificently  dressed  before  the 
Indians,  to  do  the  nation  honor."  |  Cyrus  lost  not  a  moment's 
time,  but  instantly  set  out  with  his  troops,  to  wait  upon  the 
king,  though  without  changing  his  dress,  which  was  very 
plain,  after  the  Persian  fashon,  and  not  as  the  Greek  text 
has  it,  polluted  or  spoiled  with  any  foreign  ornament.  § 
Cyaxares  seeming  at  first  a  little  displeased  at  it :  "  If  I  had 
dressed  myself  in  purple,"  says  Cyrus,  "  and  loaded  myself 
with  bracelets  and  chains  of  gold,  and  with  all  that,  had 
been  longer  in  coming,  should  I  have  done  you  more  honor 
than  I  do  now,  by  my  expedition  and  the  sweat  of  my  face, 
and  by  letting  all  the  world  see  with  what  promptitude  and 
despatch  your  orders  are  obeyed  ?  " 

Cyaxares,  satisfied  with  this  answer,  ordered  the  Indian 
ambassadors  to  be  introduced.  The  purport  of  their  speech 
was,  that  they  were  sent  by  the  king,  their  master,  to  learn 
the  cause  of  the  war  between  the  Medes  and  the  Babylo- 
nians 5  and  that  they  had  orders,  as  soon  as  they  heard  wliat 
the  Medes  should  say,  to  proceed  to  the  court  of  Babylon, 
to  know  what  dnotives  they  had  to  allege  on  their  part ;  to 
the  end  that  the  king,  their  master,  after  having  examined 
the  reasons  on  both  sides,  might  take  part  with  those  who 
had  right  and  justice  on  their  side.  This  is  making  a 
noble  and  glorious  use  of  great  power  :  to  be   influenced 

*  Cyrop.  1.  ii.  p.  44.  t  Cyrop.  1.  viii.  p.  207.  t  Cyrop.  1.  ii.  p.  56. 

J'Rv  T~,  TlepiTt.K)"  cTTok'  ovSev  TL  vSoicri.Ui'ri.    A  fine  expression,  but  not  to  be 
ered  into  any  other  language  witli  the  same  beauty. 


HISTORY    OF    CYRUS.  511 

only  by  justice,  to  consult  no  advantage  from  the  division 
of  neighbors,  but  to  declare  openly  against  the  unjust  aggres- 
sor, in  favor  of  the  injured  party.  Cyaxares  and  Cyrus 
answered,  they  had  given  the  Babylonians  no  subject  of 
complaint,  and  that  they  willingly  accepted  the  mediation 
of  the  king  of  India.  It  appears  in  the  sequel  that  he  de- 
clared for  the  Medes. 

Tlie  king  of  Armenia,  who  was  vassal  to  the  Medes,  look- 
ing upon  them  as  ready  to  be  swallowed  up  by  the  formid- 
able league  formed  against  them,  thought  fit  to  lay  hold  of 
this  occasion  to  shake  off  their  yoke.*  Accordingly,  he  re- 
fused to  pay  them  the  ordinary  tribute,  and  to  send  them 
the  number  of  troops  he  was  obliged  to  furnish  in  time  of 
war.  This  highly  embarrassed  Cyaxares,  who  was  afraid  at 
this  juncture  of  bringing  new  enemies  upon  his  hands  if  he 
undertook  to  compel  the  Armenians  to  execute  their  treaty. 
But  Cyrus,  having  informed  himself  exactly  of  the  strength 
and  situation  of  the  country,  undertook  the  affair.  The 
important  point  was  to  keep  his  design  secret,  without  which 
it  was  not  likely  to  succeed.  He  therefore  appointed  a 
great  hunting-match  on  that  side  of  the  country  ;  for  it  was 
his  custom  to  ride  out  that  way,  and  frequently  to  hunt  with 
the  king's  son,  and  the  young  noblemen  of  Armenia.  On 
the  day  appointed,  he  set  out  with  a  numerous  retinue.  The 
troops  followed  at  a  distance,  and  were  not  to  appear  till  a 
signal  was  given.  After  some  days'  hunting,  Avhen  they  had 
nearly  reached  the  palace  where  the  court  resided,  Cyrus 
communicated  his  design  to  his  officers  ;  and  sent  Chrysan- 
thes  with  a  detachment,  ordering  them  to  make  themselves 
masters  of  a  certain  steep  eminence,  where  he  knew  the 
king  used  to  retire  in  case  of  an  alarm,  with  his  family  and 
his  treasures. 

This  being  done,  he  sent  a  herald  to  the  king  of  Armenia, 
to  summon  him  to  perform  the  treaty,  and  in  the  mean  time 
ordered  bis  troops  to  advance.  Never  was  a  court  in  greater 
surprise  and  perplexity.  The  king  was  conscious  of  the 
wrong  he  had  done,  and  was  not  in  a  condition  to  support 
it.  However,  he  did  what  he  could  to  assemble  his  forces 
together  from  all  quarters  ;  and,  in  the  mean  time  despatch- 
ed his  youngest  son,  called  Stabaris,  into  the  mountains, 
with  his  wives,  his  daughters,  and  whatever  was  most  preci- 
ous and  valuable.  But  when  he  was  informed  by  his  scouts 
that  Cyrus  was  closely  j)ursuing,  he  entirely  lost  all  courage, 

*  A.  M.  3447.    Ant.  J.  C.  637.    Cyrop.  1.  ii.  pp.  53-61,  and  1.  iii.  pp.  C2-T0. 


512 


AXCIEXT    HISTORY. 


and  all  thouglits  of  making  a  defence.  Tlie  Armenians, 
following  his  example,  ran  away,  every  one  where  he  could, 
to  secure  Avhat  was  dearest  to  liim.  Cyrus,  seeing  the 
country  covered  with  people  that  were'  endeavoring  to 
make  their  escape,  sent  them  word,  that  no  harm  should  be 
done  them  if  they  stayed  in  their  houses  ;  but  that  as  many 
as  were  taken  running  away  should  be  treated  as  enemies. 
This  made  them  all  retire  to  their  habitations,  excepting  a 
few  that  followed  the  king. 

On  the  other  hand,  they  that  were  conducting  the  prin- 
cessess  to  the  mountains  fell  into  the  ambush  Chrysanthes  had 
laid  for  them,  and  were  most  of  them  taken  prisoners.  The 
queen,  the  king's  son,  his  daughters,  his  eldest  son's  wife,  and 
his  treasures,  all  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Persians. 

The  king,  hearing  this  melancholy  news,  and  not  know- 
ing what  woidd  become  of  him,  retired  to  a  little  eminence, 
where  he  was  presently  invested  by  the  Persian  army,  and 
obliged  to  surrender.  Cyrus  ordered  him,  with  all  his 
family,  to  be  brought  to  the  midst  of  the  army.  At  that 
very  instant  arrived  Tigranes,  the  king's  eldest  son,  who 
was  just  returned  from  aTjourney.  At  so  moving  a  scene, 
he  could  not  forbear  weeping.  Cyrus,  addressing  himself  to 
him,  said:  "Prince,  you  are  come  very  seasonably  to  be 
present  at  the  trial  of  your  father."  And  immediately  he 
assembled  the  captains  of  the  Persians  and  Medes,  and  called 
in  also  the  great  men  of  Armenia.  Nor  did  he  so  much  as 
exclude  the  ladies  from  this  assembly,  who  were  there  in 
their  chariots,  but  gave  them  full  liberty  to  hear  and  see  all 
that  passed. 

When  all  was  ready,  and  Cyrus  had  commanded  silence, 
he  began  with  requiring  of  the  king,  that  in  all  the  ques- 
tions he  was  going  to  propose  to  him,  he  would  answers  sin- 
cerely, because  nothing  could  be  more  unworthy  a  person  of 
his  rank,  than  to  use  dissimulation  or  falsehood.  The  king 
promised  he  would.  Then  Cyrus  asked  him,  but  at  differ- 
ent times,  proposing  each  article  separately,  and  in  order, 
whether  it  was  not  true,  that  he  had  made  war  upon  Astya- 

fes,  king  of  the  3Iedes,  his  grandfather ;  whether  he  had  not 
een  overcome  in  that  Avar,  and  in  consequence  of  his  de- 
feat had  concluded  a  treaty  with  Astyages ;  whether  by  vir- 
tue of  that  treaty  he  was  not  obliged  to  pay  a  certain  tribute, 
to  furnish  a  certain  number  of  troops,  and  not  to  kee]j  any 
fortified  place  in  his  country?  It  was  impossible  for  the 
king  to  deny  any  of  these  facts,  which  were  all  jjublic  and 


HISTORY    OF    CYRUS.  513 

notorious.  "  For  what  reason,  then,"  continued  Cyrus, 
"  have  you  violated  the  treaty  in  every  article  ?  "  "  For  no 
other,"  replied  the  king,  "  than  because  I  thought  it  a 
glorious  thing  to  shake  otf  the  yoke,  to  live  free  and  to  leave 
my  children  in  the  same  condition."  "  It  is  really  glorious," 
answered  Cyrus,  "  to  fight  in  defence  of  liberty  ;  but  if  any 
one,  after  he  is  re<luced  to  servitude,  should  attempt  to  run 
away  from  his  master,  what  wovdd  you  do  with  him?"  "  I 
must  confess,"  says  the  king,  "  I  would  punish  him."  "  And 
if  you  had  given  a  government  to  one  of  your  subjects,  and 
he  should  be  found  to  misbehave,  would  you  continue  him 
in  his  post."  "  No,  certaiidy  ;  I  would  put  another  in  his 
place."  "And  if  he  had  amassed  great  riches  by  his  unjust 
practices?"  "I  would  strip,  him  of  them?"  "But  which 
IS  still  worse,  if  he  had  held  intelligence  with  your  enemies, 
how  would  you  treat  him  ?  "  "  Though  I  should  pass  sen- 
tence upon  myself,  "  replied  the  king,  "I  must  declare  the 
truth :  I  would  put  him  to  death."  At  these  words,  Ti- 
granes  tore  his  tiara  from  his  head,  and  rent  his  garments  : 
the  women  burst  out  into  lamentations  and  outcries,  as  if 
the  sentence  had  actually  passed  upon  him. 

Cyrus  having  again  commanded  silence,  Tigranes  ad- 
dressed himself  to  the  ])rince  to  this  effect :  "  Great  prince, 
can  you  think  it  consistent  with  your  wisdom,  to  put  my 
father  to  death,  even  against  your  own  interest  ?  "  "  How 
against  my  interest?"  replied  Cyrus.  "Because  he  was 
never  so  capable  of  doing  you  service."  "  How  do  you 
make  that  appear  ?  Do  tlie  faults  we  commit  enhance  our 
merit,  and  give  us  a  new  title  to  consideration  and  favor?" 
"They  certainly  do,  provided  they  serve  to  make  us  wiser. 
For  wisdom  is  of  inestimable  value :  are  either  riches, 
courage,  or  address,  to  be  compared  to  it?  Now  it  is  evi- 
dent, this  single  day's  experience  has  infinitely  improved 
my  father's  wisdom.  He  knows  how  dear  the  violation  of 
his  word  has  cost  him.  He  has  proved  and  felt  how  much 
you  are  superior  to  him,  in  all  respects.  He  has  not  been 
able  to  succeed  in  any  of  liis  designs ;  but  you  have  happily 
accomplished  all  yours  ;  and  Avith  such  expedition  and  se- 
crecy, that  he  has  found  himself  surrounded  and  taken,  be- 
fore he  expected  to  be  attacked,  and  the  very  place  of  his 
retreat  has  served  only  to  ensnare  him.."  "  But  your  father," 
replied  Cyrus,  "  has  yet  undergone  no  sufferings  that  can 
have  taught  him  wisdom."  "The  fear  of  evils,"  answered 
Tigranes,  "  vhen  it  is  so  well  founded  as  this  is,  has  a  much 

'6-6 


514  ANCIENT    HISTORY. 

sharper  sting,  and  is  more  capable  of  piercing  the  sonl,  than 
the  evil  itself.  Besides,  permit  me  to  say,  that  gratitude  is 
a  stronger  and  more  prevailing  motive  than  any  whatever: 
and  there  can  be  no  obligations  in  the  world  of  a  higher 
nature,  than  those  you  will  lay  upon  my  father.  His  for- 
tune, liberty,  sceptre,  life,  wives  and  children,  all  restored 
to  him  with  such  a  generosity:  where  can  you  find,  illus- 
trious prince,  in  one  single  person,  so  many  strong  and 
powerful  ties  to  attach  him  to  jonr  service  ?  " 

"  Well,  then,"  replied  Cyrus,  turning  to  the  king,  "  if  I 
should  yield- to  your  son's  entreaties,  with  what  number  of 
men  and  what  sum  of  money,  will  you  assist  us  in  the  war 
against  the  Babylonians?"  "My  troops  and  treasures," 
says  the  Armenian  king,  "  are  no  longer  mine  ;  they  are  en- 
tirely yours ;  I  can  raise  forty  thousand  foot  and  eight 
thousand  horse  ;  and  as  to  money,  I  reckon,  including  the 
treasure  which  my  father  left  me,  there  are  about  three 
thousand  talents  ready  money.  All  these  are  wholly  at 
your  disposal."  Cyrus  accepted  half  the  numl)er  of  the 
troops,  and  left  the  king  the  other  half,  for  tlie  defence 
of  the  cou'.itry  against  the  Chaldeans,*  with  wliom  he  was 
at  war.  The  annual  tribute  which  was  due  to  the  Medcs. 
he  doubled,  and  instead  of  fifty  talents  exacted  a  hundred, 
and  borrowed  tlie  like  sum  over  and  above  in  his  own  name. 
"  But  what  would  you  give  me,"  added  Cyrus,  "  for  the 
ransom  of  your  wives?  "  "  All  that  I  have  in  the  world,"  re- 
plied the  king.  "  And  for  the  ransom  of  your  children?" 
"The  same  thing."  "From  this  time,  then,  you  are  indebt- 
ed to  me  the  double  of  all  your  possessions."  "  And  you, 
Tigranes,  at  what  price  would  you  redeem  the  liberty  of 
your  lady  ?"  Now  he  had  lately  married  her,  and  was  pas- 
sionately fond  of  her.  "  At  the  price,"  s  lys  he,  "  of  a 
thousand  lives  if  I  had  them."  Cyrus  then  conducted  them 
all  to  his  tent,  and  entertained  them  at  sup]>er.  It  is  eiisy 
to  imagine  what  transports  of  joy  there  must  have  been  upon 
this  occasion. 

After  supper,  as  they  were  discoursing  upon  A-arious 
subjects,  Cyrus  asked  Tigranes,  what  was  become  of  a  gov- 
ernor whom  he  had  often  seen  hunting  with  him,  and  for 
whom  he  had  a  particular  esteem.  "  Alas!  "  says  Tigranes, 
"  he  is  no  more  ;  and  I  dare  not  tell  you  by  what  accident  1 
lost  him."     Cyrus  pressing  him  to  tell  him,  "  My  father,"  con- 

*  Xeuophou  never  calls  the  peor>le  of  Babylonia  Chaldeans.  But  Herodotus, 
1.  Tii  c.  fi3.  and  Stra;>o,  1.  >vi.  p.  T.in,  style  them  so.  The  Chaldeans  meant  in 
thid  place  were  a  people  adjoi)ung  to  Armenia. 


HISTORY    OF    CYKUS.  515 

tinned  Tigranes,  "  seeing  I  hud  .a  very  tender  affection  for 
this  governor,  and  that  I  was  extremely  attached  to  liim, 
suspected  it  might  be  of  some  ill  consequence,  and  put  him 
to  death.  But  he  was  so  honest  a  man,  that  as  he  was 
ready  to  expire,  he  sent  for  me  and  spoke  to  me  in  these 
words  :  "  Tigranes,  let  not  my  death  occasion  any  disaffec^ 
tion  in  you  towards  the  king  your  father.  What  he  has 
done  to  me  did  not  proceed  from  malice,  but  only  from  pre- 
judice, and  a  false  notion  wherewith  he  was  iinhappily 
blinded." — "  O  the  excellent  man  !  "  cried  Cyrus,  "  never 
forget  the  last  advice  he  gave  you." 

When  the  conversation  was  ended,  Cyrus,  before  they 
parted,  embraced  them  all,  as  in  token  of  a  perfect  recon- 
ciliation. This  done,  they  got  into  their  chariots,  Avith 
their  wives,  and  went  home  full  of  gratitude  and  admiration. 
Nothing  but  Cyrus  was  mentioned  the  whole  way ;  some 
extolling  liis  wisdom,  others  his  valor ;  some  admiring  the 
sweetness  of  his  temper,  others  praising  the  beauty  of  his 
person,  and  the  majesty  of  his  mien.  "And  you,"  says 
Tigranes,  addressing  himself  to  his  lady,  "  what  do  you 
think  of  Cyrus's  aspect  and  deportment ?  "  —  "I  do  not 
know,"  replied  the  lady,  "  I  did  not  observe  him." — "  Upon 
what  object,  then,  did  you  fix  your  eyes  ?  " — "  Upon  him 
that  said  he  would  give  a  thousand  lives  to  ransom  my 
liberty." 

The  next  day,  the  king  of  Armenia  sent  presents  to 
Cyrus,  and  refreshments  for  his  whole  army,  and  brought 
him  double  the  sum  of  money  he  was  required  to  furnish. 
But  Cyrus  took  only  what  had  been  stipulated,  and  restored 
him  the  rest.  The  Armenian  troo])s  were  ordered  to  be 
ready  in  three  days  time,  and  Tigranes  desired  to  commaiui 
them. 

I  liave  thought  proper,  for  several  reasons,  to  give  so 
circumstantial  an  account  of  this  affair  ;  though  T  have  so  far 
abridged  it,  that  it  is  not  above  a  quarter  of  what  we  find 
in  Xenophon. 

In  the  first  place,  it  may  serve  to  give  the  reader  an  idea 
of  the  style  of  that  excellent  historian,  and  excite  his  curios- 
ity to  consult  the  original,  whose  natural  and  unaffected, 
beauties  are  suiRcient  to  justify  the  singular  esteem,  which 
persons  of  good  taste  have  ever  had  for  the  noble  simplicity 
of  that  author.  To  mention  but  one  instance :  what  an 
idea  of  chastity  and  modesty,  and  at  the  same  time,  what  a 
wonderful  simplicity  and  delicacy  of  thought,  are  there,  in 


516  ANCIEXT    IIISTOKY. 

the  answer  of  Tigranes's  wife,  Avho  has  no  eyes  hut  for  her 
hushnnd  ! 

In  the  second  place,  those  short,  close,  and  pressing 
interrogations,  each  of  which  demanded  a  direct,  ])recise 
answer  from  the  king  of  Armenia,  discovered  tlie  disciple 
and  scholar  of  Socrates,  and  show  in  what  manner  he  re- 
tained the  taste  of  his  master. 

Besides,  this  relation  will  give  us  some  idea  of  the  judg- 
ment that  ought  to  be  formed  of  Xenoj^hon's  Cyro])edia ; 
the  substance  of  which  is  true,  thoiigli  it  is  embellished  with 
several  circumstances,  added  by  the  author,  and  introduced 
expressly  to  grace  his  instructive  lessons,  and  the  excellent 
rules  he  lays  down  upon  government.  This  much,  there- 
fore, in  the  event  we  are  treating  of,  is  real.  The  king  of 
Armenia  having  refused  to  pay  the  Medes  the  tribute  he 
owed  them,  Cyrus  attacked  him  suddenly,  and  before  he  sus- 
pected any  designs  were  formed  against  him,  made  himself 
master  of  the  only  fortress  he  had,  and  took  his  family 
prisoners ;  obliged  him  to  pay  the  usual  tril)ute,  and  to 
furnish  his  quota  of  troops  ;  and,  after  all,  so  won  upon  him 
by  his  humanity  and  courteous  behavior,  that  he  rendered 
him  one  of  the  most  faithful  and  affectionate  allies  the 
Medes  ever  had.  The  rest  is  inserted  only  by  way  of 
embellishment,  and  is  rather  to  be  ascribed  to  the  historian 
than  to  the  history. 

I  should  never  myself  have  found  out  Avhat  the  '^tory  of 
the  governor's  being  ])ut  to  death  by  the  father  of  Tigranes 
signified,  though  I  was  very  sensible  it  was  a  kind  of  enig- 
ma, and  figurative  of  something  else.  *A  ])ers<in  of  quality, 
one  of  the  greatest  wits  and  finest  speakers  of  the  last  age, 
who  was  ))erfectly  well  acquainted  with  tlie  Greek  authors, 
ex])lained  it  to  me  many  3'ears  jigo,  which  I  have  not  for- 
gotten, and  which  I  take  to  be  the  true  meaning  of  that 
enigma.  He  su]i]H)sed  Xenophon  intended  it  as  a  picture 
of  the  death  of  his  master  Socrates,  of  whom  the  state  of 
Atliens  became  jealous  on  account  of  the  extraordinary 
attachment  all  the  youth  of  the  city  had  to  him;  winch  at 
last  gave  occasion  to  that  philoso])her''s  condemnation  and 
death,  which  he  suffered  without  murmur  or  comjdaint. 

In  the  last  ])lace,  I  thought  it  ])roper  not  to  miss  this 
opportunity  of  manifesting  such  qualities  in  my  hero,  as  are 
not  always  to  be  met  with  in  persons  of  his  rank  ;  such  as, 
by  rendering  them  infinitely  more   valuable  than  all  their 

*  M.  le  Comte  de  Trcsvilles. 


HISTORY    OF    CYRUS.  517 

military  A'lrtues,  would  most  contribute  to  the  success  of 
their  designs.  In  most  conquerors  we  find  cournge,  resolu- 
tion, intre})idity,  a  capacity  for  martial  exi)l()its,  and  all 
such  talents  as  make  a  noise  in  the  woi'ld,  and  are  a]it  to 
dazzle  ]KM;|)le  by  their  glaring  outside  ;  but  an  inward  stock 
of  goodness,  compassion,  and  gentleness  towards  the  un- 
ha])i)y,  an  air  of  moderation  and  reserve,  even  in  pros])erity 
and  victory,  an  insinuating  and  ])ersuasive  behavior,  the  art 
of  gaming  ])eo|)le's  hearts,  and  attaching  them  to  him  more 
by  affection  than  interest ;  a  constant  and  unalterable  care 
always  to  have  right  on  his  side,  and  to  imprint  such  a  char- 
acter of  justice  and  equity  upon  all  liis  conduct,  as  his  very 
enemies  are  forced  to  revere  ;  and,  lastly,  such  a  clemency, 
as  to  distinguish  those  that  offend  througli  imprudence 
rather  than  malice,  and  to  leave  room  for  their  rej^entance, 
by  giving  thein  opportunity  to  return  to  their  duty  ;  these 
these  are  qualities  rarely  found  in  the  most  celebrated  con- 
querors of  antiquity,  but  shone  out  most  conspicuously  in 
Cyrus. 

To  return  to  my  subject.  Cyrus,  before  he  quitted  the 
king  of  Armenia,  was  willing  to  do  him  some  signal  service. 
This  king  was  then  at  war  with  the  Chaldeans,  a  neighbor- 
ing warlike  people,  who  continually  harassed  his  country 
by  their  inroads,  and  by  that  means  hindered  a  great  part 
of  his  lands  from  being  cultivated.  Cyrus,  after  havhig  ex- 
actly informed  himself  of  their  character,  strength,  and  the 
situation  of  their  strongholds,  marched  against  them.  On 
the  first  intelligence  of  his  approach,  the  Chaldeans  possesse^l 
themselves  of  the  eminences  to  which  they  were  accustomed 
to  retreat.  Cyrus  left  them  no  time  to  assemble  all  their 
forces  there,  but  marched  to  attack  them  directly.  The  Ar- 
menians, whom  he  had  made  his  advanced  guard,  were  im- 
mediately put  to  flight.  Cyrus  expected  no  other  fi'om  them, 
and  had  unly  placed  them  there,  to  bring  the  enemy  the 
sooner  to  an  engagement.  And,  indeed,  when  the  Chal- 
deans came  to  blows  with  the  Persians,  they  were  not  able 
to  stand  their  ground,  but  were  entirely  defeated.  A  great 
number  were  taken  })risoners,  and  the  rest  were  scattered 
and  dispersed.  Cyrus  himself  spoke  to  the  prisoners,  assur- 
ing them  he  was  not  come  to  injure  them,  cr  ravage  their 
country,  but  to  grant  them  peace  upon  reasonable  terms, 
and  to  set  them  at  liberty.  Dejnities  were  immediately 
sent  to  him,  and  a  peace  was  concluded.  For  the  better 
eecurity  of  both  nations,  and  with  their  common  consent, 


518  ANCIBNT    HISTORY. 

Cyrus  caused  a  fortress  to  be  built  upon  an  eminence,  which 
commanded  the  whole  country ;  and  left  a  good  garrison  in 
it,  which  was  to  declare  against  either  of  the  two  nations 
that  should  violate  the  treaty.* 

Cyrus,  understanding  that  there  was  frequent  intercourse 
and  communication  between  the  Indians  and  Chaldeans, 
desired  that  the  latter  would  send  persons  to  accompany 
and  conduct  his  ambassador,  whom  he  was  preparing  to 
send  to  the  king  of  India.  The  purport  of  this  embassy 
was,  to  desire  some  succoi's  in  money  from  that  prince,  in 
behalf  of  Cyrus,  who  wanted  it  for  the  levying  of  troops  in 
Persia,  and  j'vomised  that,  if  the  gods  crowned  his  designs 
with  success,  that  ])otentate  should  have  no  reason  to  repent 
of  having  assisted  him.  He  was  glad  to  find  the  Chaldeans 
ready  to  second  his  requests  which  they  could  do  the  more 
advantageously,  by  enlarging  upon  the  character  and  ex- 
ploits of  Cyrus.  The  ambassador  set  out  the  next  day, 
accompanied  with  some  of  the  most  considerable  persons  of 
Chaldea,  who  were  directed  by  their  master  to  act  Avith  the 
greatest  dexterity,  and  to  do  all  possible  justice  to  the  merit 
of  Cyrus. 

The  expedition  against  the  Armenians  being  happily 
ended,  Cyrus  left  that  country,  to  rejoin  Cyaxares.  Four 
thousand  Chaldeans,  the  bravest  of  the  nation,  attended 
him  ;  and  the  king  of  Armenia,  who  was  now  delivered 
from  his  enemies,  augmented  the  number  of  troops  he  had 
promised  him  :  so  that  he  arrived  in  Media  with  a  great 
deal  of  money,  and  a  much  more  numerous  army  than  he  had 
when  he  left  it. 

SECTIOliT     IV. THE    EXPEDITION     OF     CYAXARES    AXD     CYRUS 

AGAINST    THE    BABYLONIANS.       THE    FIRST    BATTLE. 

Both  parties  had  been  employed  during  three  years  in 
forming  their  alliances,  and  making  preparations  for  Avar,  t 
Cyrus,  finding  their  troops  full  of  ardor,  and  ready  for 
action,  proposed  to  Cyaxares  to  lead  them  against  Assyria. 
His  reasons  for  it  were,  that  he  thought  it  his  duty  to  re- 
lieve him,  as  soon  as  possible,  from  the  care  and  exjiense  of 
maintaining  two  armies ;  that  it  was  better  they  should  eat 
up  the  enemy's  country,  than  Media  ;  that  so  bold  a  step  as 
that  of  going  to  meet  the  Assyrians,  might  be  capable  of 
spreading  a  terror  among  the  enemy,  and  at  the  same  time 
inspire  their  own  army  with  the  greater  confidence  ;  that, 

'.  *  Cyrop.  1.  iii.  pp.  70-76.    t  A.  M.  3448.    Ant.  J.  C.  556.    Cyrop.  1.  iii.  pp.  78-87. 


HISTORY    OF    CYRUS.  519 

lastly,  it  was  a  maxim  with  him,  as  it  had  always  been  with 
Cambyses  his  father,  that  victory  did  not  so  much  depend 
npon  the  number,  as  the  valor  of  troops.  Cyaxares  agreed 
to  his  jiroposal. 

As  soon,  therefore,  as  the  customary  sacrifices  were 
offered,  they  began  their  march.  Cyrus,  in  the  name  of  the 
whole  army,  invoked  the  tutelary  gods  of  the  era]iire,  be- 
seeching them  to  be  favorable  to  them  in  the  expedition  they 
had  undertaken,  to  accompany  them,  conduct  them,  fight  for 
them,  inspire  them  with  such  a  measure  of  courage  and  pru- 
dence as  was  necessary,  and,  in  short,  to  bless  their  arms  with 
prosperity  and  success.  In  acting  thus,  Cyrus,  pui  in  ])rac- 
tice  that  excellent  advice  his  father  had  giveri  him,  of  be- 
ginning and  ending  all  his  actions,  and  all  his  enterprises, 
with  prayer ;  and  indeed  he  never  failed,  either  before  or 
after  an  engagement,  to  acquit  himself,  in  the  presence  of 
the  whole  army,  of  this  religious  duty.  When  they  were 
arrived  on  the  frontiers  of  Assyria,  it  was  still  their  first 
care  to  pay  their  homage  to  the  gods  of  the  country,  and  to 
implore  their  protection  and  succor ;  after  which  they  be- 
gan to  make  incursions  into  the  country,  and  carried  off  a 
great  deal  of  spoil. 

Cyrus,  understanding  that  the  enemy's  army  was  about 
ten  days'  journey  from  them,  prevailed  upon  Cyaxares  to 
advance  and  march  up  to  them.  When  the  armies  came 
within  sight,  both  sides  prepared  for  battle.  The  Assyrians 
■were  encamped  in  the  open  country,  and  according  to  their 
custom,  which  the  Romans  imitated  afterwards,  had  encom- 
passed and  fortified  their  camp  with  a  large  ditch.  Cyrus, 
on  the  contrary,  who  wished  to  deprive  the  enemy,  as  much 
as  possible,  of  the  sight  and  knowledge  of  the  smallness  of 
his  army,  covered  his  troops  with  several  little  hills  and 
villages.  For  several  days  nothing  Avas  done  on  either  side, 
but  looking  at  and  observing  one  another.  At  length  a 
numerous  body  of  the  Assyrians  moving  first  out  of  their 
camp,  Cyrus  advanced  with  his  troops  to  meet  th(im.  But 
before  they  came  within  reach  of  the  enemy,  he  gave  the 
word  for  rallying  the  men,  which  was,  Jupiter^  protector 
and  conductor.  *  He  then  caused  the  ordinary  hymn  to  be 
sounded,  in  honor  of  Castor  and  Pollux,  to  which  the  sol- 
diers, full  of  religious  ardor  (^hzoas^wz) .  answered  with  a 
loud  voice.     There  was  nothing  in  Cyrus's  army  but  cheer- 

*  I  do  not  know  whether  Xenophoii,  in  this  place,  does  not  call  the  Persian  goda 
by  the  names  of  the  gods  of  his  own  country. 


520  ANCIENT    HISTORY. 

fulness,  fcmulation,  mutual  exhortations  to  hravery,  and  a 
universal  zeal  to  execute  whatevei'  their  leader  should  com- 
mand. "  For  it  is  observable,"  says  the  historian,  "  in  this 
place,  that  on  these  occasions,  those  who  fear  the  Deity 
most  are  the  least  afraid  of  men."  On  the  side  of  the  As- 
syrians, the  troops,  armed  with  bows,  slings  and  darts, 
made  their  discharges,  before  their  enemies  were  within 
reach.  But  the  Persians,  animated  by  the  presence  and  ex- 
ample of  Cyrus,  came  immediately  to  close  figlrt  with  the 
enemy,  and  broke  through  their  first  battalions.  The  As- 
syrians, notwithstanding  all  the  efforts  used  by  Croesus,  and 
their  own  king,  to  encourage  them,  were  not  able  to  sustain 
so  impetuous  a  shock,  but  immediately  fled.  At  the  same 
time  the  cavalry  of  the  Medes  advanced  to  attack  the  ene- 
my's horse,  which  was  likewise  presently  routed.  The  for- 
mer warmly  pursued  them  to  the  very  camj),  made  a  terri- 
ble slaughter,  and  Neriglissor,  the  king  of  the  Babylonians, 
was  killed  in  the  action.  Cyrus,  not  thinking  himself  in  a 
condition  to  force  their  intrenchments,  sounded  a  retreat. 

The  Assyrians,  in  the  mean  time,  having  lost  their  king, 
and  the  flower  of  their  army,  were  in  a  dreadful  consterna- 
tion.* As  soon  as  Croesus  found  them  in  so  great  disorder, 
he  fled,  and  left  them  to  shift  for  themselves.  The  other 
allies  likewise,  seeing  their  affairs  in  so  hopeless  a  condition, 
thought  of  nothing  but  taking  advantage  of  the  night  to 
make  their  escape. f 

Cyrus,  who  had  foreseen  this,  prepared  to  pursue  them 
closely.  But  this  could  not  be  effected  w' thout  cavalry  ; 
and,  as  Ave  have  already  observed,  the  Persians  had  none. 
He  therefore  went  to  Cyaxares,  and  acquainted  him  with' 
his  design.  Cyaxares  was  extremely  averse  to  it,  and  rep- 
resented to  him  how  dangerous  it  was  to  drive  so  powerful 
an  enemy  to  extremities,  whom  despair  would  probably  in- 
spire with  courage ;  that  it  was  a  part  of  wisdom  to  use 
good  fortune  with  moderation,  and  not  to  lose  the  fruits  of 
victory  by  too  much  eagerness ;  moreover,  that  he  did  not 
wish  to  compel  the  Medes,  or  to  refuse  them  that  repose  to 
Avhich  their  behavior  had  justly  entijtled  them.  Cyrus,  upon 
this,  desired  his  permission  only  to  take  as  many  of  the 
horse  as  were  willing  to  follow  him.  Cj^axares  readily  con- 
sented to  this,  and  thought  of  nothing  else,  now,  but  of 
passing  his  time  with  his  ofticers  in  feasting  and  mirth,  and 
enjoying  the  fruits  of  the  victory  he  had  just  obtained. 

*  Cyrop.  1.  vi.  pp.  87,  104.  t  Cyrop.  1.  vl.  p.  160. 


HISTORY   OF    CYRUS.  521 

Cyrus  marched  away  in  pursuit  of  the  enemy,  nnd  was 
followed  by  the  greatest  part  of  the  Median  soliliers.  Upon 
the  way  he  met  some  couriers  that  were  coming  to  him  from 
the  Hyrcanians,*  who  served  in  the  enemy's  army,  to  assure 
him,  that  as  soon  as  he  appeared,  those  Hyrcanians  would 
come  over  to  him  ;  which  in  effect  they  did.  Cyrus  made 
the  best  iise  of  his  time ;  and,  having  marched  all  night, 
came  up  with  the  AssjTians.  Crcesus  had  sent  away  his 
wives  in  the  night-time,  for  coolness,  for  it  was  the  summer 
season,  and  followed  them  himself  with  a  body  of  cavalry. 
When  the  Assyrians  saw  the  enemy  so  near  them,  they  were 
in  the  utmost  confusion  and  consternation.  Many  of  those 
that  run  away,  being  warmly  pursued,  Avere  killed  ;  all  that 
stayed  in  the  camp  surrendered  ;  the  victory  was  complete, 
and  the  spoil  immense.  Cyrus  reserved  :  11  the  horses  they 
took  in  the  camji  for  himself,  resolving  now  to  form  a  body 
of  cavalry  for  the  Persian  army,  which  hitherto  had  none. 
The  richest  and  most  valuable  part  of  the  booty  he  set  apart 
for  Cyaxares  ;  and  for  the  prisoners,  he  gave  them  all  their 
liberty  to  go  home  to  their  own  country,  without  im))osing 
any  other  condition  upon  them,  than  that  they  and  their 
countrymen  should  deliver  up  their  arms,  and  engage  no  more 
in  war  ;  Cyrus  taking  it  upon  himself  to  defend  them  against 
their  enemies,  and  to  put  them  in  a  condition  for  cultiva- 
ting their  lands  with  entire  security. 

While  the  Medes  and  the  Hyrcanians  were  still  pursuing 
the  remainder  of  the  enemy,  Cyrus  took  care  to  have  a  re- 
past, and  even  baths  prepared  for  them,  that,  at  their  return, 
they  might  have  nothing  to  do  but  to  sit  down  and  refresh 
themselves.  He  likewise  thought  fit  to  defer  the  distribu- 
tion of  the  spoil  till  then.  It  was  on  this  occasion  this  gen- 
eral, whose  thoughts  nothing  escaped,  exhorted  his  Persian 
soldiers  to  distinguish  themselves  by  their  generosity,  in 
regard  to  their  allies,  from  whom  they  had  already  received 
great  services,  and  of  whom  they  might  expect  still  greater. 
He  desired  they  would  wait  their  return,  both  for  the  re- 
freshments, and  the  division  of  the  spoil ;  and  that  they 
would  show  a  preference  of  their  interests  and  conveniences 
before  their  own  ;  giving  them  to  understand,  that  this 
would  be  a  sure  means  of  attaching  the  allies  to  them  for 
ever,  and  of  securing  a  new  harvest  of  victories  to  them 
over  the  enemy,  which  would  ]>rocure  them  all  the  advan- 

*  These  are  not  the  Hycaiiians  by  the  Caspian  Sea.  From  observing  the 
encampments  of  Cyrus  in  Babylonia,  one  would  be  apt  to  conjecture,  that  tlie 
Uyrcaaiaus  here  meant  were  about  four  or  live  days'  journey  south  of  Babylou. 


522  ANCIEXT    HISTORY. 

tages  they  could  wish,  and  make  them  an  ample  compensa- 
tion for  the  voluntary  losses  they  might  sustain,  for  the  sake 
of  winning  the  affection  of  the  allies.  They  all  acceded  to 
his  ojnnion.  When  the  Medes  and  Hyrcani;ms  were  re- 
turned from  pursuing  the  enemy,  Cjrus  made  them  sit  down 
to  the  repast  he  had  prepared  for  them,  desiring  them  to 
send  nothing  but  bread  to  the  Persians,  who  were  sufficiently 
provided,  he  said,  with  all  they  wanted,  either  for  their  ra- 
gouts, or  their  drinking.  Hunger  was  their  only  ragout,  and 
water  from  the  river  their  only  drink ;  for  that  was  the  way 
of  living  to  which  they  had  been  accustomed  from  their 
infancy. 

The  next  morning  came  on  the  division  of  the  spoils. 
Cyrus,  in  the  first  place,  ordered  the  magi  to  be  called,  and 
commanded  them  to  choose  out  of  all  the  booty  which  was 
most  proper  to  be  offered  to  the  gods  on  such  an  occasion. 
Then  he  gave  the  Medes  and  Ilyrcanians  the  honor  of  di- 
viding all  that  remained  among  the  whole  army.  They 
earnestly  desired  that  the  Persians  might  preside  in  the  dis- 
tribution, but  the  Persians  absolutely  refused  ;  so  that  they 
were  obliged  to  accejit  of  the  office,  as  Cyrus  had  ordered ; 
and  the  distribution  was  made  to  the  general  satisfaction  of 
all  parties. 

The  very  night  that  Cyrus  marched  to  pursue  the  enemy, 
Cyaxares  had  passed  in  feasting  and  jollity,  and  had  made 
himself  drunk  with  his  principal  officers.  The  next  morn- 
ing, when  he  awaked,  he  was  strangely  surprised  to  find 
himself  almost  alone,  and  without  troops.  Immediately, 
full  of  resentment  and  rage,  he  despatched  an  express  to  the 
army,  with  orders  to  reproach  Cyrus  severely,  and  to  bring 
back  the  Medes  without  any  delay.  This  unreasonable  pro- 
ceeding did  not  dismay  Cyrus,  who,  in  return,  wrote  him  a 
respectful  letter,  in  which,  however,  he  expressed  himself 
with  a  generous  and  noble  freedom,  justified  his  own  con- 
duct, and  put  him  in  mind  of  the  permission  he  had  given 
him  of  taking  as  many  Medes  with  him  as  were  Avilling  to 
follow  him.  At  the  same  time  Cyrus  sent  into  Persia,  for  a 
reinforcement  of  his  troops,  designing  to  push  his  conquests 
still  farther.* 

Among  the  ])risoners  of  war  they  had   taken,  there  was 
a  young  princess,  of  most  exquisite  beauty,  whom   they  re- 
served   for   Cyrus.     Her  name  was   Panthea,  the    Avife  of 
Abradates,  king  of  Susiana.     Upon   the   report  made   to 
•  Cyrop.  1.  iv.  pp.  104-108. 


HISTORY    OF    CYRtrS.  523 

Cyrus  of  lior  extraordinary  beauty,  he  refused  to  see  her ;  for 
fear,  as  he  said,  such  an  object  mii^ht  engage  liis  affection 
more  than  he  desired,  and  divert  him  from  the  prosecution 
of  the  great  designs  he  had  in  view.*  This  singuhir  mod- 
eration in  Cyrus  was  undoubtedly  an  effect  of  the  excellent 
education  he  had  received :  for  it  was  a  ])rinciple  among  the 
Persians,  never  to  speak  before  young  people  of  any  thing 
that  tended  or  related  to  love,  lest  their  natural  inclination 
to  pleasure,  which  is  so  strong  and  violent  at  that  age  of 
levity  and  indiscretion,  should  be  awakened  and  excited  by 
such  discourses,  and  should  hurry  them  into  follies  and  de- 
baucheries. Araspes,  a  young  nobleman  of  Media,  who  had 
the  lady  in  liis  custody,  liad  not  the  same  distrust  of  his 
own  weakness,  but  pretended  that  a  man  may  be  always 
master  of  himself.  Cyrus  committed  the  princess  to  his 
care,  and  at  the  same  time  gave  him  a  very  prudent  admoni- 
tion :  "  I  have  seen  a  great  many  persons,"  says  he,  "  who 
liave  thought  themselves  very  strong,  wretchedly  overcome 
by  that  violent  passion,  in  s])ite  of  all  their  resolution,  who 
have  afterwards  owned,  Avith  shame  and  grief,  that  their 
passion  was  a  bondage  and  slavery,  from  whicli  they  had 
not  the  power  to  redeem  themselves  ;  an  incurable  distem- 
per, out  of  the  reach  of  all  remedies  and  human  efforts  ;  a 
kind  of  bond  of  necessity,  more  difficult  to  force  than  the 
strongest  chains  of  iron."t  "  Fear  nothing,"  replied  Aras- 
pes, "  I  am  sure  of  myself,  and  I  will  answer  Avith  my  life,  I 
shall  do  nothing  contrary  to  my  duty."  Nevertheless,  his 
passion  for  this  young  princess  increased,  and  by  degrees 
grew  to  such  a  height,  that  finding  her  invincibly  averse  to 
his  desires,  he  was  upon  the  point  of  using  violence  with 
her.  The  princess  at  length  made  Cyrus  acquainted  with 
his  conduct,  who  immediately  sent  Artabazus  to  Araspes, 
with  orders  to  admonish  and  reprove  him  in  his  name. 
This  officer  executed  his  orders  in  the  harshest  manner,  up- 
braiding him  with  his  fault  in  the  most  bitter  terms,  and 
with  such  a  rigorous  severity,  as  was  enough  to  throw  him 
into  despair.  Aras2)es,  struck  to  the  soul  with  grief  and 
anguish,  burst  into  a  flood  of  tears  ;  and  being  overwhelmed 
Avith  shame  and  fear,  thinking  himself  undone,  had  not  a  Avord 
to  say  for  himself.  Some  days  afterwards,  Cyrus  sent  for  him. 
He  went  to  the  prince,  fearful  and  trembling.  Cyrus  took  him 
aside,  and  instead  of  reproaching  him  with  severity  as  he 

*  Cyrop,  1.  V.  pp.  114,  117,  etl.  vi.  pp.  153,  155. 


524  ANCIEXT    HISTORY. 

expected,  spoke  gently  to  him  ;  acknowledging,  that  lie  him 
self  was  to  blame  for  having  imprudently  exposed  him  to  so 
formidable  an  enemy.  By  such  unexpected  kindness,  the 
young  nobleman  recovered  both  life  and  s])eech.  But  his 
confusion,  joy,  and  gratitude,  expressed  themselves  first  in 
a  torrent  of  tears.  "Alas  !  "-says  he,  "now  I  am  come  to 
the  knowledge  of  myself,  and  find  most  plainly,  that  I  have 
two  souls;  one  that  inclines  me  to  good,  another  that  ex- 
cites me  to  evil.  The  foi-mer  prevails,  when  you  speak  to 
me,  and  come  to  my  relief :  when  I  am  alone,  and  left  to 
myself,  I  give  way  to,  and  am  overpowei*ed  by  the  latter." 
Araspes  made  advantageous  amends  for  liis  fault,  and  ren- 
dered Cyrus  considerable  service,  by  retiring  among  the  As- 
syrians, under  the  pretence  of  discontent,  and  by  giving  in- 
telligence of  their  measures  and  designs.* 

The  loss  of  so  brave  an  officer,  who,  through  discontent, 
was  supposed  to  have  gone  over  to  the  enemy,  greatly  affect- 
ed the  whole  army.  Panthea,  who  had  occasioned  it,  prom- 
ised Cyrus  to  supply  his  ])lace  with  an  officer  of  equal  merit, 
meaning  her  husband  Abradates.  Accordingly,  upon  her 
writing  to  liim  he  repaired  to  the  camp  of  the  Persians,  and 
was  directly  carried  to  Panthea's  tent,  who  told  him,  with  a 
flood  of  tears,  how  kindly  and  handsomely  she  had  been 
treated  by  the  generous  conqueror.  "  And  how,"  cried  out 
Abradates,  "  shall  I  be  able  to  acknowledge  so  important  a 
service?"  "  By  behaving  towards  him,"  replied  Panthea, 
"  as  he  hath  done  towards  me."  Whereupon  he  waited  im- 
mediately upon  Cyrus,  and  paying  his  respects  to  so  great  a 
benefactor:  "You  see  before  you,"  said  he,  "the  tenderest 
friend,  the  most  devoted  servant,  and  the  most  faithful  ally, 
you  ever  had  ;  who,  not  being  able  otherwise  to  acknowl- 
edge your  favors,  comes  and  devotes  himself  entirely  to 
your  service."  Cyrus  received  him  with  such  a  noble  and 
generous  air,  accompanied  with  so  much  tenderness  and 
luimanity,  as  fully  convinced  him  that  whatever  Panthea 
had  said  of  the  wonderful  character  of  that  great  prince,  was 
greatly  short  of  the  truth. f 

Two  Assyrian  noblemen,  likewise,  who  designed,  as 
Cyrus  was  informed,  to  put  themselves  under  his  protection, 
rendered  him  extraordinary  service.  The  one  was  called 
Gobryas,  an  old  man,  venerable  both  on  account  of  his  age 
and  his  A^irtne.  The  late  king  of  Assyria,  who  was  well 
acquainted  with  his  merit,  and  had  a  very  particular  regard 

*  Cyrop.  1.  i.  p.  34.  -  t  Cyrop.  1.  vi.  pp.  155  15G. 


HISTORY    OF    CYRUS.  525 

for  him,  had  resolved  to  give  his  daughter  in  marringe  to 
his  son,  and  for  that  reason  liad  sent  for  him  to  court.  This 
yovmg  nobleman,  at  a  match  of  hunting,  to  Avliicli  he  liad 
been  invited,  happened  to  i)ierce  a  wild  beast  with  his  dart, 
M^hich  the  king's  son  had  missed.  The  latter,  who  Avas  of  a 
passionate  and  savage  teni])er,  immediately  struck  the  gen- 
tleman with  his  lance,  through  rage  and  vexation,  and  laid 
him  dead  upon  the  s])ot.  Gobryas  besought  Cyrus  to  avenge 
so  unfortunate  a  father,  and  to  take  his  family  under  his 
protection ;  and  the  rather  because  he  had  no  children  left 
now  but  an  only  daughter,  who  had  long  been  designed  for 
a  wife  to  the  young  king,  but  could  not  bear  the  thought  of 
marrying  the  murderer  of  her  brother.*  This  young  king 
was  called  Laborosoarchod  ;  he  reigned  only  nine  months, 
and  was  succeeded  by  Nabonid,  called  also  Labynit  and  Bal- 
thasar,  who  reigned  seventeen  years. f 

The  otlier  Assyrian  nobleman  was  called  Gadates.  lie 
was  prince  of  a  numerous  and  powerful  people.  The  king 
then  reigning  had  treated  him  in  a  very  cruel  manner,  after 
he  came  to  the  throne,  because  one  of  his  concubines  had 
mentioned  him  as  a  handsome  man,  and  spoken  advantage- 
ously of  the  happiness  of  that  woman  whom  lie  should 
choose  for  a  wife,  t 

The  ex])ectation  of  this  double  succor  was  a  strong  in- 
ducement to  Cyrus,  and  made  him  determined  to  penetrate 
into  the  heart  of  the  enemy's  country.  As  Babylon,  the 
capital  city  of  the  em])ire  he  designed  to  conquer,  was  the 
chief  object  of  his  ex])edition,  he  turned  his  views  and  his 
march  that  way,  not  intending  to  attack  that  city  immedi- 
ately in  form,  but  only  to  take  a  view  of  it,  and  make  him- 
self acquainted  with  it ;  to  draw  off  as  many  allies  as  be 
could  from  that  prince's  party,  and  to  make  previous  dis- 
positions and  preparations  for  the  siege  he  meditated.  He 
set  out,  therefore,  with  his  troops,  and  first  marched  to  the 
territories  of  Gobryas.  The  fortress  he  lived  in  seemed  to 
be  an  impregnable  place,  so  advantageously  was  it  situated, 
and  so  strongly  fortified  on  all  sides.  This  ]>rince  came  out 
to  meet  him,  and  ordered  refreshments  to  be  brought  for 
his  whole  army.  He  then  conducted  Cyrus  to  his  palace, 
and  there  laid  an  infinite  number  of  silver  and  gold  cu])S, 
and  other  vessels,  at  his  feet,  together  with  a  multitude  of 
purses,  full  of  the  golden  coin  of  the  country  ;  then  sending 
for  his  daughter,  who  was  of  a  majestic  shape  and  exquisite 

•  Cyrop.  1.  iv.  i>.  Ill,  113.    t  A.  M.  3449.  Aut.  J.  C.  555.    t  Oyrop.  1.  v.  pp.  123,  124. 


AlirClENT   HISTORY. 

beauty,  which  the  mourning  habit  she  M'orefor  hcrhrother^S 
death  seemed  greatly  to  enhance,  he  presented  her  to  Cyrus, 
desiring  him  to  take  her  under  his  protection,  and  to  accept 
those  marks  of  his  acknowledgment,  which  he  took  the  lib- 
erty to  offer  him.  "  1  willing  accept  your  gold  and  silver," 
says  Cyrus,  "  and  I  make  a  present  of  it  to  your  daughter, 
to  augment  her  portion.  Doubt  not,  but  among  the  nobles 
of  my  court,  you  will  find  a  match  suitable  for  her.  It  will 
neitlier  be  their  own  riches  nor  yours,  which  they  will  set 
their  esteem  upon,  I  can  assure  you,  there  are  many  among 
them  who  would  make  no  account  of  all  the  treasures  of 
Bfibylon,  if  they  were  unattended  with  merit  and  virtue. 
It  is  their  only  glory,  I  dare  affirm  it  of  them,  as  it  is  mine, 
to  approve  themselves  faithful  to  their  friends,  formidable 
to  their  enemies,  and  respectful  to  the  gods."  Gobryas 
pressed  him  to  take  a  repast  with  him  in  his  house,  but  he 
steadfastly  refused,  and.  returned  into  his  camp  with  Gobi-y- 
as,  who  stayed  and  eat  with  him  and  his  officers.  The  ground, 
and  the  green  turf  that  was  upon  it,  was  the  only  bed  or 
couch  they  had  ;  and  it  is  to  be  su])posed  the  whole  entertain- 
ment corresponded.  Gobryas,  Avho  was  a  person  of  good 
sense,  was  convinced  how  much  that  noble  sim])licity  was 
superior  to  his  vain  magnificence  ;  and  declared,  that  the  As- 
syrians had  the  art  of  distinguishing  themselves  by  pride,  and 
the  Persians  by  merit :  and  above  all  things  he  admii-ed  the 
ingenious  vein  of  humor,  and  the  innocent  cheerfulness, 
that  reigned  throughout  the  whole  entertainment.* 

Cyrus,  ahvays  intent  ui)on  his  great  design,  proceeded 
with  Gobryas  towards  the  country  of  Gadates,  which  Avas 
beyond  Babylon.  In  the  neighborhood  of  this,  there  was  a 
strong  citadel,  which  commanded  the  country  of  Saca?t  Jiud 
the  Cadusians,  where  a  governor  for  the  king  of  Babylon 
resided,  to  keep  those  peo])le  in  awe.  Cjtus  made  a  feint 
of  attacking  the  citadel.  Gadates,  whose  intelligence  with 
the  Persians  was  as  yet  kept  secret,  by  Cyrus's  advice,  of- 
fered himself  to  the  Governor  of  it,  to  join  with  him  in  the  de- 
fence of  that  important  place.  He  was  accordingly  admit- 
ted with  all  his  troops,  and  immediately  delivered  it  up  to 
Cyrus.  The  possession  of  the  citadel  made  him  master  of 
the  Sacae  and  the  Cadusians ;  and  as  he  treated  those  people 
with  great  kindness  and  lenity,  they  remained  inviolably 
attached  to  his  service.  The  Cadusians  raised  an  array  of 
twenty  thousand  foot,  and  four  thousand  horse ;  and  the 

•  Cyrop.  1.  V.  pp.  113, 123.  *  Not  the  Sacae  of  Scylliia. 


HISTORY    OF    CYRUS.  527 

Sacre  furnished  ten  thousand  foot,  and  two  thousand  horse 
archers. 

The  king  of  Assyria  took  the  field,  in  order  to  punish 
Gadates  for  this  rebellion  ;  but  Cyrus  engaged  and  defeated 
hiui,  making  a  great  slaughter  of  his  troops,  and  obliging 
him  to  retreat  to  Babylon.  After  this  exploit  the  conqueror 
employed  some  time  in  ravaging  the  enemy's  country.  His 
kind  treatment  of  the  prisoners  of  war,  in  giving  to  all  of 
them  liberty  to  return  home  to  their  habitations,  had  spread 
the  fame  of  his  clemency  wherever  he  came.  Numbers  of 
people  voluntarily  surrendered  to  him,  and  very  much  aug- 
mented his  army.  Then,  advancing  near  the  city  of  Baby- 
lon, he  sent  the  king  of  Assyria  a  personal  challenge,  to  ter- 
minate their  quarrel  by  a  single  combat;  but  his  challenge 
was  not  accepted.  In  order  to  secure  the  peace  and  tran- 
quillity of  his  allies  during  his  absence,  he  made  a  kind  of 
truce,  or  treaty,  with  the  king  of  Assyria,  by  which  it  was 
agreed  on  both  sides,  that  the  husbandmen  should  not  be 
molested,  but  should  have  full  liberty  to  cultivate  their  lands, 
and  reap  the  fruits  of  their  labor.  Therefore  after  having 
viewed  the  country,  examined  the  situation  of  Babylon,  ac- 
quired a  considerable  number  of  friends  and  allies,  and 
greatly  augmented  his  cavalry,  he  marched  away  on  his  re- 
turn to  Media.* 

When  he  came  to  the  frontiers,  he  sent  a  messenger  to 
Cyaxares,  to  acquaint  him  with  his  arrival,  and  to  receive 
his  commands.  Cyaxares  did  not  think  proper  to  admit  so 
great  an  army  into  his  country,  an  army  that  was  about  to 
receive  a  farther  augmentation  of  forty  thousand  men  just 
arrived  from  Persia.  He  therefore  set  out  the  next  day  with 
what  cavalry  he  had  left,  to  join  Cyrus,  Avho  likewise  ad- 
vanced to  meet  him  with  his  cavalry,  which  were  very  tine 
and  numerous.  The  sight  of  those  troo])s  rekindled  the  jeal- 
ousy and  dissatisfaction  of  Cyaxares.  He  received  his 
nephew  in  a  very  cold  manner,  turned  away  his  face  from  him 
to  avoid  the  recei^  ing  of  his  salute,  and  even  Avept  through 
vexation.  Cyrus  commanded  all  the  company  to  retire,  and 
entered  into  a  conversation  with  his  uncle,  for  explaining  him- 
self with  the  more  freedom.  He  spoke  to  him  with  so  much 
moderation,  submission,  and  reason  ;  gaA^e  him  such  strong 
proofs  of  his  integrity,  respect,  and  inviolable  attachment  to 
his  person  and  interest,  that  in  a  moment  he  dispelled  all  his 
suspicions,  and  perfectly  recovered  his  favor  and  good  opinion. 

*  Cyrop.  1.  V.  pp.  12i-U0. 


528  AXCIENT    HISTORY. 

They  embraced  each  other,  and  tears  were  shed  on  botli  sides. 
How  great  was  the  joy  of  the  Persians  and  Medes  wlio 
waited  the  event  of  this  interview  with  anxiety  and  trem- 
bling-, is  not  to  be  expressed.  Cyj^xares  and  Cyrus  imme- 
diately remounted  their  horses,  and  then  all  the  Medes 
ranged  themselves  in  the  train  of  Cyaxares,  according  to  the 
sign  given  them  by  Cyrus.  The  Persians  follow  ed  Cyrus, 
and  the  men  of  the  other  nations  their  ])articu]ar  prince. 
When  they  arrived  at  the  camp,  they  conducted  Cyaxares 
to  the  tent  prepared  for  liim.  He  was  jiresently  visited  by  al- 
most all  the  Medes,  who  came  to  salute  him,  and  to  bring  him 
presents  ;  some  of  their  own  accord,  and  others  by  the  direc- 
tion of  Cyrus.  Cyaxares  was  extremely  touched  at  this  ])ro- 
ceeding,  and  began  to  find  that  Cyinxs  liad  not  corrupted  liis 
subjects,  and  that  the  Medes  had  the  same  affection  for  him 
as  before.* 

Such  was  the  success  of  Cyrus's  first  expedition  against 
CrcBsus  and  the  Babylonians.  In  the  council  held  the  next 
day,  in  the  presence  of  Cyaxares  and  all  the  ofiicers,  it  was 
resolved  to  continue  the  war.f 

Not  finding  in  Xenojjhon  any  date  that  precisely  fixes 
the  years  wherein  the  several  events  he  relates  ha])pened,  I 
suppose,  with  Usher,  though  Xenophon's  relation  does  not 
seem  to  favor  this  conjecture,  that  between  the  two  battles 
against  Croesus  and  the  Babylonians,  scA'eral  years  passed, 
during  which  all  necessary  preparations  were  made  on  both 
sides,  for  carrying  on  the  important  war  which  was  begun  ; 
and  within  this  interval  I  place  the  marriage  of  Cyrus. 

Cyrus,  then,  about  this  time,  had  thought  of  making  a 
tour  into  his  own  country,  about  six  or  seven  years  after  his 
departure,  at  the  head  of  the  Persian  army.  Cyaxares,  on 
this  occasion,  gave  him  a  signal  testimony  of  the  Aalue  he 
liad  for  his  merit.  Having  no  male  issue,  and  but  one  daugh- 
ter, he  offered  her  in  marriage  to  Cyrus,  with  an  assurance 
of  the  kingdom  of  Media  for  her  portion,  t     Cyrus  had  a 

*  Cyrop.  1.  V.  pp.  141-147.  t  Cyrop.  1.  vi.  pp.  148-151. 

t  Xenophoii  places  this  niaiTiage  after  the  taking  of  Dabylon.  But  as  Cyrus 
at  tliat  time  was  above  sixty  yeaiv  of  age,  and  the  princes.-^  not  much  less,  and  as 
it  is  improbable  that  either  of  them  should  wait  till  that  age,  before  they  thought 
of  martrimony,  I  thought  proper  to  give  this  fact  a  more  early  date.  Besides,  at 
any  rate,  Canibyses  would  have  been  but  seven  yi>ars  old  when  he  came  to  the 
throne,  and  but  fourte.'n  or  tifteeu  when  he  died;  which  cannot  be  re<'oncilert 
with  the  expeditions  he  made  into  Egvpt  and  Ethiopia,  nor  with  the  rest  of  his 
history.  Pe-haps  Xenophon  might  date  the  taking  of  Babylon  much  earlier  than 
we  do  ;  bnt  I  follow  the  clironology  of  Archbishop  Usher.  I  have  also  left  oi't 
what  is  related  in  the  Cyropoedia.  1.  viii.  p.  228,  that  from  the  time  C'yrus  was  at 
the  conrt  of  his  grandfather  Astyages,  the  young  princess  luid  said  slie  would 
have  no  other  husband  thau  Cyrus.  Her  father  Cyaxares  \vas  then  but  thirty 
years  old. 


HISTORY    OF    CYRUS.  529 

grateful  sense  of  this  advantageous  offer,  and  expressed  the 
Avarraest  acknowledgments  of  it ;  but  thought  himself  not  at 
liberty  to  accept  it,  till  he  had  the  consent  of  his  father  and 
mother ;  leaving  therein  a  rare  example  to  all  future  ages,  of 
the  respectful  submission  and  entire  dependence,  which  ail 
children  ought  to  show  to  their  parents  on  the  like  occasions, 
of  whatever  age  they  may  be,  or  to  whatever  degree  of  power 
and  greatness  they  may  have  arrived.  Cyrus  married  this 
princess  on  his  return  from  Persia.* 

When  the  marriage  solemnity  was  over,  Cyrus  returned 
to  his  camp,  and  improved  the  time  he  had  to  spare,  in  secur- 
ing his  new  conquests,  and  taking  all  proper  measures  with 
his  allies,  for  accomplishing  the  great  design  he  had  formed. 

Foreseeing,  says  Xenophon,  that  the  preparations  for 
war  might  take  up  a  great  deal  of  time,  he  pitched  his  camp 
in  a  convenient  and  healthy  place,  and  fortified  it  very 
strongly.  He  there  kept  his  troops  to  the  same  discipline 
and  exercise  as  if  the  enemy  had  been  always  in  sigJit.  f 

They  understood  by  deserters,  and  by  the  prisoners 
brought  every  day  into  the  cam]),  that  the  king  of  Babylon 
was  gone  into  Lydia,  and  had  carried  with  him  vast  sums  of 
gold  and  silver.  The  common  soldiers  immediately  con- 
cluded, that  it  was  fear  which  made  him  remove  his  treas- 
ures. But  Cyrus  judged  he  had  undertaken  this  journey, 
only  to  raise  up  some  new  enemy  against  him  ;  and  there- 
fore labored  with  indefatigable  application  in  preparing  for 
a  second  battle. 

Above  all  things  he  applied  himself  to  strengthen  his 
Persian  cavalry,  and  to  have  a  great  number  of  chariots  of 
war,  built  after  a  new  form,  having  found  great  inconveni- 
ences in  the  old  ones,  the  fashion  of  Avhich  came  from  Troy, 
and  had  continued  in  use  till  that  time  throughout  all  Asia. 

In  this  interval,  ambassadors  arrived  from  the  king  of 
India,  with  a  large  sum  of  money  for  Cyrus  from  the  king 
their  master,  who  had  also  ordered  them  to  assure  him,  that 
he  was  very  glad  he  had  acquainted  him  with  what  he 
wanted ;  that  he  was  willing  to  be  his  friend  and  ally ;  and, 
if  he  still  wanted  more  money,  he  had  nothing  to  do  but  to  let 
him  know  ;  and  that,  in  short,  he  had  ordered  his  ambassa- 
dors to  23ay  him  the  same  absolute  obedience  as  to  himself. 
Cyrus  received  these  obliging  offers  with  all  possible  dignity 
:ind  gratitude.  He  treated  the  ambassadors  with  the  utmost 
respect,  and  made  them  noble  presents  ;  and  taking  advan- 

*  Cyrop.  1.  viii.  pp.  228,  229.  t  Cyrop.  1.  vi.  p.  151. 

34 


530  ANCIENT    HISTOIiY. 

tage  of  their  good  disposition,  desired  them  to  de))nte  three 
of  their  own  body  to  the  enemy,  as  enAoys  from  tlic  kint;^  of 
India,  on  pretence  of  proposing  an  alliance  Avilh  the  king  of 
Assyria,  but  in  effect  to  discoverhis  designs,  and  give  Cyrus 
an  account  of  them.  The  Indians  undertook  this  employ- 
ment witli  joy,  and  acquitted  themselv^es  in  it  with  great 
ability.* 

I  do  not  recognize,  in  this  last  circumstance,  tlie  upright 
conduct  and  usual  sincerity  of  Cyrus.  Could  he  be  ignorant, 
that  it  was  an  open  violation  of  the  law  of  nations  to  send 
spies  to  an  enemy's  court,  under  the  title  of  ambassadors  ; 
which  is  a  character  that  will  not  suffer  those  invested  Avith 
it,  to  act  so  mean  a  part,  or  to  be  guilty  of  such  treachery  ? 

Cyrus  prepared  for  the  approaching  battle,  like  a  man 
who  had  nothing  but  great  objects  in  view.  He  not  only 
took  care  of  every  thing  that  had  been  resolved  in  council, 
but  took  pleasure  in  exciting  a  noble  emulation  among  his 
officers,  who  should  have  the  finest  arms,  be  the  best  mounted, 
throw  a.  dart  or  shoot  an  arrow  the  most  dexterously,  or  who 
should  undergo  toil  and  fatigue  with  the  greatest  patience. 
This  he  brought  about  by  taking  them  with  him  in  lumting, 
and  by  constantly  rewarding  those  that  distinguished  them- 
selves most.  Wherever  he  perceived  that  the  captains  took 
particular  care  of  their  men,  he  praised  them  publicly,  and 
showed  them  all  possible  favor.  AVhen  he  made  them  any 
feast,  he  never  ])roposed  any  other  diversions  than  military 
exercises,  and  always  gave  considerable  prizes  to  the  con- 
querors, by  which  means  he  excited  a  miiversal  ardor 
throughout  his  army.  In  a  word,  he  was  a  general,  Avho,  in 
repose  as  well  as  action,  nay,  even  in  his  pleasures,  his  meals, 
conversations,  and  walks,  had  his  thoughts  entirely  bent  on 
promoting  the  service.  It  is  by  such  methods  a  man  becomes 
an  able  and  complete  Avarrior.f 

In  the  mean  time,  the  Indian  ambassadors,  having  re- 
turned from  the  enemy's  cam]),  brought  word,  that  Ci'oesus 
was  chosen  generalissimo  of  their  army  ;  that  all  the  kings 
and  i^rinces  in  their  alliance  had  agreed  to  furnish  the  neces- 
sary sums  of  money  for  raising  the  troo])s  ;  that  the  Thra- 
cians  had  already  engagtul  themselves ;  that  from  Egypt  a 
great  succor  was  marching,  consisting  of  a  hundred  and 
twenty  thousand  men  ;  that  another  army  was  expected  from 
Cyprus ;  that  the  Cilicians,  the  peo])le  of  the  two  Phrygias, 
the  Lycaonians,  Paphlagonians,  Cappadocians,  Arabians,  and 

*  Cyrop.  pp.  156,  157.  t  Cj'iop.  1.  vi.  157. 


HISTORY    OF    CYRUS.  531 

Phoetiicians,  were  already  arrived  ;  that  the  Assyrians  were 
likewise  come  up  with  the  king  of  Babylon  ;  that  the  loni- 
ans,  ^)]ians,  and  most  of  the  Greeks  living  in  Asia,  had 
been  obliged  to  join  them  ;  that  .Croesus  had  likewise  sent  to 
the  LacedaMiionians,  to  bring  them  into  a  treaty  of  alliance  ; 
that  the  army  was  assembled  near  the  river  Pactolus,  from 
Avhence  it  was  to  advance  to  Thymbria,  which  was  the  place 
of  rendezvous  for  all  the  troops.  This  relation  was  con- 
firmed by  the  accounts  brought  in,  both  by  the  prisoners  and 
the  spies.* 

Cyrus's  army  was  discouraged  by  this  news.  But  that 
prince,  having  assembled  his  officers,  and  represented  to 
them  the  infinite  difference  between  the  enemy's  troops  and 
theirs,  soon  dispelled  their  fears,  and  revived  their  courage.f 

Cyrus  had  taken  proper  measures  for  jtroviding  liis  army 
with  all  necessaries,  and  had  given  orders,  as  well  for  their 
march  as  for  the  battle  he  was  preparing  to  fight ;  in  doing 
which,  he  descended  to  an  astonishing  detail,  which  Xeno- 
phon  relates  at  length,  and  which  reached  from  the  chief 
commanders  down  to  the  very  lowest  subaltern  officers  ;  for 
he  knew  very  well,  that  upon,  such  precautions  the  success  of 
enterprises  depends,  which  often  miscarry  through  the  neg- 
lect of  the  smallest  circumstances ;  in  the  same  manner,  as 
it  frequently  happens,  that  the  playing  or  movement  of  the 
greatest  machines  is  stopped  through  the  disorder  of  a  single 
wheel,  however  small,  t 

This  prince  knew  all  the  officers  of  his  army  by  their 
names;  and  making  use  of  a  common,  but  significant  com- 
parison, he  used  to  say,  "  He  thought  it  strange  that  an  ar- 
tificer should  know  the  names  of  all  his  tools,  a.nd  a  general 
should  be  so  indifferent,  as  not  to  know  the  names  of  all  his 
captains,  which  are  the  instruments  he  must  make  use  of  in 
all  his  enterprises  and  operations."  Besides,  he  Avas  per- 
suaded, that  such  an  attention  had  something  in  it  more 
honoi-able  for  the  officers,  more  engaging,  and  more  proper 
to  excite  tb.em  to  do  their  duty,  as  it  naturally  leads  them 
to  believe  they  are  both  known  and  esteemed  by  their  gen- 
eral. § 

When  all  the  preparations  were  finished,  Cyrus  took 
leave  of  Cyaxares,  who  stayed  in  Media,  with  a  third  part  of 
his  troops,  that  the  country  might  not  be  left  entirely  de- 
fenceless. II 

*  Cyrop.  p.  158.  t  Cyrop.  1.  vi.  p.  \no.  t  Cyrop.  pp.  158-d63. 

§  Cyrop.  1.  V.  pp.  131, 132.  ||  Cyrop.  1.  vi.  pp.  l(io,  ICl. 


i32  AKCIENT    HISTORY. 

Cyrus,  who  understood  how  advantageous  it  is  always  to 
make  the  enemy's  country  the  seat  of  war,  did  not  wait  for 
the  Babylonians  coining  to  attack  him  in  Media,  but  marched 
forward  to  meet  them  in  their  territories,  that  he  might  both 
consume  their  forage  by  his  troops,  and  disconcert  their 
measures  by  his  expedition,  and  the  boldness  of  his  under- 
taking. After  a  very  long  march,  he  came  up  with  the 
enemy  at  Thymbria,  a  city  of  Lydia,  not  far  from  Sardis,  the 
capital  of  the  countiy.  They  did  not  imagine  this  prince, 
with  half  the  number  of  forces  they  had,  could  think  of  com- 
ing to  attack  them  in  their  own  country  ;  and  they  were 
strangely  surprised  to  see  him  come,  before  they  had  time  to 
lay  up  the  provisions  necessary  for  the  subsistence  of  their 
numerous  army,  or  to  assemble  all  the  forces  they  intended 
to  bring  into  the  field  against  him. 

SECTIOJf     V. THE    BATTLE     OF    THYMBRIA,    BETWEEN    CYRUS 

AND    CRCESUS. 

^.,  This  battle  is  one  of  the  most  considerable  events  in  an- 
tiquity, since  it  decided  upon  the  empire  of  Asia  between 
the  Assyrians  of  Babylon  and  the  Persians.  It  was  this  con- 
sideration that  induced  M.  Freret,  one  of  my  brethren  in  the 
Academy  of  Polite  Literature,  to  examine  it  with  particular 
care  and  exactness ;  and  the  rather,  as  he  observes,  because 
it  is  the  first  pitched  battle  of  which  we  have  any  full  or  par- 
ticular account.  *  I  have  assumed  the  })rivik'ge  of  making 
use  of  the  labors  and  learning  of  other  ])ersons,  but  without 
robbing  theni  of  the  glory,  or  denying  myself  the  liberty  of 
making  such  alterations  as  I  might  judge  necessary.  I  shall 
give  a  more  ample  and  particular  description  of  this  battle 
than  I  usually  do  of  such  matters,  because  Cyrus  being  looked 
upon  as  one  of  the  greatest  captains  of  antiquity,  those  of 
the  profession  may  be  glad  to  trace  him  in  all  his  steps 
through  this  im))ortant  action ;  moreover,  the  manner  in 
which  the  ancients  made  war,  and  fought  battles,  is  an  essen- 
tial part  of  their  history. 

In  Cyrus's  army,  the  companies  of  foot  consisted  of  a 
hundred  men  each,  exclusive  of  the  captain.  Each  company 
was  subdivided  into  four  parts  or  platoons,  which  consisted 
of  four-and-twenty  men  each,  not  hicluding  the  ])erson  who 
commanded.  These  subdivisions  were  again  divided  into 
two  files,  consisting  of  twelve  men  each.     Every  ten   com 

*  Vol.  VI.  of  the  Memoirs  of  the  Academy  of  Belles  Lettres,  p.  532. 


HISTORY    OF    CYRUS.  533 

panies  had  a  particular  superior  officer  to  command  them, 
corresponding  with  the  present  rank  of  colonel  ;  and  ten  of 
these  bodies  were  under  another  superior  commander,  whom 
we  may  call  a  brigadier.* 

I  have  already  observed,  that  Cyrus,  when  he  first  came 
at  the  head  of  the  thirty  thousand  Persians,  to  the  aid  of  his 
uncle  Cyaxares,  made  a  considerable  change  in  the  arras  of 
his  troops  Two-thirds  of  them,  till  then,  only  inade  use  of 
javelins,  or  bows,  and  consequently  could  only  fight  at  a 
distance  from  the  enemy.  Instead  of  these,  Cyrus  armed 
the  greatest  part  of  them  with  cuirasses,  bucklers,  and 
swords,  or  battle-axes,  and  left  few  of  his  soldiei's  in  light 
armor. t 

The  Persians  did  not  know  at  that  time  what  it  was  to 
fight  on  horseback.  Cyrus,  who  was  convinced  that  nothing 
was  of  so  great  importance  towards  the  gaining  of  a  battle 
as  cavalry,  was  sensible  of  the  great  disadvantage  he  labored 
under  in  that  respect,  and  therefore  took  wise  and  early  ])re- 
cautions  to  remedy  that  evil.  He  succeeded  in  his  design, 
and  by  degrees  formed  a  body  of  Persian  cavalry,  which 
amounted  to  ten  thousand  men,  and  were  the  best  troops  of 
his  army.  | 

I  shall  speak  elsewhere  of  the  other  change  he  introduced, 
with  respect  to  the  chariots  of  war.  It  is  now  time  for  us 
to  give  the  number  of  the  troops  of  both  armies,  which  can- 
not be  fixtt^  Wt  by  conjecture,  and  by  putting  together 
several  sc:Tttered  passages  of  Xenophon  ;  that  author  having 
omitted  the  material  circumstance  of  acquainting  us  pre- 
cisely with  their  numbers,  which  appears  surprising  in  a 
man  so  expert  in  military  affairs  as  that  historian  was. 

Cyrus's  army  amounted,  in  the  whole,  to  one  hundred 
and  ninety-six  thousand  men,  horse  and  foot.  Of  these 
there  were  seventy  thousand  native  Persians,  viz. :  ten  thou- 
sand cuirassiers  of  horse,  twenty  thousand  cuirassiers  of 
foot,  twenty  thousand  pikemen,  and  twenty  thousand  light- 
armed  soldiers.  The  rest  of  the  army,  to  the  number  of 
one  hundred  and  twenty-six  thousand  men,  consisted  of 
twenty-six  thousand  Median,  Armenian,  and  Arabian  horse, 
and  one  hundred  thousand  foot  of  the  same  nations. 

Besides  these  troops,  Cyrus  had  three  hundred  chariots 
of  war,  armed  with  scythes,  each  chariot  drawn  by  four 
horses  abreast,  covered  with  trappings  that  were  shot-proof ; 
as  were  also  the  horses  of  the  Persian  cuirassiers.  § 

♦Cvrop.  1.  vi.  p.  167.  t  Cviop.  1.  ii.  pp.  39,40. 

.  t  Cyrop.  1.  iv.  pp.  99, 100,  et  1.  v.  p.  138.  §  Cyrop.  1.  vi.  pp.  152,  153,  157. 


534  ANCIEXT    HISTORY. 

Ho  had  likewise  ordered  a  great  number  of  chariots  to 
be  made  of  a  larger  size,  on  each  of  which  was  jjlaced  a 
tower,  of  about  eighteen  or  twenty  feet  high,  in  which  were 
lodged  twenty  arcliers.  Eacli  chariot  was  drawn  upon 
wheels  by  sixteen  oxen  yoked  abreast.* 

There  was,  moreover,  a  considerable  number  of  camels, 
upon  each  of  which  were  two  Arabian  archers,  back  to  back, 
so  that  one  looked  towards  the  head,  and  the  other  towards 
the  tail  of  the  camels. t 

The  army  of  Cra?sus  Avas  moi-e  than  twice  as  numerous 
as  that  of  Cyrus,  amounting  in  all  to  four  hundred  and 
twenty  thousand  men,  sixty  thousand  of  which  were  cavalry. 
The  troops  consisted  chiefly  of  Babylonians,  Lydians,  Phry- 
gians, Ca])padocians,  of  the  nations  about  the  Hellespont, 
and  of  Egyptians,  to  the  number  of  three  hundred  and  sixty 
thousand  men.  The  Egy])tians  alone  made  a  body  of  one 
hundred  and  twenty  thousand.  They  had  bucklers  that 
covered  them  from  head  to  foot,  very  long  pikes,  and  short 
but  very  broad  swords.  The  rest  of  the  army  was  made  up 
of  Cyprians,  Cilicians,  Lycaonians,  Paphlagonians,  Thracians, 
and  lonians.  t 

Croesus  had  arranged  his  army  in  order  of  battle  in  one 
line,  the  infantry  in  the  centre,  and  the  cavalry  on  the  two 
wings.  All  his  troops,  both  foot  and  horse,  wei-e  thirty  men 
deep  ;  but  the  Egyptians,  Avho,  as  we  have  noticed,  were 
one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  in  numlwn?  ?fml  who  were 
the  principal  strength  of  his  infantry,  in  the  cent^'e  of  which 
they  were  posted,  were  divided  into  twelve  large  bodies,  or 
square  battalions,  of  ten  thousand  men  each,  having  one 
hundred  men  in  the  front,  and  as  many  in  depth,  with  an 
interval  or  space  between  every  battalion,  that  they  might 
act  and  fight  independent  of,  and  without  interfering  with, 
one  another.  Croesus  would  gladly  have  jjersuaded  them  to 
range  themselves,  in  less  depth,  that  they  might  make  the 
wider  front.  The  armies  were  in  an  extensive  ])lain,  which 
gave  room  for  extending  their  wings  to  riglit  and  left ;  and 
the  design  of  Croesus,  upon  which  alone  he  founded  his  hopes 
of  victory,  was  to  surround  and  hem  in  the  enemy's  army. 
But  he  could  not  prevail  upon  the  Egyptians  to  change  the 
order  of  battle  to  which  they  had  been  accustomed.  His 
army,  being  thus  drawn  out  in  one  line,  took  up  nearly  forty 
stadia,  or  five  miles  in  length,  t 

*  Cyrop.  p.  157.  t  Cyrop.  pp.  153,  158 

t  CjTop.  p.  158.  §  Cyrop.  p.  1C6 


HISTOUY    OF    CYRUS.  535 

Araspes,  who,  under  the  pi-etence  of  discontent,  had  re- 
tired to  Croesus's  army,  and  had  particular  orders  from 
Cyrus  to  observe  well  the  manner  of  that  general's  ranging 
his  troops,  returned  to  the  Persian  camp  the  day  before  the 
battle.  Cyrus,  in  drawing  up  his  army,  governed  himself 
by  the  disposition  of  the  enemy,  of  which  that  young  Median 
nobleman  had  given  him  an  exact  account. 

The  Persian  troops  had  been  generally  used  to  engage 
four-and-twenty  men  in  depth.  But  Cyrus  thought  ht  to 
change  that  disposition.  It  was  necessary  to  form  as  wide 
a  front  as  possible,  without  too  much  weakening  his  ])halanx, 
to  prevent  his  army's  being  enclosed  and  hemmed  in.  His 
infantry  was  excellent,  and  most  advantageously  armed 
with  cuirasses,  partisans,  battle-axes,  and  swords  ;  and  pro- 
vided they  could  join  the  enemy  in  close  tight,  there  was 
little  reason  to  believe  that  the  Lydian  phalanx,  armed 
with  only  light  bucklers  and  javelins,  could  support  the 
charge.  Cyrus,  therefore,  thinned  the  files  of  his  infantry 
one  half,  and  ranged  them  only  twelve  men  deep.  The 
cavalry  was  drawn  out  on  the  two  wings,  the  right  com- 
manded by  Chrysauthes,  and  the  left  by  liystaspes.  The 
whole  front  of  the  army  occupied  but  thirty-two  stadia,  or 
four  miles  in  extent ;  and  consequently  was  at  each  flank 
nearly  four  stadia,  or  half  a  mile,  short  of  the  enemy's 
front.* 

Behind  the  first  line,  at  a  little  distance,  Cyrus  placed 
the  spear-men,  and  behind  them  the  archers.  Both  the  one 
and  the  other,  were  covered  by  the  soldiers  in  their  front, 
over  whose  heads  they  could  throw  their  javelins,  and  shoot 
their  arrows  at  the  enemy. 

Behind  all  these  he  formed  another  line,  to  serve  for 
the  rear,  which  consisted  of  the  flower  of  his  army.  Their 
duty  was,  to  have  their  eyes  upon  those  that  Avere  placed 
before  them,  to  encourage  those  that  did  their  duty,  to  sus- 
tain and  threaten  those  that  gave  way,  and  even  to  kill  as 
traitors  those  that  fled  ;  by  that  means  to  keep  the  cowards 
in  awe,  and  make  them  have  as  great  a  terror  of  the  troops 
in  the  rear,  as  they  could  possibly  have  of  the  enemy. 

Behind  the  army  were  placed  those  moving  towers  which 
I  have  already  described.  •  These  formed  a  line  equal  and 
parallel  to  that  of  the  array,  and  served  not  only  to  annoy 
the  enemy  by  the  constant  discharges  of  the  archers  that 
were  in   them,  but   also  as  a  kind    of  movable  forts,   or 

*  Cyrop.  1.  Yi.  p.  167. 


536  AXCIKXT    HISTOUr. 

redoubts,  under  which  the  Pei'sian  ti'oops  might  rally,  in  ease 
they  were  broken  and  pushed  by  the  enemy. 

Just  behind  these  towers  were  two  other  lines,  which 
also  were  parallel  and  equal  to  the  front  of  the  army  ;  the 
one  was  formed  of  the  baggage,  and  the  other  of  the  char- 
iots which  carried  the  women,  and  such  other  persons  as 
were  unfit  for  service. 

To  close  all  these  lines,  and  to  secure  them  from  the  in- 
sults of  the  enemy,  Cyrus  placed  in  the  roar  of  all,  two 
thousand  infantry,  two  thousand  horse  and  the  troop  of 
camels,  which  was  pretty  numerous.* 

Cyrus's  design  in  forming  two  lines  of  the  baggage,  etc., 
was  not  only  to  make  his  army  appear  more  numerous  than 
it  really  was,  but  likewise  to  oblige  the  enemy,  in  case  they 
were  resolved  to  surround  him,  as  he  knew  they  intended, 
to  ra^ake  the  longer  circuit,  and  consequently  to  weaken  their 
line  by  stretching  it  out  so  far. 

We  have  still  the  Persian  chariots  of  war  armed  with 
scythes  to  speak  of.  These  were  divided  into  three  bodies, 
of  one  hundred  each.  One  of  the  bodies,  commanded  by 
Abradates,  king  of  Susiana,t  was  placed  in  the  front  of  the 
battle,  and  the  other  two  upon  the  two  flanks  of  the  army. 

Such  was  the  order  of  battle  in  the  two  armies,  as  they 
were  drawn  out  and  stationed  the  day  before  the  engage- 
ment. 

The  next  day,  very  early  in  the  morning,  Cyrus  made  a 
sacrifice,  during  which  time  his  army  took  a  little  refresh- 
ment ;  and  the  soldiers,  after  having  offered  their  libations 
to  the  gods,  put  on  their  armor.  Never  was  there  a  more 
beautiful  and  magnificent  sight;  coat-armors,  cuirasses,  buck- 
lers, helmets,  one  could  not  tell  which  to  admire  most ;  men 
and  horses  all  finely  equipped,  and  glittering  in  brass  and 
scarlet,  t 

When  Abradates  was  just  going  to  put  on  his  cuirass, 
which  was  only  of  quilted  linen,  according  to  the  fashion  of 
his  country,  his  wife  Panthea  came  and  presented  him  with 
a  helmet,  bracers,  and  bracelets,  all  of  gold,  with  a  coat- 
armor  of  his  own  length,  plaited  at  the  bottom,  and  with  a 
purple-colored  plume  of  feathers.  She  had  got  all  this 
armor  prepared  without  her  husband's  knoAvledge,  that  her 
present  might  be  the  more  agreeable  from  surprise.  In  spite 
of  all  her  endeavors  to  the  contrary,  when  she  dressed  him 
in  this  armor,  she  shed  some  tears.     But  notwithstanding 

*  Cyrop.  1.  vi.  p.  168.  t  Or  Sushau.  %  Cyrop.  p.  169. 


HISTORY    OF    CYRUS.  Oo/ 

her  tenderness  for  him,  she  exhorted  him  to  die  with  sword 
in  hand;  rather  than  not  signahze  himself  in  a  manner  suit- 
able to  his  birth,  and  the  idea  she  had  endeavored  to  gixe 
Cyrus  of  his  gallantry  and  worth.  "  Our  obligations,"  says 
.she,  "to  that  prince  are  infinitely  great.  I  was  his  pi'isoner, 
and  as  such  was  set  apart  for  his  jileasure  ;  but  \^■hen  I  came 
into  his  hands,  I  was  neither  used  like  a  captive,  nor  had 
any  dishonorable  conditions  imposed  on  me  for  my  freedom. 
He  treated  me  as  if  I  had  been  his  own  brother's  wife,  and 
in  return  I  assured  him,  you  would  be  capable  of  acknowl- 
edging such  extraordinary  goodness."  "  O  Jupiter !  "  cried 
Abradates,  lifting  up  his  eyes  tow.irds  heaven,  "  grant  that  on 
this  occasion  I  may  approve  myself  a  husband  worthy  of 
Panthea,  and  a  friend  worthy  of  so  generous  a  benefactor." 
Having  said  this,  he  mounted  his  chariot.  Panthea  not 
being  able  to  embrace  him*any  longer,  was  ready  to  kiss  the 
chariot  he  rode  in ;  and  when  she  had  pursued  liim  with  her 
eyes  as  far  as  she  possibly  could,  she  retired.* 

As  soon  as  Cyrus  had  finished  his  sacrifice,  given  his 
officers  the  necessary  orders  and  instructions  for  the  battle, 
and  put  them  in  mind  of  paying  the  homage  which  is  due  to 
the  gods,  every  man  went  to  his  post.f  Some  of  his  officers 
brought  him  wine  and  victuals ;  he  eat  a  little  without 
sitting  down,  and  caused  the  rest  to  be  distributed  among 
those  that  were  about  him.  He  took  a  little  wine  likewise, 
and  poured  out  a  part  of  it  as  an  offering  to  the  gods  before 
he  drank,  and  all  the  company  followed  his  example.  After 
this  he  prayed  again  to  the  god  of  his  fathers,  desiring  he 
would  please  to  be  his  guide,  and  come  to  his  assistance ;  he 
then  mounted  his  horse,  and  commanded  them  all  to  follow 
him,  I 

As  he  was  considering  on  which  £,ide  he  woidd  direct 
his  march,  he  heard  a  clap  of  thunder  on  the  right,  and 
cried  out,  "  Sovereign  Jupiter,  we  follow  thee."  §  And  that 
instant  he  set  forwards,  having  Chrysanthes  on  his  right, 
who  commanded  the  right  wing  of  the  horse,  and  Arsamas 
on  his  left,  who  commanded  the  foot.  He  warned  them 
above  all  things  to  take  care  of  the  royal  standard,  and  to 
advance  equally  in  a  line.  The  standard  was  a  golden  eagle 
on  the  end  of  a  pike,  with  its  wings  stretched  out.  The 
same  was  ever  after  used  by  the  kings  of  Persia.  He  or- 
dered his  army  to  halt  three  times  before  they  reached  the 

*  Cyrop.  pp.  169, 170.  t  Cyrop.  1.  vi.  p.  170.  t  Cyiop.  1.  tH.  p.  172i 

§  He  bad  really  a  God  for  his  guide,  but  very  different  from  Jupiter. 


538  ANCIEXT    HISTORY. 

enemj' ;  and  after  having  marched  about  twenty  stadia,  op 
two  miles  and  a  half,  they  came  in  view  of  them. 

When  the  two  armies  were  within  sight  of  each  other, 
and  the  enemy  had  observed  how  much  the  front  of  theirs 
exceeded  that  of  Cyrus,  they  made  the  centre  of  their  army 
halt,  while  the  two  wings  advanced  projecting  to  the  right 
and  left,  with  design  to  enclose  Cyrus's  army,  and  to  begin 
their  attack  on  every  side  at  the  same  time.  This  move- 
ment did  not  at  all  alarm  Cyrus,  because  he  expected  it. 
Having  given  the  word  for  rallying  the  troops,  "  Jupiter 
leader  and  protector,"  he  left  his  right  wing,  promising  to 
rejoin  them  immediately,  and  help  them  to  conquer,  if  it 
was  the  will  of  the  gods. 

He  rode  through  all  the  ranks,  to  give  his  ordei-s,  and  to 
encourage  the  soldiers  ;  and  he  who,  on  all  other  occasions, 
was  so  modest,  and  so  far  from  tlie  least  air  of  ostentation, 
was  now  full  of  a  noble  confidence,  and  spoke  as  if  he  was 
assured  of  victory  ;  "Follow  me,  comrades,"  said  he  ;  "  the 
victory  is  certainly  ours ;  the  gods  are  for  us."  He  observed 
that  many  of  his  officers,  and  even  Abradates  himself,  were 
uneasy  at  the  motion  which  the  two  Avings  of  the  Lydian 
array  made,  in  order  to  attack  them  on  the  two  flanks  : 
"  These  troops  alarm  you,"  says  he ;  "  believe  me,  these  are 
the  very  troops  that  will  be  the  first  routed  ;  and  to  you, 
Abradates,  I  give  that  as  a  signal  of  the  time  when  you  are 
to  fall  upon  the  enemy  with  your  chariots."  The  event 
happened  exactly  as  Cjtus  had  foretold.  After  Cyrus  had 
given  such  orders  as  he  thought  necessary  everywhere,  he 
returned  to  the  right  wing  of  his  army.* 

When  the  two  detached  bodies  of  the  Lydian  troops 
were. sufficiently  extended,  Cra?sus  gave  the  signal  to  the 
main  body  of  his  army,  to  mai'ch  up  directly  to  the  front  of 
the  Persian  army,  while  the  two  wings,  that  were  wheeling 
round  upon  their  flanks,  advanced  on  each  side:  so  that 
Cyrus's  army  was  enclosed  on  three  sides,  as  if  it  had  three 
great  armies  to  engage  with ;  and,  as  Xeno})hon  says,  looked 
like  a  small  square  drawn  within  a  great  one.f 

In  an  instant,  on  the  first  signal  Cyrus  gave,  his  troo])9 
faced  about  on  every  side,  keeping  a  profound  silence  in 
expectation  of  the  event.  The  prince  now  thought  it  time 
to  sing  the  hymn  of  battle.  The  whole  army  answered  tc 
it  with  loud  shouts,  and  invocations  of  the  god  of  war.   Then 

•  Cyrop.  1.  vii.  pp.  173-176.  t  Cyrop.  p.  176. 


HISTORY    OF   CYRUS.  539 

Cyrus,  at  the  head  of  some  troops  of  horse,  briskly  followed 
b}'  a  body  of  the  foot,  fell  immediately  upon  the  enemy's 
forces  that  were  marchhig  to  attack  the  i-ight  of  liis  army  in 
flank ;  and  having  attacked  them  in  flank,  as  they  intended 
to  do,  put  them  in  great  disorder.  Tiic  chariots  then  driving 
furiously  upon  tlie  Lydians,  completed  their  defeat. 

In  the  same  moment  the  troops  on  the  left  flank,  know- 
ing, by  the  noise,  that  Cyrus  had  begun  the  battle  on  the 
right,  advanced  to  the  enemy.  And  immediately  the 
squadron  of  camels  was  made  to  advance  likewise,  as  Cyrus 
had  ordered.  The  enemy's  cavalry  did  not  expect  this  ■  and 
their  horses  at  a  distance,  as  soon  as  they  were  sensible  of 
the  approach  of  those  animals,  for  horses  cannot  endure  the 
smell  of  camels,  began  to  snort  and  prance,  to  run  upon  and 
overturn  one  another,  throwing  their  riders,  and  treading 
them  under  their  feet.  While  they  were  in  this  confusion, 
a  small  body  of  horse  commanded  by  Artageses,  pushed 
them  very  warmly,  to  prevent  them  from  rallying :  and  the 
chariots  armed  with  scythes  falling  furiously  upon  them, 
they  were  entirely  routed,  with  a  dreadful  slaughter. 

This  being  the  signal  which  Cyrus  had  given  Abradates 
for  attacking  the  front  of  the  enemy's  army,  he  drove  like 
lightning  u])on  them  with  all  his  chariots.  Their  first  ranks 
were  not  able  to  stand  so  violent  a  charge,  but  gave  way, 
and  were  dispersed.  Having  broken  and  overthrown  them, 
Abradates  came  up  to  the  Egyptian  battalions,  who  being 
covered  with  their  bucklers,  and  marching  in  such  close  order 
that  the  chariots  had  not  room  to  ])ierce  among  them,  gave 
him  much  more  trouble,  and  would  not  have  been  broken, 
had  it  not  been  for  the  violence  of  the  horses  that  trod  upon 
them.  It  was  a  most  dreadful  spectacle  to  see  the  heaps  of 
men  and  horses,  overturned  chariots,  broken  arms,  and  all 
the  direful  effects  of  the  sharj:)  scythes,  which  cut  every 
thing  in  pieces  that  came  in  their  way.  But  Abradates's 
chariot  having  the  misfortune  to  be  overturned,  he  and  his 
men  Mere  killed,  after  tliey  had  signalized  their  valor  in 
an  extraordinary  manner.  The  Egyptians  then  marching 
forward  in  close  order,  and  covered  with  their  bucklers, 
obliged  the  Persian  infantry  to  give  way,  and  dj-ove  them 
beyond  their  fourth  line,  as  far  as  to  their  machines.  There 
the  Egyptians  met  with  a  fresh  storm  of  arrows  and  javelins, 
that  were  poured  upon  their  lieads  from  the  moving  towers  ; 
and  the  battalions  of  the  Persian  rear-guard  advancing 
sword  in  hand,  hindered  their  archers  and  spearmen  from 


540  ANCIEXT    HISTORY. 

retreating  any  farther,  and  obliged  them  to  retui-n  to  the 
charge.* 

Cyrus,  ui  the  mean  time,  having  put  both  the  liorse  and 
foot  to  flight,  on  the  left  of  the  Egyptians,  did  not  amuse 
himself  in  pursuing  the  fugitives,  but,  ])ushing  on  directly 
to  the  centre,  had  the  mortification  to  find  Ids  Persian  troops 
had  been  forced  to  give  way ;  and,  rightly  judging  that  the 
only  means  to  ])revent  the  Egyptians  from  grdning  farther 
ground,  would  be  to  attack  them  behin<l,  he  did  so,  and  fell 
upon  their  rear ;  the  cavalry  came  up  at  the  same  time,  and  the 
enemy  was  pushed  with  great  fury.  The  P^gyptians,  being 
attacked  on  all  sides,  faced  about  every  Avay,  and  defended 
themselves  with  wonderful  bravery.  C'yrus  himself  Avas  in 
great  danger  ;  his  horse,  which  a  soldier  had  stabbed  in  the 
belly,  sinking  under  him,  he  fell  in  the  midst  of  his  enemies. 
Here  was  an  opportunity,  says  Xenophon,  of  seeing  how 
important  it  is  for  a  commander  to  have  the  affection  of  liis 
soldiers.  Officers  and  men,  equally  alarmed  at  the  danger 
in  which  they  saw  their  leader,  ran  headlong  into  the  thick 
forest  of  pikes,  to  i*escue  and  save  him.  He  quickly 
mounted  another  horse,  and  the  battle  became  more  bloody 
than  ever.  At  length  Cyrus,  admiring  the  valor  of  the 
Egyptians,  and  being  concerned  to  see  such  bi-ave  men 
perish,  offered  them  honorable  conditions  if  they  Avould  sur- 
render, letting  them  know  at  the  same  time,  that  all  their 
allies  had  abandoned  them.  The  Egyi)tians  accepted  the 
conditions,  and,  as  they  were  no  less  eminent  in  point  of 
fidelity  than  in  courage,  they  stipulated,  that  they  should 
not  be  obliged  to  carry  arms  against  Croesus,  in  whose  ser- 
vice they  had  been  engaged.  From  thenceforward  they 
served  in  the  Persian  arm.y  Avith  inviolable  fidelity. f 

Xenophon  observes,  that  Cynis  gave  them  the  cities  of 
Larissa  and  Cyllene,  near  Cuma,  upon  the  sea-coast,  as  also 
other  inland  places,  which  were  inhabited  by  their  descend- 
ants even  in  his  time  ;  and  he  adds,  that  these  places  were 
called  the  cities  of  the  Egyptians.  This  obserA%-ition  of 
Xenophon,  as  also  many  others  in  several  ])arts  of  his  Cyro- 
predia,  in  order  to  prove  the  truth  of  the  thiiigs  he  advances, 
shows  plainly,  that  he  meant  that  work  as  a  true  history  (  f 
Cyrus,  at  least  with  respect  to  the  main  substance  of  it,  and 
the  greatest  ])art  of  the  facts  and  transactions.  This  judi- 
cious reflection  on  the  passage  in  Xenophon  belongs  to 
Mons.  Freret.  t 

' "  •  Cyrop.  1.  vii.  p.  177.  t  Cyrop.  1.  vii.  p.  178.  +  Cyrop.  1.  vii.  p-  179. 


HISTORY    OF    CYRUS.  541 

The  battle  lasted  till  evening.  Croesns  retreated  as  fast 
as  he  could  with  his  troops  to  Sardis.  The  other  nations, 
in  like  manner,  that  very  night  directed  their  course  each  to 
their  own  country,  and  made  as  long  marches  as  they  pos- 
pibly  could.  The  conquerors,  after  they  had  eaten  some- 
thing, and  posted  guards,  went  to  rest.* 

In  describing  this  battle,  I  have  endeavored  exactly  to  fol- 
low the  Greek  text  of  Xenophon,the  Latin  translation  of  which 
is  not  always  faithful.  Some  military  men,  to  whom  I  have 
communicated  this  description,  find  a  defect  in  the  manner 
in  which  Cyrus  disposed  of  his  troops  in  order  of  battle,  as 
lie  placed  no  troops  to  cover  his  flanks,  to  sustain  his  armed 
chariots,  and  to  oppose  the  two  bodies  of  troops  which 
Croesus  had  detached  to  fall  upon  the  flanks  of  his  army.  It 
is  possible  such  a  circumstance  might  escape  Xenophon  in 
describing  tliis  battle. 

It  is  allowed,  that  Cyrus's  victory  was  chiefly  owing  to 
liis  Persian  cavalry,  which  was  a  new  establishment,  and  en- 
tirely the  fruit  of  that  ])rince's  care  and  activity  in  forming 
liis  people,  and  perfecting  them  in  a  part  of  the  military 
art,  of  which,  till  his  time,  they  had  been  entirely  ignorant. 

The  chariots  armed  with  scythes  did  good  service,  and  the 
use  of  them  was  ever  afterwards  retained  among  the  Persians. 
The  camels,  too,  were  not  iinserviceable  in  this  battle, 
though  Xenophon  makes  no  great  account  of  them  ;  and 
observes,  that  in  his  time  they  made  no  other  use  of  them 
tlian  for  cari'yi»g  the  baggage. f 

I  do  not  undertake  to  write  a  panegyric  upon  Cyrus,  or 
to  magnify  his  merit.  It  is  sufficient  to  take  notice,  that  in 
tliis  affair  we  see  all  the  qualities  of  a  great  general  shine 
out  in  him.  Before  the  battle,  an  admirable  sagacity  and 
foresight  in  discovering  and  disconcerting  the  enemy's  m.eas- 
ures  :  an  infinite  exactness  in  the  detail  of  affairs,  in  taking 
care  that  his  army  should  be  provided  with  every  thing  ne- 
cessary, and  all  his  orders  punctually  executed  at  the  times 
fixed  ;  a  wonderful  application  to  gain  the  hearts  of  his  sol- 
diers, and  to  inspire  them  with  confidence  and  ardor:  in  the 
heat  of  action,  what  a  spirit  and  activity;  what  a  presence 
of  mind  in  giving  orders,  as  occasion  requires  ;  what  courage 
and  intrepidity,  at  the  same  time  what  humanity  towards 
the  enemy,  whose  valor  he  respects,  and  whose  blood  he  is 
unwilling  to  shed!  We  shall  see  by  and  by,  what  use  he 
made  of  liis  victory. 

»  Cyrop.  p.  180.  t  Ibid. 


542  ANCIEXT    HISTOKY. 

But  what  appears  to  me  still  more  remarkable,  and  more 
worthy  of  admiration  than  all  the  rest,  is  the  constant  care 
he  took  on  all  occasions,  to  pay  that  homage  and  M'orshiji  to 
the  Deity  which  he  thought  belonged  to  him.  Doubtless 
the  reader  has  been  surprised  to  see,  in  the  relation  I  have 
given  of  this  battle,  hoAV  many  times  Cyrus,  in  the  sight  of 
his  army,  makes  mention  of  the  gods,  offers  sacrifices  and 
libations  to  them,  addresses  himself  to  them  by  prayer  and 
invocation,  and  im])lores  their  succor  and  protection.  But 
in  this  I  have  added  nothing  to  the  original  text  of  the  his- 
torian, Avho  was  also  a  military  person,  and  who  thought  it 
no  dishonor  to  himself  or  his  profession,  to  relate  these  par- 
ticular circumstances.  What  a  shame,  then,  and  a  reproach 
Avould  it  be  to  a  Christian  officer  or  general,  if  on  a  day  of 
battle,  he  should  blush  to  appear  as  religious  and  devout  as 
a  pagan  prince;  and  if  the  Lord  of  hosts,  the  God  of  armies, 
whom  he  acknowledges  as  such,  should  make  a  less  impres- 
sion upon  his  mind,  than  a  respect  for  the  false  deities  of 
paganisTn  did  n\)on  the  mind  of  Cyrus ! 

As  for  Croesus,  he  makes  no  great  figure  in  this  action  ; 
not  one  word  is  said  of  him  in  the  whole  engagement.  But 
that  profund  silence  which  Xeno]>hon  observes  in  regard  to 
him,  seems,  in  my  opinion,  to  imply  a  great  deal,  and  gives 
us  to  understand  that  a  man  may  be  a  jioAverful  prince,  or  a 
rich  potentate,  without  being  a  great  Avarrior. 

But  let  us  return  to  the  camp  of  the  Persians.  It  is  easy 
to  imagine,  that  Panthea  must  have  been  in  the  utmost 
affliction  and  distress,  Avhen  the  news  was  brouglit  to  her  of 
the  death  of  Abradates.  Having  caused  his  body  to  be 
brought  to  her,  and  holding  it  upon  her  knees,  quite  out  of 
her  senses,  with  her  eyes  steadfastly  fixed  upon  the  melan- 
choly object,  she  thouglit  of  nothing  but  feeding  her  grief, 
and  indulging  her  miseiy  Avith  the  sight  of  that  dismsd  and 
bloody  spectacle.  Cyrus  being  told  what  a  condition  she 
was  in,  ran  immediately  to  her,  symjiathized  with  her  afflic- 
tion, and  bewailed  her  unha])])y  fate  with  tears  of  compas- 
sion, doing  all  that  he  possibly  could  to  give  her  comfort, 
and  ordering  extraordinary  honors  to  be  shown  to  the  braAe 
deceased  Abradates.  But  no  sooner  was  Cyrus  retired,  than 
Panthea,  over])owered  with  grief,  stabbed  herself  with  a 
dagger,  and  fell  dead  upon  the  body  of  her  husband.  They 
were  both  buried  in  one  common  grave  ujion  the  very  spot, 
and  a  monument  was  erected  for  them,  which  was  standing 
in  the  time  of  Xenophon.  * 

•  Cyrop.  1.  Yit.  pp.  184-186. 


HISTORY    OF    CYRUS.  543 

SEOTIOlSr    VI. THE    TAKING    OF    SARDIS    AXD    OF    CRCESUS. 

The  next  day,  in  the  morning,  Cyrns  marched  towards 
Sardis.*  If  we  may  believe  Herodotus,  Croesus  did  not 
imagine  that  Cyrus  intended  to  shut  him  up  in  the  city,  and 
therefore  niarclied  out  with  his  forces  to  meet  liim  and  to 
give  him  battle.  According  to  that  historian,  the  Lydians 
were  the  bravest  and  most  warlike  people  of  Asia.  Their 
principal  strength  consisted  in  their  cavalry.  Cyrus,  in 
order  to  render  that  the  less  serviceable  to  them,  made  his 
camels  advance  first,  of  which  animals  the  horse  could 
neither  endure  the  sight  nor  the  smell,  and  therefore  imme- 
diately retired  on  their  ap})roach.  Ujion  which  the  riders 
dismounted,  and  came  to  the  engagement  on  foot,  which 
was  very  obstinately  maintained  on  both  sides  ;  but  at  length 
the  Lydians  gave  way,  and  were  forced  to  retreat  into  the 
city;  which  Cyrus  quickly  besieged,  causing  his  engines  to 
be  levelled  against  the  walls,  and  his  scaling-ladders  to  l)e 
prepared,  as  if  he  intended  to  attack  it  by  storm.  But  wliile 
he  was  amusing  the  besieged  with  these  preparations,  the 
night  folloAving  he  made  himself  master  of  the  citadel  by  a 
private  way  that  led  thereto,  which  he  was  informed  of  by  a 
I'ersian  slave,  who  liad  been  a  servant  to  the  governor  of 
that  place.  At  break  of  day  he  entered  the  city,  where  lie 
met  with  no  resistance.  His  first  care  was  to  preserve  it 
from  being  plundered ;  for  he  pei'ceived  the  Chaldeans  li ad 
quitted  their  ranks,  and  already  began  to  disperse  them- 
selves. 

To  stop  the  rapacious  hands  of  foreign  soldiers,  and  tie 
them  as  it  were  by  a  single  command,  in  a  city  abounding 
with  riches  as  Sardis  was,  is  a  thing  not  to  be  done  but  by 
so  singular  an  authority  as  Cyi'us  had  over  Ids  army.  He 
gave  all  the  citizens  to  understand  that  their  lives  sliould  be 
spared,  and  neither  their  wi^es  nor  children  touched,  pro- 
vided they  brought  him  all  their  gold  and  silver.  This  con- 
dition they  readily  complied  with ;  and  Cra'sus  himself, 
W'hojn  Cyrus  had  ordered  to  be  conducted  to  him,  set  them 
an  example,  by  delivering  up  all  his  riches  and  treasures  to 
the  conqueror.f 

When  Cyrus  had  given  all  necessary  orders  concerning 
the  city,  he  had  a  ])articular  conversation  with  the  king,  of 
whom  he  asked,  a.mong  other  things,  what  he  now  thought 
of  the  oracle  of  Delphos,  and  of  the  answers  given  by  the 

*  Herod.  1.  i.  c.  79-84.  t  Cyrop.  1.  vii.  p.  180. 


544  ANCIENT    HISTORY. 

god  that  presided  there,  for  whom,  it  was  said,  he  had  always 
had  a  great  regard  ?  Croesus  first  acknowledged,  that  he 
had  justly  incurred  the  indignation  of  that  god,  for  having 
shown  a  distrust  of  the  truth  of  his  answers,  and  for  having 
put  him  to  the  trial  by  an  absurd  and  ridiculous  question  ; 
and  then  declared,  that  notwithstanding  all  this,  ho  still  had 
no  reason  to  complain  of  hhn,  for  that  having  consulted  him 
to  know  what  he  should  do  in  order  to  lead  a  happy  life,  the 
oracle  had  given  him  an  answer,  which  implied  in  substance, 
that  he  should  enjoy  a  perfect  and  lasting  liappiness,  when 
he  once  came  to  a  knowledge  of  himself.  "  For  want  of 
this  knowledge,"  continued  he,  "  and  believing  myself, 
through  the  excessive  praises  that  were  lavished  upon  me, 
to  be  something  very  different  from  what  I  am,  I  accepted 
the  title  of  generalissimo  of  the  whole  army,  and  unadvised- 
ly engaged  in  a  Avar  against  a  prince,  infinitely  my  superior 
in  all  respects:  But  now  th-it  I  am  instructed  by  my  defeat, 
and  begin  to  know  niyself,  I  believe  I  am  about  to  com- 
mence being  happy  :  and  if  you  |)rove  faA^orable  to  me,  for 
my  fate  is  in  your  hands,  I  shall  certainly  be  so."  Cyrus, 
touched  with  compassion  at  the  misfortune  of  the  king,  who 
was  fallen  in  a  moment  from  so  great  an  elevation,  and  ad- 
miring his  equanimity  under  such  a  reverse  of  fortune, 
treated  him  with  a  great  deal  of  clemency  and  kindness,  suf- 
fering him  to  enjoy  both  the  title  and  autliority  of  king, 
under  the  restriction  of  not  having  the  poAver  to  make  war  ; 
that  is,  he  discharged  liim,  as  Croesus  acknowledged  himself, 
from  all  tlie  burdensome  part  of  regal  ])ower,  and  truly  en- 
abled him  to  lead  a  hapjjy  life,  exempted  from  all  care  and 
disquiet.  From  thenceforAvard  he  took  him  Avith  him  in  all 
his  exj^edition'S,  either  out  of  esteem  for  him,  and  to  have 
the  benefit  of  his  counsel,  or  out  of  policy,  and  to  be  the 
more  secure  of  his  person.  * 

Herodotus  and  other  Avriters  after  him,  relate  this  story 
with  the  addition  of  some  very  remarkable  circumstances, 
which  I  tliink  it  incumbent  on  me  to  mention,  notAvithstand- 
ing  they  seem  to  be  much  more  Avonderful  than  true. 

I  have  already  observed,  that  the  only  son  Croesus  had 
livhig  Avas  dumb.  This  young  prince,  seeing  a  soldier,  Avhen 
the  city  was  taken,  ready  to  give  the  king,  whom  he  did  not 
know,  a  stroke  upon  the  head  with  his  scimitai-,  made  such 
a  violent  effort  and  struggle,  out  of  fear  and  tenderness  for 
the  life  of  his  father,  that  he  broke  the  strings  of  his  tongue, 
and  cried  out,  "  soldier,  spare  the  life  of  Croesus."  f 

*  Cyrop.  1.  vU.  pp.  181-18i.  t  Herod.  1.  i.  c.  8& 


HISTORV    OF    CYRUS.  545 

CrcEsus  being  a  prisoner,  was  condemned  by  the  con- 
queror to  be  burnt  alive.  Accordingly,  the  fimeral-j)ile  "/as 
prepared,  and  that  unhappy  prince  being  laid  thereon,  and 
just  upon  the  point  of  execution,  recollecting  the  conversa- 
tion he  had  formerly  had  with  Solon,*  was  wofully  con- 
vinced of  the  truth  of  that  philosopher's  admonition,  and  in 
remembrain^o  thereof,  cried  out  aloud  three  times,  "  Solon, 
Solon,  Solon  ! "  Cyrus,  who  with  the  chief  officers  of  his 
court,  was  present  at  this  spectacle,  was  curious  to  know 
why  Croesus  pronounced  that  celebrated  philosopher's  name 
with  so  much  vehemence  in  this  extremity.  Being  told  the 
reason,  and  reflecting  upon  the  uncertain  state  of  all  sublu- 
nary things,  he  was  touched  with  commiseration  at  the 
prince's  misfortune,  caused  him  to  be  taken  from  the  j^ile, 
and  treated  him  afterwards,  as  long  as  he  lived,  with  honor 
and  respect. t  Thus  had  Solon  the  glory,  with  a  single 
word,  to  save  the  life  of  one  king,  and  give  a  wholesome 
lesson  of  instruction  to  another,  t 

Two  answers  in  particular,  given  by  the  Delphic  oracle, 
had  induced  Crcesus  to  engage  in  the  war  which  proved  so 
fatal  to  him.  The  one  was,  that  he,  Crresus,  Avas  to  believe 
himself  in  danger,  when  the  Medes  should  have  a  mule  to 
reign  over  them ;  the  other,  that  when  he  should  pass  the 
river  Halys,  to  make  war  against  the  Medes,  he  would 
destroy  a  mighty  empire.  From  the  first  of  these  oracular 
answers  he  concluded,  considering  the  impossibility  of  the 
thing  spoken  of,  that  he  had  nothing  to  fear  ;  and  from  the 
second,  he  conceived  hopes  of  subverting  the  empire  of  the 
Medes.  When  he  found  that  things  had  happened  quite 
contrary  to  his  expectations,  with  C}tus's  leave,  he  des- 
patched messengers  to  Delphos,  in  order  to  make  a  present 
to  the  god  in  his  name,  of  a  golden  chain,  and  at  the  same 
time  to  reproach  him  for  having  so  basely  deceived  him  by 
his  oracles,  notwithstanding  all  the  vast  presents  and  offer- 
ings he  had  made  him.  The  god  was  at  no  great  pains  to 
justify  his  answers.  The  mule  which  the  oracle  meant  was 
Cyrus,  who  derived  his  extraction  from  two  different  nations, 
being  a  Persian  by  the  father's  side  and  a  Mede  by  the 
mother's ;  and  as  to  the  great  empire  Avhich  Croesus  was  to 
overthrow,  the  oracle  did  not  mean  that  of  the  Medes,  but 
his  own. 

*  This  conversation  is  already  related  iu  this  volume,  p.  491,  403. 
t  Heioii-  c.  8G-yi.    Plut.  in  Solon. 

i  Kaifiofow  eaxcf  6  5oA  otz'iyi  \6yia  toi'  liivxruKTat,  rbi'  Si  jrotfievsras  ran'  HamKeiiov, 
Plut. 

35 


546  ANClEJifT    HISTORY. 

It  was  by  such  false  and  deceitful  oracles,  that  tlie  father 
of  lies,  the  devil,  who  Avas  the  author  of  them,  imjxisiied  upon 
mankind  in  those  times  of  ignorance  and  d;irkness,  always 
giving  his  answer  to  those  that  consulted  him,  in  sv.cli  am- 
biguous and  doubtful  terms,  that,  let  the  event  be  Avhat  it 
would,  they  contained  a  relative  meaning. 

When  the  people  of  Ionia  and  ^Eolia  were  Apprised  of 
Cyi'us's  having  subdued  the  Lydians,  they  sent  ambassadors 
to  him  at  Sardis,  to  desire  he  would  receive  them  as  his  sub- 
jects, upon  the  same  conditions  he  had  granted  the  Lydians. 
Cyrus,  who  before  his  victory  had  solicited  them  in  vain  to 
embrace  his  party,  and  was  then  in  a  condition  to  compel 
them  to  it  by  force,  answered  them  only  by  a  fable  of  a 
fisherman,  who  having  played  upon  his  pipe,  in  order  to 
make  the  fish  come  to  him,  in  vain,  found  there  was  no  way 
to  catch  them,  but  by  throwing  his  net  into  the  water. 
Failing  in  their  hopes  of  succeeding  this  way,  they  applied 
to  the  Lacedaemonians,  and  demanded  their  succor.  The 
Lacedaemonians  thereupon  sent  deputies  to  Cyrus,  to  let  him 
know,  that  they  would  not  suiter  him  to  undertake  any  thing 
against  the  Greeks.  Cyrus  only  laughed  at  such  a  message, 
and  warned  them  in  his  turn  to  take  care,  and  put  them- 
selves into  a  condition  to  defend  their  own  territories.* 

The  nations  of  the  isles  had  nothing  to  apprehend  from 
Cyrus,  because  he  had  not  yet  subdued  the  Phcenicians,  nor 
had  the  Persians  any  shipj^ing. 

ARTICLE  11. 

THE  HISTOEY  OF  THE  BESIEGING  A^'D  TAKING  OF  BABYLON  BY 

CYEUS. 

Cyrus  stayed  in  Asia  Minor,  till  he  had  entirely  reduced 
all  the  nations  that  inhabited  it  into  subjection,  from  the 
^gean  sea  to  the  river  Euphrates.  From  thence  he  pro- 
ceeded to  Syria  and  Arabia,  which  he  also  subdued.  After 
which  he  entered  into  Assyria,  and  advanced  towards  Baby- 
lon, the  only  city  of  the  East  that  stood  out  against  him.f 

The  siege  of  this  important  place  was  no  easy  enterprise. 
The  vv^alls  of  it  were  a  prodigious  height,  and  appeared  to  be 
inaccessible,  without  mentioning  the  immense  number  of 
people  within  them  for  their  defence.  Besides,  the  city  was 
stored  with  all  sorts  of  ]:irovisions  for  twenty  years.  How- 
ever, these  difficulties  dj4  not  discourage  Cyrus  from  pur- 

•  Hsrcd.  1.  i.  c.  141,  152, 153.        t  Herod.  1. 1.  c.  17".  Cyrop.  1.  vii.  pp.  1S6-1S& 


HISTORY    OF    CYRUS.  547 

suing  his  design.  But,  despairing  to  take  the  place  hy 
storm  or  assault,  he  made  the  inhabitants  believe  he  designed 
to  reduce  it  by  famine.  To  which  end  he  caused  a  line  of 
circumvallation  to  be  drawn  quite  round  the  city,  with  a 
large  and  deep  ditch  ;  and,  that  his  troops  might  not  be  over- 
fatigued,  he  divided  his  army  into  twelve  bodies,  and  as- 
signed each  of  them  its  month  for  guarding  the  trenches. 
The  besieged,  thinking  themselves  out  of  all  danger,  by 
reason  of  their  ramparts  and  magazines,  insulted  Cyrus  from 
the  top  of  tlieir  walls,  and  lauglied  at  all  his  attempts,  and 
all  the  trouble  he  gave  himself,  as  so  much  unprofitable 
labor. 

SECTIOX  I. PREDICTIONS  OF  THE  PRINCIPAL  CIRCUMSTANCES 

RELATING  TO  THE  SIEGE  AND  THE  TAKING  OF  BAUYLON,  AS 
THEY  ARE  SET  DOWN  IN  DIFFERENT  PLACES  OF  THE  HOLY 
SCRIPTURES. 

As  the  taking  of  Babylon  is  one  of  the  greatest  events  in 
ancient  history,  and  as  the  principal  circumstances  with 
which  it  was  attended,  were  foretold  in  the  Holy  Scriptures 
many  years  before  it  happened,  I  think  it  not  improper,  be- 
fore I  give  an  account  of  what  the  profane  writers  say  of  it, 
briefly  to  put  together  what  we  find  upon  the  same  head  in 
the  sacred  pages,  that  the  reader  may  be  the  more  capable 
of  comparing  the  predictions  and  the  accomplishment  of 
them  together. 

THE    PREDICTION    OF    THE    JEWISH    CAPTIVITY    AT    BABYLON, 
AND    THE    TIME    OF    ITS    DURATION. 

God  Almighty  Avas  pleased,  not  only  to  cause  the  cap- 
tivity which  his  people  were  to  suffer  at  Babylon  to  be  fore- 
told a  long  time  before  it  came  to  pass,  but  likewise  to  set 
down  the  exact  number  of  years  it  Avas  to  last.  The  term 
he  fixed  for  it  was  seventy  years,  after  which  he  promised  he 
would  deliver  them,  by  bringing  a  remarkable  and  an  eter- 
nal destruction  upon  the  city  of  Babylon,  the  place  of  their 
bondage  ana  confinement.  "  And  these  nations  shall  serve 
the  king  of  Babylon  seventy  years."  Jer.  xxv.  11. 

II.     THE     CAUSES     OF     GOd's     "WRATH     AGAINST     BABYLON. 

Wliat  kindled  the  wrath  of  God  against  Babylon  was,  1. 
Her  insupportable  ]n-ide ;  2.  Her  inhuman  cruelty  towards 
the  Jews  ;  and,  3.  The  sacrilegious  impiety  of  her  king. 


548  AXCUCXT    HISTORY. 

1.  Her  pride.  She  believed  herself  to  be  invincible.  She 
says  in  her  heart,  I  am  the  queen  of  nations,  and  I  shall  re- 
main so  for  ever.  There  is  no  power  equal  to  mine.  All 
other  powers  are  either  subject  or  tributary  to  me,  or  in 
alliance  with  me.  I  shall  never  know  either  barrenness  or 
widowhood.  Eternity  is  wi'itten  in  my  destiny,  according 
to  the  observation  of  all  those  that  have  consulted  the  stars 
to  know  it. 

2.  Her  cruelty.  It  is  God  himself  that  complains  of  it.  I 
was  Avilling,  says  he,  to  j)unish  my  people  in  such  a  manner 
as  a  father  chastiseth  his  cliildren.  I  sent  them  for  a  time 
into  banishment  at  Babylon,  with  a  design  to  recall  them  as 
soon  as  tl\ey  were  l)ecome  more  thankful  and  more  faithful. 
But  Babylon  and  her  prince  have  converted  my  paternal 
chastisement  into  such  a  cruel  and  inhuman  treatment,  as  my 
clemency  abhors.  Their  design  lias  been  to  destroy :  mine 
was  to  save.  The  banishment  they  have  turned  into  a  severe 
bondage  and  captivity,  and  have  shown  no  compassion  or 
regard  either  to  age,  or  infirmity,  or  virtue. 

3.  The  sacrilegious  impiety  of  her  king.  To  the  pride  and 
cruelty  of  his  ])redecessors,  Belshazzar  added  an  impiety 
that  was  ])eculiar  to  himself.  lie  did  not  only  jjrefer  his 
false  diviuitits  to  the  true  and  only  God,  but  imagined  liim- 
self  likewise  to  have  vanquished  his  power,  because  lij  was 
possessed  of  the  vessels  Avhich  had  belonged  to  his  Avorshij) ; 
and,  as  if  he  meant  to  affront  him,  he  affected  to  apply  these 
holy  vessels  to  profane  uses.  This  was  the  provoking  cir- 
cumstance that  brought  down  the  Avrath  of  God  upon  him. 

in.  TIII3  DECKKE  PRO'OUXCED  AGAIXST  EABYLOX,  PREDIC- 
TION OF  THE  CALAMITIES  THAT  WERE  TO  FALL  UPON 
HER,    AXD    OF    HER    UTTER    DESTRLXTIOX. 

"  Make  bi'ight  the  arrows,  gather  the  shields  ;  "  it  is  the 
prophet  that  speaks  to  the  Medes  and  Persians.  '*  The  Lord 
hath  raised  up  the  spirit  of  the  kings  of  the  Modes,  for  his 
device  is  against  Babylon  to  destroy  it,  because  it  is  the 
vengeance  of  the  Lord,  the  vengeance  of  his  temple."  * 

"Howl  ye,  for  the  day  of  the  Lord  is  at  hand,  a  day 
cruel  both  with  Avrath  and  fierce  anger,  to  lay  the  land  des- 
olate.f — Behold,  I  will  punish  the  king  of  Babylon  and  his 
land,  as  I  have  punished  the  king  of  Assyria."  $ 

"  Shout  against  her  round  about.  Recompense  her  ac- 
cording to  her  work  ;  according  to  all  that  she  hath  done, 

*  Jer.  li.  11.      t  Isa.  xiii.  6,  9.       X  In  the  destructiou  of  Nineveh.    Jer.  \.  18, 


HISTORY    OF    CVRUS.  549 

do  xmto  her  ;  and  s])are  ye  not  hex*  young  men  ;  destroy  ye 
utterly  all  her  host.* — Every  one  that  is  found  shall  be  tlirust 
through,  and  every  one  that  is  joined  unto  them  shall  fall  by 
the  sword.  Their  children  also  shall  be  dashed  to  pieces 
before  their  eyes,  their  liouses  shall  be  spoiled,  and  their 
wives  ravished.  Behold  I  Avill  stir  up  the  Medes  against 
them,  wlio  shall  not  regard  silvei- ;  and  as  for  gold,  they 
shall  not  delight  in  it.  Their  bows  also  shall  dash  the 
young  men  to  pieces,  and  they  shall  hnxe  no  ])ity  on  the 
fruit  of  the  womb  ;  their  eye  shall  not  spare  children. f  O 
daughter  of  Babylon,  Avho  art  to  be  destroyed,  happy  shall 
he  be  that  reA\'ardeth  thee  as  thou  hast  served  us.  Happy 
shall  lie  be,  that  taketh  thy  children,  and  dasheth  them 
against  the  stones."  t 

And  Babylon,  the  glory  of  kingdoms,  and  the  beauty  ot 
the  Chaldee's  excellency,  shall  be  us  when  God  overthrcAV 
Sodom  and  Gomorrah.  It  shall  never  be  inhabited,  neither 
shall  it  be  dwelt  in,  from  generation  to  generation  ;  neither 
shall  the  Arabian  pitch  tent  there  ;  neither  shall  the  shep- 
herds make  their  fold  there :  but  Avild  beasts  of  the  desert 
shall  lie  there,  and  their  houses  shall  be  full  of  doleful  crea- 
tures, and  owls  shall  dwell  there,  and  satyrs  shall  dance 
there  ;  and  the  wild  beasts  of  the  island  shall  ci-y  in  their 
desolate  houses,  and  dragons  in  their  pleasant  palaces.  §  I 
shall  also  make  it  a  possession  of  the  bittern,  and  pools  of 
water  ;  and  I  will  sweep  it  with  the  besom  of  destruction, 
saith  the  Lord  of  hosts.  The  lord  of  hosts  hath  sworn,  say- 
ing. Surely  as  I  have  thought,  so  shall  it  come  to  pass  ;  and 
as  I  have  purposed,  so  shall  it  stand."  || 

IV.    CYRUS  CALLED  TO  DESTROY  BABYLON',  AXD  TO  DELIVER 
THE  JEWS. 

Cyrus,  whom  Divine  Providence  was  to  make  use  of,  as  an 
instrument  for  the  executingc  of  his  design  of  goodness  and 
mercy  towards  his  people,  was  mentioned  in  the  Scripture 
by  his  name,  above  two  hundred  years  before  he  was  born. 
And,  that  the  world  might  not  be  surprised  at  the  prodi- 
gious rapidity  of  his  conquests,  God  Avas  pleased  to  declare 
in  very  lofty  and  remarkable  terms,  that  he  himself  would 
be  his  guide  ;  and  that  in  all  his  expeditions  he  would  lead 
him  by  the  hand,  and  would  subdue  all  the  princes  of  the 
earth  before  him ;    "  Thus  saith  the  Lord  to  his  anointed,  to 

*  Jer.  \.  15,  29,  and  li.  3.  t  Isa.  xiii.  15, 18.  t  Psal.  cxxxvii.  8,  9. 

§  Isa.  xiii.  19,  22.  ||  Isa.  xiv.  20,21. 


550  ANCIENT    HISTORY. 

Cyrus,  whose  right  hand  I  have  holden,  to  subdu?  nations 
before  him  ;  and  I  Avill  loose  the  loins  of  kings,  to  open  be- 
fore him  the  two-leaved  gates,  and  the  gates  shall  not  be  shut. 
I  will  go  before  thee,  and  make  the  crooked  places  straiglit. 
I  will  break  in  pieces  the  gates  of  brass,  and  cut  in  sunder 
the  bars  of  iron.  And  I  will  give  thee  the  treasures  of  dark- 
ness, and  hidden  riches  of  secret  places,  that  thou  mayest 
know,  that  I  the  Lord,  which  call  thee  by  thy  name,  am  the 
God  of  Israel ;  for  Jacob  my  servant's  sake,  and  Israel  mine 
elect,  I  have  even  called  thee  by  thy  name  :  I  have  surnamed 
thee,  though  thou  hast  not  known  me.* 

V.     GOD    GIVES    THE    SIGNAL    TO    THE    COMMANDERS,  AND    TO 
THE    TROOPS,  TO    MARCH    AGAINST    BABTLON. 

"  Lift  ye  up  a  banner,"  saith  the  Lord,  "  u|)on  the  high 
mountain,"  that  it  may  be  seen  afar  off,  and  that  all  they 
who  are  to  obey  me  may  know  my  orders.  "  Exalt  the 
voice  unto  them "  that  are  able  to  hear  you.  "  Shake  the 
hand,"  and  make  a  sign  to  hasten  the  march  of  those  that 
are  too  far  off  to  distinguish  another  sort  of  command.  Let 
the  officers  of  the  troops  "  go  into  the  gates  of  the  nobles," 
into  the  pavdions  of  their  kings.  Let  the  people  of  each 
nation  range  themselves  around  their  sovereign,  and  make 
haste  to  offer  him  their  service,  and  to  go  into  his  tent, 
which  is  already  set  u]>.t 

"  I  have  commanded  my  sanctified  ones  ;  "  t  I  have  given 
my  orders  to  those  whom  I  sanctified  for  the  execution  of 
my  designs  :  and  these  kings  are  already  marching  to  obey 
me,  though  they  know  me  not.  It  is  I  that  have  placed  them 
upon  the  throne,  that  have  made  several  nations  subject  to 
them,  in  order  to  accomplish  my  designs  by  their  ministra- 
tion. "  I  have  called  my  mighty  ones  for  mine  anger."  §  I 
have  caused  the  mighty  warriors  to  come  up,  to  be  the 
ministers  and  executioners  of  my  wrath  and  vengeance. 
From  me  they  derive  their  courage,  their  martial  abilities, 
their  patience,  their  wisdom,  and  the  success  of  their  enter- 
prises. If  they  are  invincible,  it  is  because  they  serve  me ; 
every  thing  gives  wa)^,  and  trembles  before  them,  because 
they  are  the  ministers  of  my  wrath  and  indignation.  They 
joyfully  labor  for  my  glory,  *•'  they  rejoice  in  my  highness." 
The  honor  they  have  of  being  under  my  command,  and  of 
being  sent  to  deliver  a  people  that  I  love,  inspires  them  Avith 

•  Isa.  xlv.  1-4.  t  Isa.  xili.  2.  t  Isa.  xiii.  3. 

6  Lat,  vers.  (;t-  ira  m:'a.    Heb.  In  iram  in.-am. 


HISTORY    OF    CYRUS,  551 

ardor  and  cheerfulness  :  behold,  they  triumph  already  hi  a 
certain  assurance  of  victory. 

Tlie  prophet,  a  witness  in  spirit  of  the  orders  that  are 
just  given,  is  astonished  at  the  rapidity  with  which  they  arc 
executed  by  the  ))rinces  and  the  people.  I  hear  already,  he 
cries  out,  ''  the  noise  of  a  multitude  in  the  mountains-  like 
as  of  a  great  people  :  a  tumultuous  noise  of  the  kingdoms  of 
nations  gathered  together.  The  Lord  of  hosts  mustereth  the 
host  of  battle  :  *  They  come  from  a  far  country,  from  th  j 
end  of  heaven,"  f  where  the  voice  of  God,  their  Master  and 
Sovereign,  has  reached  their  ears. 

But  it  is  not  with  the  sight  of  the  formidable  army,  or  of 
the  kings  of  the  earth,  that  I  am  now  struck  ;  it  is  God  him- 
self that  I  behold  ;  all  the  rest  are  but  his  retinue,  and  the 
ministers  of  his  justice.  "  It  is  even  the  Lord,  and  the 
weapons  of  his  indignation,  to  destroy  the  whole  land." 

"  A  grievous  vision  is  declared  unto  me."  The  impious 
Belshazzar,  king  of  Babylon,  continues  to  act  impiously  ;  t 
"  the  treacherous  dealer  dealeth  treacherously,  and  the 
spoiler  spoileth."  §  To  put  an  end  to  these  excesses,  go  up, 
thou  prince  of  Persia  :  Go  up,  O  Elam  :  "  and  thou  prince 
of  the  Medes,  besiege  thou  Babylon  :  ."  Besiege,  O  Media ; 
all  the  sighing  which  she  was  the  cause  of,  have  I  made  to 
cease."  The  wicked  city  is  taken  and  pillaged  ;  her  power  is 
at  an  end,  and  my  people  is  delivered. 

VI,    PARTICULAR  CIRCUMSTANCES' SET  DOWJf,  RELATI^^G  TO 
THE  SIEGE  AND  THE  TAKING  OF  BABYLON. 

There  is  nothing  perhaps,  that  can  be  more  ])roper  to 
raise  a  profound  reverence  in  us  for  religion  and  to  give  us 
a  great  idea  of  the  Deity,  than  to  observe  with  what  exact- 
ness he  reveals  to  his  prophets  the  principal  circumstances 
of  the  besieging  and  taking  of  Babylon,  not  only  many  years, 
but  several  ages,  before  it  happened. 

1.  We  have  already  seen,  that  the  array,  by  which  Baby- 
lon will  be  taken,  is  to  consist  of  Medes  and  Persians,  and 
to  be  commanded  by  Cyrus. 

2.  Tiie  city  shall  be  attacked  after  a  very  extraordinary 
manner,  in  a  way  that  she  did  not  at  all  expect  :  "  There- 
fore shall  evil  come  upon  thee  ;  thou  shalt  not  know  from 
whence  it  riseth."  ||  She  shall  be  all  on  a  sudden  and  in  an 
instant   overwhelmed   with   calamities,  which   she  did  not 

•  Isa.  xiii.  4.        1  is;i.  xiii.  5.        t  This  is  the  seiiBe  of  the  Hebrew  word. 
§  Isa.  xxi.  2.         II  Isa.  xlvii-  11. 


552  AKCIKXT    IIISTOUV. 

foresee  ;  "  Desolation  shall  come  upon  thee  suddenly,  whicVi 
thou  shalt  not  know.*  In  a  word,  she  shall  be  taken,  as  it 
were,  in  a  net  or  a  gin,  before  she  perceiveth  that  any  snares 
have  been  laid  for  her  :  "  I  have  laid  a  snare  for  thee,  and 
tliou  art  also  taken,  O  Babylon,  and  thou  wast  not  aware."  t 
8.  Babylon  Avas  confident  that  the  Euphrates  alone  Avas 
sufficient  to  render  her  impreg-nable,  and  triumphed  in  her 
being  so  advantageously  situated,  and  defended  by  so  deep 
a  river  '  "■  O  thou  that  dMellest  uj;on  many  w.':ters."  t  It 
1 ;  God  himself  who  points  out  Babylon  under  that  descrip- 
t  on.  And  yet  that  very  river  Euphrates  shall  he  the  cause 
of  her  niin.  Cyrus,  by  a  stratagem,  of  which  there  ncA  er 
had  been  any  example  before,  nor  has  there  been  any  thing 
like  it  since,  shall  divert  the  course  of  that  river,  shall  lay 
its  channel  dry,  and  by  that  means  open  himself  a  passage 
into  the  city  :  "  I  will  dry  up  her  sea,  and  make  her  springs 
dry.  A  drought  is  upon  herAvaters,  and  they  shall  be  dried 
up."  §  Cyrus  shall  take  possession  of  the  keys  of  the  river, 
and  the  waters,  which  rendered  Babylon  inaccessible,  shall 
be  dried  up,  as  if  they  had  been  consumed  by  fire  ;  "  the 
passages  are  stopjjed,  and  the  reeds  they  have  burnt  with 
fire.  Ij 

4.  She  shall  be  taken  in  the  night-time,  upon  a  day  of 
feasting  and  rejoicing,  even  while  her  inhabitants  are  at  table 
and  think  upon  nothing  but  eating  and  drinking  :  "  In  her 
heat  I  will  make  their  feasts,  and  I  will  make  them  drunken, 
that  they  may  rejoice,  arid  sleep  a  perpetual  sleep,  and  not 
wake,  saith  the  Lord."  1[  It  is  remarkable  that  it  is  God 
Avho  does  all  this,  Avho  lays  a  snare  for  Babylon  :  "  I  have 
laid  a  snare  for  thee  ;  "  **  Avho  drieth  up  the  Avaters  of  the 
river  ;  "  I  will  dry  up  her  sea ;  "  and  Avho  brings  that  drunk- 
enness and  droAvsiness  upon  the  princes  ;  "  I  Avill  make 
drunk  her  princes."  ft 

5.  The  king  shall  be  seized  in  an  instant  Avith  incredible 
terror  and  perturbation  of  mind  :  "  my  loins  are  filled  with 
pain ;  pangs  have  taken  hold  on  me,  as  the  pangs  of  a 
woman  that  travailoth :  I  was  boAved  down  at  the  hearing 
of  it ;  I  Avas  dismayed  at  the  seeing  of  it ;  my  heart  panted, 
tearfulness  affrighted  me;  the  night  of  my  pleasure  hath  he 
turned  into  fear  unto  me."  t|  This  is  the  condition  Bel. 
shazzar  Avas  in,  when,  in  the  middle  of  the  entertainment, 
he  SEAV  a  hand  come  out  of  the  Avail,  Avhich  Avrote  such  char- 

•  Isa.  xlvH.  11.     t  Jer.  1.  24.      t  Jer.  li.  U.       §  Jer.  1.  38,  li.  Se      II  Jer.  H.  32. 
t  Jer.  li.  aj.  ♦*  Jer.  li.  30.  tt  Jer.  li.  .".7  U  Isa.  xxi.3, 11. 


HISTORY    OF    CYRUS.  553 

acters  upon  it,  as  none  of  his  diviners  could  either  explain 
or  read  ;  but  more  especially  when  Daniel  declared  to  him, 
that  those  characters  imported  the  sentence  of  his  death : 
"  Then,"  says  the  Scripture,  ''  the  king's  countenance  was 
changed,  and  his  thoughts  troubled  him,  so  that  the  joints 
of  his  loins  were  loosed,  and  his  knees  smote  one  against 
another."*  The  terror,  astonishment,  fainting  and  trem- 
bling of  Belshazzar,  are  here  described  and  expressed  in  the 
same  manner  by  the  prophet  who  was  an  eye-witness  of 
them,  as  they  were  by  the  prophet  who  foretold  them  two 
hundred  years  before. 

'  But  Isaiah  must  have  had  an  extraordinary  measure  of 
divine  illumination,  to  be  able  to  add,  immediately  after 
the  description  of  Belshazzar's  consternation,  the  following 
Avords :  "  Prepare  the  table,  watch  in  the  watch-tower ;  eat, 
drink."  f  The  prophet  foresees,  that  Belshazzar,  though 
terribly  dismayed  and  confounded  at  first,  shall  recover  his 
courage  and  spirit  again,  through  the  exhortation  of  his 
courtiers ;  but  more  particularly  through  the  persuasion  of 
the  queen,  his  mother,  who  represented  to  him  the  unreason- 
ableness of  being  affected  with  such  unmanly  fears,  and 
unnecessary  alarms ;  "  Let  not  thy  thoughts  trouble  thee, 
nor  let  thy  countenance  be  changed."  t  They  exhorted 
him,  therefore,  to  make  himself  easy,  to  satisfy  himself  with 
giving  proper  orders,  and  with  the  assurance  of  being  ad- 
vertised of  every  thing  by  the  vigilance  of  the  sentinels  ;  to 
order  the  rest  of  the  supper  to  be  served,  as  if  nothing  had 
hap])ened  ;  and  to  recall  that  gayety  and  joy,  which  his 
excessive  fears  had  banished  from  the  table  ;  "  Prepare  the 
table,  watch  in  the  watch-tower  ;  eat,  drink." 

6.  Fit  at  the  same  time  that  men  are  giving  tlreir  orders, 
God  on  his  part  is  likewise  giving  his  :  "  Arise,  ye  princes, 
and  anoint  the  shield."  §  It  is  God  himself  that  com- 
mands the  princes  to  advance,  to  take  their  arms,  and  to 
enter  boldly  into  a  city  drowned  in  wine,  and  buried  in 
sleep. 

7.  Isaiah  acquaints  us  with  two  material  and  important 
circumstances  concerning  the  taking  of  Babylon.  The  first 
is,  that  the  troops  with  wdiich  it  is  filled  shall  not  keep  their 
ground  or  stand  firm  anywhere,  neither  at  the  palace,  nor 
the  citadel,  nor  any  other  pubric  place  whatever  ;  that  they 
shall  desert  and  leave  one  another,  without  thinking  of  any 
thing  but  making  their  escape,  that  in  rxinning  away  they 

*  Dan.  V.  6.  t  Isa.  xxL  5.  t  Dan.  v.  10.  §  Isa,  xxi.  14., 


554  ANCIENT    HISTORT. 

shall  disperse  themselves,  and  take  different  roads,  just  as 
a  flock  of  deer,  or  of  sheep  is  dispersed  and  scattered  when 
they  are  affrighted  :  "  And  it  shall  be  as  a  chased  roe,  and 
as  a  sheep  that  no  man  taketh  up."  *  Tlie  second  circura- 
gtance  is,  that  the  greatest  part  of  those  troops,  though  they 
were  in  the  Bibylonian  service  and  pay,  were  not  Baby- 
lonians ;  and  that  they  shall  return  into  the  provinces  from 
whence  they  came,  without  being  pursued  by  the  conquer- 
ors ;  because  the  divine  vengeance  was  chiefly  to  fall  upon 
the  citizens  of  Babylon  ;  "  They  shall  every  man  turn  to 
his  own  people,  and  flee  everyone  into  his  own  land."  t 

8.  Lastly,  not  to  mention  the  dreadful  slaughter  which 
is  to  be  made  of  the  inhabitants  of  Babylon,  where  no  mercy 
will  be  shown  either  to  old  men,  women,  or  children,  or 
even  to  the  child  that  is  still  within  its  motlier's  womb,  as 
has  been  already  taken  notice  of ;  the  last  circumstance 
which  the  prophet  foretells,  is  the  death  of  the  king  himself, 
whose  body  is  to  have  no  burial  and  the  entire  extinction  of 
the  royal  family ;  both  which  calamities  are  described  in 
the  Scripture,  after  a  manner  equally  terrible  and  instruct- 
ive to  all  princes.  "  But  thou  art  cast  out  of  thy  grave, 
like  an  abominable  branch.  Thou  shalt  not  be  joined  with 
them  (thy  ancestors)  in  burial,  because  thou  hast  destroyed 
thy  land,  and  slain  thy  people."  $  That  king  is  justly  for- 
got, who  has  never  remembered  that  he  ought  to  be  the 
protector  and  father  of  his  people.  He  that  has  lived  only 
to  ruin  and  destroy  his  country,  is  unworthy  of  the  common 
privilege  of  burial.  As  he  has  been  an  enemy  to  mankind, 
living  or  dead,  he  ought  to  have  no  place  among  them.  He 
was  like  unto  the  wild  beasts  of  the  fleld,  and  like  them  he 
shall  be  buried;  and  since  he  had  no  humanity  himself,  he 
deserves  to  meet  with  no  humanity  from  others.  This  is 
the  sentence  which  God  himself  pronounceth  against  Bel- 
shazzar  ;  and  the  maledictioii  extends  itself  to  his  children, 
who  were  looked  upon  as  his  associates  in  the  throne,  and 
as  the  source  of  a  long  posterity  and  succession  of  kings, 
and  were  entertained  with  nothing  by  the  flattering  court- 
iers, but  the  pleasing  pi'ospect  and  ideas  of  their  future 
grandeur.  "  Prepare  slaughter  for  his  children,  for  the 
iniquity  of  their  fathers ;  that  they  do  not  rise,  nor  possess 
the  land.  For  I. will  rise  up  against  them,  saith  the  Lord 
of  hosts,  and  cut  off  from  Babylon  the  name  and  remnant, 
and  son  and  nephew,  said  the  Lord."  § 

*  Isa.  xiii.  1-1.         f  -Isa.  xiii.  14.  t  Issa.  xiv.  19,  20.  §  Isa.  xiv-  21,  22 


HISTORY    OF    CYRUS.  555 

SECTION  II. A  DESCRIPTION"    OF  THE    TAKING  OF  BABY'LOX. 

After  hnviiig  seen  the  predictions  of  every  thing  that 
was  to  happen  to  impious  Babylon,  it  is  now  time  to  come 
to  the  completion  and  jiccomplishment  of  those  jjrophecies  ; 
and  in  order  thereto,  we  must  resume  the  thi-ead  of  our 
history,  with  respect  to  the  taking  of  that  city. 

As  soon  as  Cyrus  saw  that  the  ditch,  Avhich  they  had 
long  worked  upon,  was  finished,  he  began  to  think  seriously 
upon  the  execution  of  his  vast  design,  which  as  yet  he  had 
communicated  to  nobody.  Providence  soon  furnished  him 
with  as  fit  an  o])])ortunity  for  tliis  j^urpose  as  he  could 
desire.  He  was  informed,  that  in  the  city,  on  a  certain  day, 
a  great  festival  was  to  be  celel>rated  ;  and  that  the  Baby- 
lonians, on  occasion  of  that  solemnity,  were  accustomed  to 
pass  tlie  whole  night  in  drinking  and  del)auchery. 

Belshazzar  himself  was  more  concerned  in  this  public 
rejoicing  than  any  other,  and  gave  a  magnificent  entertain- 
ment to  the  chief  officers  of  the  kingdom,  and  the  ladies  of 
the  court.  In  the  heat  of  his  wine  he  ordered  the  gold  and 
silver  vessels,  which  had  been  taken  from  the  temple  of 
Jei'usalem,  to  be  brought  out;  and,  as  an  insxdt  upon  the 
God  of  Israel,  he,  his  whole  court,  and  all  his  concubines, 
drank  out  of  those  sacred  vessels.  God,  who  was  provoked 
at  such  insolence  and  impiety,  in  the  very  action,  made  hiiu 
sensible  who  it  was  that  he  offended,  by  a  sudden  appari- 
tion of  a  hand,  writing  certain  characters  upon  the  wall. 
The  king,  tei-ribly  surprised  and  affrighted  at  this  vision, 
immediately  sent  for  all  the  wise  men,  his  diviners,  and 
astrologers,  that  they  might  read  the  writing  to  hi)n,  and 
explain  the  meaning  of  it.  But  they  all  came  in  vain,  not 
one  of  them  being  able  to  expound  the  matter,  or  even  to 
read  the  characters.  *  It  is  probably  in  relation  to  this 
occurrence,  that  Isaiah,  after  having  foretold  to  Babylon, 
that  she  should  be  overwhelmed  with  calamities  which  she 
did  not  expect,  adds,  "  Stand  noAV  with  thine  enchantments, 
and  with  the  multitude  of  thy  sorceries.  Let  now  the 
astrologers,  the  star-gazers,  the  monthly  prognosticators, 
stiind  up,  and  save  thee  from  these  things  that  shall  come 
upon  thee."  Isa.  xlvii.  12,  13.  The  queen-mother,  Nitocris, 
a  princess  of  great  merit,  coming  upon  the  noise  of  this 
prodigy  into  the  banqueting-room,  endeavored  to  compose 

•  The  reason  why  they  could  not  read  this  soiiteuce  was.  that  it  was  written 
In  Hebrew  letter-,  which  are  now  called  the  Samaritan  characters,  and  which 
tiie  Babylonians  did  nut  uuderstaud. 


556  AXCIENT    HISTORY. 

the  spirit  of  the  Icing,  her  son,  advising  him  to  send  for 
Daniel,  with  whose  abilities  in  such  raatters  she  \\as  well 
acquainted,  and  whom  she  had  always  employed  in  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  state.  * 

Daniel  was  therefore  immediately  sent  for,  and  spoke  to 
the  king  M'ith  a  freedom  and  liberty  becoming  a  ])rophet. 
He  put  him  in  mind  of  the  dreadful  manner  in  which  God 
had  punished  the  pride  of  his  grandfather,  Nebuchadnezzar, 
and  the  crying  abuse  he  made  of  his  power,  when  he  acknowl- 
e.]ged  no  law  but  his  own  will,  and  thought  himself  master 
to  exalt  and  to  abase,  to  inflict  destruction  and  death  where- 
soever he  would,  only  because  such  was  his  will  and  pleasure. f 
"  And  thou  his  son,"  says  he  to  the  king,  "  hast  not  humbled 
thine  heart,  though  thou  knewest  all  this,  but  hast  lifted  up 
thyself  against  the  Lord  of  heaven  ;  and  they  have  brought 
the  vessels  of  his  house  before  thee  ;  and  thou  and  thy  lords, 
thy  wives  and  thy  concubines,  have  drunk  wine  in  them ; 
and  thou  hast  praised  the  gods  of  silver  and  gold,  of  brass, 
iron,  wood,  and  stone,  which  see  not,  nor  hear,  nor  know  ; 
and  the  God  in  whose  hand  thy  breath  is,  and  whose  are  all 
thy  ways,  hast  thou  not  glorified.  Then  was  the  part  of 
the  hand  sent  from  him,  and  this  writing  was  written.  And 
this  is  the  writing  that  was  written,  $  ]Mene,  Tekel,  Up- 
HARSiNT.  §  This  is  the  intepretation  of  the  thing ;  Mene, 
God  hath  numbered  thy  kingdom,  and  finished  it ;  Tekel, 
thou  art  weighed  in  the  balances,  and  art  found  wanting ; 
Peres,  thy  kingdom  is  divided,  and  given  to  the  Medes  and 
Persians."  This  interpretation,  one  would  think,  should 
have  enhanced  the  king's  trouble ;  but  some  way  or  other, 
they  found  means  to  dispel  his  fears,  and  make  him  easy ; 
probably  upon  the  persuasion,  that  the  calamity  was  not 
denounced  as  present  or  immediate,  and  that  time  might 
furnish  them  with  expedients  to  avert  it.  This,  however,  is 
certain,  that  for  fear  of  disturbing  the  general  joy  of  the 
present  festival,  they  put  off  the  discussion  of  serious  matters 
to  another  time,  and  sat  down  again  to  their  mirth  and 
liquor,  and  continued  their  revellings  to  a  very  late  hour. 

Cyrus,  in  the  mean  time,  well  informed  of  the  confusion 
that  was  generally  occasioned  by  this  festival,  both  in  the 
palace  and  the  city,  had  posted  a  part  of  his  troops  on  that 
side  where  the  river  entered  into  the  city,  and  another  part 

*  Dan.  V.  l-'-'9. 

t  '*  Whom  he  would  he  slew,  and  whom  he  would  he  kept  alive,  and  whom 
he  would  he  set  up,  and  whom  he  would  he  put  down."    Dan.  v.  i;). 

t  These  three  words  signify  number,  weight,  division.  §  Or  Peres. 


HISTORY    OF    CYKUS.  557 

on  that  side  where  it  went  out,  and  had  commanded  them 
to  enter  the  city  tliat  very  night,  by  marcliing;  along  the 
channel  of  the  river,  as  soon  as  ever  they  found  it  fordable. 
Having  given  all  necessary  orders,  and  exhorted  his  officers 
to  follow  him,  by  representing  to  them  that  he  marched 
under  the  conduct  of  the  gods  ;  in  the  evening  he  made 
them  open  the  great  receptacles,  or  ditches,  on  both  sides 
of  the  town,  above  and  below,  that  the  water  of  the  river 
might  run  into  them.  By  this  means  the  Euphrates  was 
quickly  emptied,  and  its  channel  became  dry.  Then  the 
two  fore-mentioned  bodies  of  troops,  according  to  their 
orders,  went  into  the  channel,  the  one  commanded  by  Go- 
bryas,  and  the  other  by  Gadates,  and  advanced  towards 
each  other  without  meeting  with  any  obstacle.  The  invisi- 
ble Guide,  who  had  promised  to  open  all  the  gates  to  Cyrus, 
made  the  general  negligence  and  disorder  of  that  riotous 
night  subservient  to  his  design,  by  leaving  open  the  gates 
of  brass,  which  were  made  to  shut  up  the  descents  from  the 
quays  to  the  river,  and  which  alone,  if  they  had  not  been 
left  open,  were  sufficient  to  have  defeated  the  whole  enter- 
prise. Thus  did  these  two  bodies  of  troops  penetrate  into 
the  "very  heart  of  the  city  without  any  o])position,  and  meet- 
ing together  at  the  royal  palace,  according  to  their  agree- 
ment, surprised  the  guards,  and  cut  them  to  pieces.  Some 
of  the  company  that  were  within  the  palace  o]>ening  the 
doors,  to  know  what  noise  it  was  they  heard  without,  the 
soldiers  rushed  in  and  quickly  made  themselves  masters  of 
it.  And  meeting  the  king,  who  came  up  to  them  sword  in 
hand,  at  the  head  of  those  that  were  in  the  Avay  to  succor  him, 
they  killed  liim  and  put  all  those  that  attended  him  to  the 
sword.  The  first  thing  the  conquerors  did  afterwards,  was 
to  thank  the  gods  for  having  at  last  punished  that  impious 
king.  These  words  are  Xenophon's,  and  are  very  remark- 
able, as  they  so  perfectly  agree  with  what  the  Scriptures 
have  recorded  of  the  ivn])ious  Celshazzar.* 

The  taking  of  Babylon  put  an  end  to  the  Babylonian 
empire,  after  a  duration  of  two  hundred  and  ten  years  from 
the  beginn'ng  of  Nabonassar's  reign,  who  was  the  founder 
thereof.  Thus  was  the  power  of  that  proud  city  abolished, 
just  fifty  years  after  she  had  destroyed  the  city  of  Jerusalem 
and  her  temple.  And  herein  were  accomplished  l^iose  pre- 
dictions which  the  jn'ophets  Isaiah,  Jeremiah,  and  Daniel,  had 
denounced  against  her,  and  of  which  we  have  already  given 

*  Cyrop.  1.  vii.  p.  180-192. 


558  ANCIENT    HISTORY. 

a  particular  account.  There  is  still  one  more,  the  most 
important  and  the  most  incredible  of  them  all,  and  yet  the 
Scripture  has  set  it  down  in  the  strongest  terms,  and  marked 
it  out  with  the  greatness  exactness  ;  a  prediction  literally 
fulfilled  in  all  its  points,  the  jjroof  of  which  still  actually 
subsists,  is  the  most  easy  to  be  verified,  and  indeed  of  a 
nature  not  to  be  contested.  What  I  mean  is,  the  prediction 
of  so  total  and  absolute  a  ruin  of  Babylon,  that  not  the 
least  remains  or  footsteps  should  be  left  of  it.  1  think  it 
may  not  be  improper  to  give  an  account  of  the  perfect 
accomplishment  of  this  famous  prophecy,  before  we  pro- 
ceed to  speak  of  what  followed  the  taking  of  Babylon.* 

SECTION  III. THE  COMPLETON  OF  THE  PROPHECY  WHICH 

FORETOLD  THE  TOTAL  RUIN  AND  DESTRUCTION  OF  BABY- 
LON. 

This  prediction  we  find  recorded  in  several  of  the  proph- 
ets, but  particularly  in  Isaiah,  in  the  13th  chapter,  from  the 
19th  to  the  22d  verse,  and  in  the  23d  and  24th  verses  of  the 
14th  chapter.  I  have  already  inserted  it  at  large,  page  547, 
etc.  It  is  there  declared,  that  Babylon  should  be  utterly 
destroyed,  as  the  criminal  cities  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah 
foiTnerly  were ;  that  she  shall  be  no  more  inhabited  ;  that 
she  shall  never  be  rebuilt ;  that  the  Arabs  shall  not  so  much 
as  set  up  their  tents  there  ;  that  neither  herdsman  or  shep- 
herd shall  come  thither  even  to  rest  his  herd  or  his  flock  ; 
that  it  shall  become  a  dwelling-place  for  wild  beasts,  and  a 
retreat  for  the  birds  of  the  night ;  that  the  place  where  it 
stood  shall  be  covered  over  with  a  marsh,  or  fen,  so  that  no 
mark  or  footstep  shall  be  left  to  show  where  Babylon  had 
been.  It  was  God  himself  who  pronounced  this  sentence, 
and  it  is  for  the  service  of  religion,  to  show  how  exactly 
every  article  of  it  has  been  successively  accomplished. 

1.  In  the^first  place,  Babylon  ceased  to  be  a  royal  city, 
the  kings  of  Persia  choosing  to  reside  elsewhere.  They  de- 
lighted more  in  Shusan,  Ecbatana,  Persepolis,  or  any  other 
place,  and  did  themselves  destroy  a  great  part  of  Babylon. 

2.  We  are  informed  by  Strabo  and  Pliny,  that  the  Ma- 
cedonians, who  succeeded  the  Persians,  did  not  only  neglect- 
it,  and  forbear  to  make  any  embellishments,  or  even  repa- 
rations in  it,  but  that  moreover  they  built  Seleucia  in  the 
neighborhood,!  on  purpose  to  draw  away  its  inhabitants,  and 

*  A.  >r.  3466.     Ant-  J.  C  53S. 

♦  Partem  urbis  Persse  diraerunt,  partem  tempus  consumpsit,  et  Macedonurn 


HISTORY    OF    CYRUS.  559 

cause  it  to  be  deserted.*  Xothing  can  better  exjjlain  what 
the  prophet  had  foretold,  "  It  shall  not  be  inhabited."  Its 
own  masters  endeavor  to  depopulate  it. 

3.  The  new  kings  of  Persia,  who  afterwards  became 
masters  of  Babylon,  completed  the  ruin  of  it,  by  building 
Ctesiphon,t  which  carried  away  all  the  remainder  of  the  in- 
habitants ;  so  that,  from  the  time  the  anathema  was  pro- 
nounced against  that  city,  it  seems  as  if  those  A^ery  persojis 
that  ought  to  have  protected  her  were  become  her  enemies  : 
as  if  they  had  all  thought  it  their  duty  to  reduce  her  to  a 
state  of  solitude,  though  by  indirect  means,  and  without 
using  any  violence  ;  that  it  might  the  more  manifestly  ap- 
pear to  bo  the  hand  of  God,  rather  than  the  hand  of  man, 
which  brought  aljout  her  de-*truction. 

4.  She  was  so  totally  forsaken,  that  nothing  of  her  was 
left  remaining  but  the  walls.  And  to  this  condition  Avas  she 
reduced  at  the  time  when  Pausanias  wrot^'  h  s  i-emarks  upon 
Greece.  J  lUa  aittem  B  ibi^lon,  otn^iiwa  quns  unquam  sol 
aspexit  urhiiim  m:i:cun%^  jam  prrMer  rauros  nihil  habet 
reliqui.     Paus.  in  Arcad.  p.  509.  § 

5.  The  kings  of  Persia,  finding  the  place  deserted,  made 
a  park  of  it,  in  Avhich  they  kept  wild  beasts  for  hunting. 
Thus  did  it  become,  as  the  prophet  had  foretold,  a  dwelling- 
place  for  ravenous  beasts,  that  are  enemies  to  man  ;  or  for 
timorous  animals,  that  flee  before  him.  Instead  of  citizens, 
it  was  now  inhabited  by  wild  boars,  leopards,  bears,  deer, 
and  wild  asses.  Babylon  was  now  the  retreat  of  fierce,  sav- 
age, deadly  creatures,  that  hate  the  light,  and  delight  in 
darkness.  "  Wild  beasts  of  the  desert  shall  lie  there,"  and 
"  dragons  shall  dwell  in  their  pleasant  palaces."  || 

St.  Jerome  has  transmitted  to  us  the  following  valuable 
remark,  which  he  had  from  a  Persian  monk,  that  had  him- 
self seen  what  he  related  to  him  ;  Didichnus  a  quodmn 
fratre  Elamita,  qui  de  illis  finibus  egrediens,  nunc  Hieroso- 
Ij/mis  vitara  exeyit  monachorurn,  oenationes  regias  esse  in 
Bahylone^  et  omnis  generis  bestias  murorum  ejus  ambitu 
tantuni  contineri. — In  cap.  Isa.  xiii.  22.  1[ 

negligentia ;  maxinie  postquani  Seleucus  Nicator  Seleuciam  ad  Tigrim  condidit 
stadiis  tautum  trecentisa  Babyloue  ilis;uUim.— Strab.  1.  xvi.  p.  738. 

In  solitudiuem  lediit  exUausta  viciiiitate  Seleiiciise,  ob  idconditaj  a  Nicatore 
intra  noiiagesimuin  (or  quaJragesiaium)  lapidam.— Pliii.  1.  vi.  c.  2o. 

*  A.  M.  3880.     Ant.  J.  G.  124. 

t  Pro  ilia  Seleuciam  et  Ctesiphontem  urbes  Persjirum  inclitas  fecerunt.— S. 
Hieroii.  in  cap.  xiii.  Isa. 

%  He  wrote  iii  the  reign  of  Antoniiins,  successor  to  Adrian. 

§  A.  D.  9G.  11  Isa.  xiii.  21,  22.  IT  A.  D.  400. 


560  ANCIENT    mSTOUY. 

6.  Bat  it  Avas  still  too  much  that  the  walls  of  Babylon 
were  standing.  At  length  they  fell  down  iu  several  ])laces, 
and  were  never  repaired".  Various  accidents  destroyed  the 
remainder.  The  animals,  which  served  for  pleasure  to  tlie 
Persian  kings,  abandoned  the  place  ;  serpents  and  scorpions 
remained,  so  that  it  became  a  dreadful  place  for  persons  that 
should  have  the  curiosity  to  visit,  or  search  after  its  anti- 
quities. The  Euphrates,  that  usad  to  run  through  the  city, 
having  no  longer  a  free  channel,  took  its  course  another 
way ;  so  that,  in  Theodoret's  time,  there  was  but  a  very  little 
stream  of  water  left,  which  ran  across  the  ruins,  and,  not 
meeting  Avith  a  descent  or  free  passage,  necessarily  expanded 
into  a  marsh.* 

In  the  time  of  Alexander  the  Great,  the  river  had  left  its 
ordinary  channel,  by  reason  of  the  outlets  and  canals  which 
Cyrus  had  made,  and  of  which  we  have  already  given  an  ac- 
count ;  thase  outlets,  being  ill  stopped  up,  had  occasioned  a 
great  inundation  in  the  country.  Alexander,  designing  to 
fix  the  seat  of  his  empire  at  Babylon,  projected  the  bringing 
back  the  Euphrates  into  its  natural  and  former  channel,  and 
had  actually  set  his  men  to  work.t  But  the'  Almighty,  who 
watched  over  the  fulfilling  of  his  prophecy,  and  who  declared 
he  would  destroy  evan  to  the  very  remains  and  traces  of 
Babylon,  "  I  will  cut  off  from  Babylon  the  name  and  i*em- 
nant,"  t  defeated  this  enterprise  by  the  death  of  Alexander, 
which  happened  soon  after.  It  is  easy  to  comprehend  how, 
after  this,  Babylon  being  neglected  to  such  a  degree  as  we 
have  seen,  its  river  was  converted  into  an  inaccessible  pool, 
which  covered  the  very  place  where  tiiat  inij/nus  city  had 
stood,  as  Isaiah  had  foretold,  "I  will  make  it  pools  of 
water."  §  And  this  was  necessary,  lest  the  place  where 
Babylon  had  stood  should  be  discovered  hereafter  by  the 
course  of  the  Euphrates. 

7.  By  means  of  all  these  changes,  Babylon  became  an 
utter  desert,  and  all  the  country  round  fell  into  tiie  same 
state  of  desolation  and  horror ;  so  that  the  ablest  geographers 
at  this  day  cannot  determine  the  place  where  it  stood.  ||  In 
this  manner  God's  prediction  was  literally  fulfilled  ;  "  I  will 
make  it  a  possession  for  the  bittern,  and  pools  of  water ;  and 
I  will  sweep  it  with  the  besom  of  destruction,  saith  the  Lord 

*  Euphrates  quondam  urbera  ipsam  mediam  dividebat ;  nunc  autem  fluvius 
coDversiis  est  in  aliain  viam  et  per  radera  minimus  aquarum  meatus  duit.— 
Tlieod.  in  cap.  1.  .lerem.  38  et  39. 

t  An-iau.  de  Exp^l.  Alex.  1.  viii.  $  Isa.  xvi.  22.  §  Isa.  xvi.  23. 

d  Nunc  omnino  destructa,  ita  ut  vix  ejus  supcrsini  rudera.— Baudran. 


HISTORY    OF    CYRUS.  561 

of  hosts."  *  I  myself,  saitli  the  Lord,  will  examine  with  a 
jealous  eye,  to  see  if  there  be  any  remains  of  that  city,  which 
was  an  enemy  to  my  name  and  to  Jerusalem.  I  will  thor- 
oughly sweep  the  ])lace  where  it  stood,  and  will  clear  it  so 
effectually,  by  defacing  every  trace  of  the  city,  that  no  per- 
son shall  be  able  to  preserve  the  memory  of  the  ])lace  chosen 
by  Niinrod,  and  which  I,  who  am  the  Lord,  have  abolished. 
"•I  will  sweep  it  with  the  besom  of  destruction,  saith  the 
Lord  of  hosts." 

8.  God  was  not  satisfied  with  causing  all  these  alterations 
to  be  foretold,  but,  to  give  the  greater  assurance  of  their  cer- 
tainty, thought  fit  to  seal  the  prediction  of  them  by  an  oath. 
"  The  Lord  of  hosts  hath  sworn,  saying.  Surely  as  I  have 
thought,  so  shall  it  come  to  pass  ;  and  as  I  have  purposed,  so 
shall  it  stand."  f  But  if  we  should  take  this  dreadful  oath 
in  its  full  latitude,  Ave  must  not  confine  it  either  to  Babylon, 
or  to  its  inhabitants,  or  to  the  princes  who  reigned  therein. 
The  malediction  relates  to  the  whole  world  ;  it  is  the  general 
anathema  pronounced  against  the  wicked ;  it  is  the  terrible 
decree,  by  which  the  two  cities  of  Babylon  and  Jerusalem 
shall  be  separated  for  ever,  and  an  eternal  divorce  be  ])ut  be- 
tween the  good  and  the  wicked.  The  Scriptures,  that  h.ive 
foretold  it,  shall  subsist  till  the  day  of  its  execution.  The 
sentence  is  written  therein,  and  deposited,  as  it  were,  in  the 
public  archives  of  religion.  "  The  Lord  of  hosts  hath  sworn, 
saying.  Surely,  as  I  have  thought,  so  shall  it  come  to  pass  ; 
and  as  I  have  purposed,  so  shall  it  stand." 

What  I  have  said  of  this  prophecy  concerning  Babylon, 
is  almost  entirely  taken  out  of  an  excellent  treatise  upon 
Isaiah,  which  is  still  in  manuscript. 

SECTION    IV. WHAT    FOLLOWED    UPOX    THE    TAKIXG    OF 

BABYLON'. 

Cyrus  having  entered  the  city  after  the  manner  we  have 
described,  put  all  to  the  sword  that  were  found  in  the 
streets  ;  tlien  commanded  the  citizens  to  bring  him  all  their 
arms,  and  afterwards  to  shut  themselves  up  in  their  houses. 
The  next  morning,  by  break  of  day,  the  garrison,  which  kept 
the  citadel,  being  surprised  that  the  city  was  taken,  and  their 
king  killed,  surrendered  themselves  to  Cyrus.  Thus  did 
this  prince,  almost  without  striking  a  blow,  and  without  any 
resistance,  find  himself  in  peaceable  possession  of  the  strong- 
est place  in  the  world.  J  •  - 

•  Isa.  xiv.  23.  t  Isa.  xiv.  24.  J  Cyrop.  I.  vii.  p.  192. 

36 


562  ANCIENT    HISTORY. 

The  first  thing  he  did  was  to  thank  the  gods  for  the  suc- 
cess they  had  given  him.  And  then,  having  assembled  his 
principal  officers,  he  piiblicly  applauded  their  couraire  and 
prudence,  their  zeal  and  attachment  to  his  ])erson,  and  dis- 
tributed rewards  to  his  whole  army.  After  wliich  he  repre- 
sented to  them,  that  the  only  means  of  preserving  \\'hat  they 
had  acquired,  Avas  to  persevere  in  their  ancient  virtue  ;  that 
the  proper  end  of  victory  was  not  to  give  themselves  up  to 
idleness  and  pleasure  ;  that,  after  having  conquei-ed  their 
enemies  by  force  of  arms,  it  would  be  shameful  to  suffer 
themselves  to  be  overthrown  by  the  allurements  of  pleasure  ; 
that,  in  order  to  maintain  their  ancient  glory,  it  behooved 
them  to  keep  up  among  the  Persians  at  Babylon  the  same 
discipline  they  had  observed  in  their  own  country,  and,  for 
that  end,  to  take  particular  care  to  give  their  children  educa- 
tion. This,  says  he,  will  necessarily  engage  us  daily  to  make 
farther  advances  in  virtue,  as  it  will  oblige  us  to  be  diligent 
and  careful  in  setting  them  good  examples  ;  nor  will  it  be 
easy  for  them  to  be  corru])ted,  when  they  shall  neither  hear 
nor  see  any  thing  among  us  but  what  excites  them  to  virtue, 
and  shall  be  continually  employed  in  honorable  and  laudable 
exercises.* 

Cyrus  committed  the  different  parts  and  offices  of  his  gov- 
ernment to  different  persons,  according  to  their  various  talents 
and  qualifications ;  but  the  care  of  forming  and  appointing  gen- 
eral officers,  governors  of  provinces,  ministers,  and  ambassa- 
dors, he  reserved  to  himself,  looking  upon  that  as  the  proper 
duty  and  employment  of  a  king,  upon  which  depended  his 
glory,  the  success  of  his  affairs,  and  the  happiness  and  tran- 
quillity of  his  kingdom.  Ilis  great  talent  was  to  study  the 
particular  character  of  men,  in  order  to  place  every  one  in 
his  proper  sphere,  to  give  them  authority  in  propoition  to 
their  merit,  to  make  their  private  a  1\-  vncement  concur  with 
the  public  good,  and  to  make  the  Avhule  machine  of  the  state 
move  in  so  regular  a  manner,  that  CAery  part  should  have  a 
dependence  upon,  and  mutually  contribute  to  support  each 
other ;  and  that  the  strength  of  one  sliould  not  exert  itself 
but  for  the  benefit  and  advantage  of  the  rest.  Each  person 
had  his  district,  and  his  particular  sphere  of  business,  of 
which  he  gave  an  account  to  another  above  him,  and  he  again 
to  a  third,  and  so  on,  till,  by  these  different  degrees  and 
regular  subordination,  the  cognizance  of  affaii-s  came  to  the 
king  himself,  Avho  did  not  stand  idle  in  the  midst  of  all  thi« 

*  Cyio,'.  1.  \ii.  pp.  107-200. 


HISTORY    OF    CYRUS.  563 

motion,  but  was,  as  it  Avere,  the  soul  to  the  body  of  the  state, 
which,  by  this  means,  he  governed  with  as  much  ease  as  a 
father  governs  his  private  family.* 

When  he  afterwards  sent  governors,  called  satraps,  into 
the  provinces  under  his  subjection,  he  Avould  not  suffer  the 
particular  governors  of  places,  oi*  the  commanding  officers 
of  the  troops  maintained  for  the  security  of  the  country,  to 
depend  upon  those  provincial  governors,  or  to  be  subject  to 
any  one  but  himself ;  that  if  any  of  the  satraps,  elated  with 
his  power  or  riches,  made  an  ill  use  of  his  authority,  there 
might  be  found  Avitnesses  and  censors  of  his  mal-administra- 
tion  within  his  own  government.  For  there  was  nothing 
he  so  carefully  avoided,  as  the  trusting  any  one  man  with 
an  absolute  poAver,  knoAving  that  a  prince  Avill  quickly  have 
reason  to  repent  his  haA'ing  exalted  one  person  so  high,  that 
all  others  are  thereby  abased  and  kept  under.! 

Thus  Cyrus  established  a  wonderfid  order  with  respect 
to  his  military  affairs,  his  treasury,  and  civil  gOA'ernraent. 
In  all  the  i)rovinces  he  had  persons  of  approved  integrity, 
who  gave  him  an  account  of  CA^ery  thing  that  passed.  lie 
made  it  his  principal  care  to  honor  and  reAvard  all  such  as 
distinguished  themselves  by  their  merit,  or  Avere  eminent  in 
any  respect  whatever.  He  preferred  clemency  far  before 
martial  coui*age,  because  the  latter  is  often  the  cause  of  ruin 
and  desolation  to  Avhole  nations,  Avhereas  the  former  is  al- 
ways beneficent  and  useful.  %  He  Avas  sensible  that  good 
laws  contribute  A^ery  much  to  the  forming  and  preserving  of 
good  manners  ;  but,  in  his  opinion,  the  jirince,  by  his  exam- 
ple, was  to  be  a  living  law  to  his  people  :  §  nor  did  he  think 
a  man  worthy  to  reign  over  others,  unless  he  w:is  more  wise 
and  virtuous  than  those  he  governed  :  ||  he  was  also  per- 
siiaded  that  the  surest  means  for  a  j)rince  to  gain  the  I'espect 
of  his  courtiers,  and  of  such  as  approached  his  person,  Avas 
to  ha\'e  so  much  regard  for  them,  as  never  to  do  or  say  any 
thing  before  them,  contrary  to  the  rules  of  decency  and  good 
manners.  1[ 

He  looked  upon  liberality  as  a  virtue  truly  royal ;  nor 
did  he  think  there  was  any  thing  great  or  valuable  in  riches, 
but  the  pleasure  of  distributing  them  to  others.**  "  I  have 
prodigious  riches,"  says  he  to  his  courtiers,  "  I  own,  and  I 
am  glad  the  Avorld  knows  it ;  but  you  may  assure  yourselves, 
they  are  as  rniich  yours  as  mine.     For  to  what  end  should  I 

*  Cyrop.  p.  202.      t  Cyrop.  1.  viii.  p.  229.      %  Cyrop.  p.  200.      §  fyrop.  p.  204 
II  Cyrop.  p.  203-  '     T  Cyrop.  p.  204.  **  Cyroj).  I.' viii.  p.  20y. 


564  AXCIEXT    HISTORY. 

heap  up  wealth  ?  For  my  own  use,  and  to  consume  it  my« 
self  ?  That  would  be  impossible,  if  I  desired  it.  Xo  ;  tlie 
chief  end  I  aim  at,  is  to  have  it  in  my  power  to  reward  those 
who  serve  the  public  faithfully,  and  to  succor  and  relicAC 
those  tliat  will  acquaint  me  Avith  tlieir  wants  and  necessi- 
ties." * 

Croesus  one  day  represented  to  him,  that  by  continual 
giying,  he  Avould  at  last  make  himself  poor  ;  Avliereas  he 
might  haye  amassed  infinite  treasures,  and  liaA'e  been  the 
richest  prince  in  the  world.  "  And  to  what  sum,"  replied 
Cyrus,  "  do  you  think  those  treasures  might  have  amounted  ?  " 
Croesus  named  a  certain  sum,  which  was  immensely  greaj, 
Cyrus  thereupon  ordered  a  short  note  to  be  Avritten  to  the 
lords  of  his  court,  in  AA'hich  it  Avas  signified  to  them,  that  he 
had  occasion  for  money.  Immediately  a  much  larger  sum  Avas 
brought  to  him  than  Croesus  had  mentioned.  "Look  here," 
says  Cyrus  to  him,  "  here  are  my  treasures  ;  the  chests  I 
keep  my  riches  in,  are  the  hearts  and  affections  of  my  sub- 
jects." t 

But  as  much  as  he  esteemed  liberality,  he  still  laid  a 
greater  stress  u])on  kindness  and  condescension,  affability 
and  humanity,  Avhich  are  qualities  still  more  engaging,  and 
more  apt  to  acquire  the  affection  of  a  people,  Avhich  is  pro])- 
erly  to  reign.  For  a  prince  to  be  more  generous  than 
others  in  giving,  Avhen  he  is  infinitely  more  rich  than  they, 
has  nothing  in  it  so  surprising  or  extraordinary,  as  to  de- 
scend in  a  manner  from  the  throne,  and  to  put  himself  upon 
a  level  with  his  subjects. 

But  Avliat  Cyrus  preferred  to  all  other  things,  was  the 
worship  of  the  gods,  and  a  respect  for  religion.  IJ]>on  this^ 
therefore,  he  thought  himself  obliged  to  bestow  his  first  and 
principal  care,  as  soon  as  he  became  more  at  leisure,  and 
more  master  of  his  time,  by  the  conquest  of  Babylon.  He 
began  by  establishing  a  number  of  magi,  to  sing  daily  a 
morning-service  of  })raise  to  the  honor  of  the  gods,  and  to 
offer  sacrifices  ;  Avhich  Avas  always  j^ractised  among  them  in 
succeeding  ages,  t 

The  [/rince's  disposition  quickly  became,  as  is  usual,  the 
prevailing  disposition  among  his  people  ;  and  his  example 
became  the  rule  of  their  conduct.  Tlie  Persians,  Avho  saAV 
that  Cyrus's  reign  had  been  but  one  continued  chain  and 
series  of  ])rosperity  and  success,  believed,  that  by  serving 
the  gods  as  he  did,  they  should  be  blessed  Avith  the  like  liap 

•  Cj-ron.  p.  225.  t  Cyrop.  p.  210.  t  Cyrop.  p.  204. 


HISTORV    OF    CYRUS.  565 

piness  and  prosperity  ;  besides,  they  were  sensible  that  it 
was  the  surest  way  to  please  their  prince,  and  to  make  their 
court  to  him  successfully.  Cyi'us,  on  the  other  hand,  was 
extremely  glad  to  find  them  have  such  sentiments  of  religion, 
being  convinced,  that  whoever  sincerely  fears  and  worships 
God,  will  at  the  same  time  be  faithful  to  his  king,  and  pre- 
serve an  inviolable  attachment  to  his  person,  and  to  the 
welfare  of  the  state.  All  this  is  excellent,  but  is  only  true 
and  real  in  the  true  religion. 

Cyrus  being  resolved  to  settle  his  chief  residence  at  Baby- 
lon, a  powerful  city,  which  could  not  be  very  well  affected 
to  him,  thought  it  necessary  to  be  more  cautious  than  he  had 
been  hitherto,  in  regard  to  the  safety  of  his  person.  The 
most  dangerous  hours  for  princes  within  their  palaces,  and 
the  most  likely  for  treasonable  attempts  upon  their  lives,  are 
those  of  bathing,  eating,  and  sleeping.  He  determined, 
therefore,  to  suffer  nobody  to  be  near  him  at  those  times,  but 
those  persons  on  whose  fidelity  he  could  absolutely  rely  ;  and 
on  this  account  he  thought  eunuchs  preferable  to  all  others ; 
because  as  they  had  neither  wives,  children,  nor  families, 
and  besides  were  generally  despised  on  account  of  the  mean- 
ness of  their  birth,  and  the  ignominy  of  their  condition,  they 
were  engaged  by  all  sorts  of  reasons  to  an  entire  attachment 
to  their  master,  on  whose  life  their  whole  fortune  depended, 
and  on  whose  account  alone  it  was  that  they  were  of  any 
consideration.  Cyrus  therefore  filled  all  the  ofiices  of  his 
household  with  eunuchs  ;  and  as  this  had  been  the  practice 
before  his  time,  from  henceforth  it  became  the  general  cus- 
tom of  all  the  eastern  countries.* 

It  is  well  known,  that  in  after  times  this  usage  prevailed 
also  among  the  Roman  emperors,  with  whom  the  eunuchs 
were  the  reigning,  all  powerful  favorites  ;  nor  is  it  any  won- 
der. It  was  very  natural  for  the  prince,  after  having  confided 
his  person  to  their  care,  and  experienced  their  zeal,  fidelity 
and  merit,  to  entrust  them  also  with  the  management  of  af- 
fairs, and  by  degrees  to  give  himself  up  to  them.  These  ex- 
pert courtiers  knew  how  to  improve  those  favorable  moments, 
when  sovereigns,  delivered  from  the  weight  of  their  dignity, 
which  is  a  burden  to  them,  become  men,  and  familiarize 
themselves  with  their  ofiicers.  And  by  this  policy  having 
got  possession  of  their  inasters'  minds  and  confidence,  they 
came  to  be  in  great  credit  at  court,  to  have  the  administra- 
tion of  public  affairs,  and  the  disposal  of  employments  and 

*  Cyrop.  1.  vii.  p.  196, 


566  ANCIEXT    HISTOUY. 

honors,  and  to  arrive,  themselves,  at  the  liighest  offices  and 
dignities  of  the  state. 

But  the  good  emperors,  such  ns  Alexander  Severus,  held 
the  eunuchs  in  abliorrence,  looking  upon  them  as  creatures 
sold  and  attached  only  to  their  fortune,  and  enemies  by 
principle  to  the  public  good ;  persons,  whose  only  view  was 
to  get  ])ossession  of  the  prince's  mind,  to  keep  all  persons  of 
merit  from  him,  to  conceal  affairs  as  much  as  ])ossible  from 
his  knowledge,  and  to  keep  him  shut  nyi  and  im])risoned  in 
a  mannei',  within  the  narrow  circle  of  three  or  four  officers, 
who  had  an  entire  ascendant  and  dominion  over  him.  Claw- 
denies  principeni  suum^  et  agentes  ante  omnia  ne  quid 
sciat* 

When  Cyrus  had  given  orders  about  every  thing  relat- 
ing to  the  government,  he  resolved  to  show  himself  publicly 
to  his  people,  and  to  his  new-conquered  subjects,  in  a  solemn, 
august  ceremony  of  religion,  by  marching  in  a  ]>ompous  cav- 
alcade to  the  places  consecrated  to  the  gods,  in  order  to  offer 
sacrifices  to  them.  In  this  procession  Cyrus  thought  fit  to 
display  all  possible  splendor  and  magnificence,  to  catch  and 
dazzle  the  eyes  of  the  people.  This  was  the  first  time  that 
this  prince  ever  aimed  at  procuring  a  respect  to  himself,  not 
only  by  the  attractions  of  virtue,  says  the  historian,  but  by 
such  an  external  pomp  as  was  proper  to  attract  the  multi- 
tude, and  Avork  like  a  charm  or  enchantment  upon  their  im- 
aginations.f  He  ordered  the  superior  officers  of  the  Per- 
sians and  allies  to  attend  him,  and  gave  each  of  them  a  suit 
of  clothes  of  the  Median  fashion,  that  is  to  say,  long  gar- 
ments which  hung  down  to  the  feet.  These  clothes  were  of 
various  colors,  all  of  the  finest  and  brightest  dye,  and  richly 
embroidered  with  gold  and  silver.  Besides  those  that  were 
for  themselves,  he  gave  them  others,  very  splendid  also,  but 
less  costly,  to  present  to  the  subaltern  officers.  X  It  was  on 
this  occasion  the  Persians  first  dressed  themselves  after  the 
manner  of  the  Medes,  and  began  to  imitate  them  in  coloring 
their  eyes,  to  make  them  appear  more  lively,  and  in  paint- 
ing their  faces,  in  order  to  beautify  their  com})lexions.  § 

When  the  time  appointed  for  the  ceremony  was  come, 
the  whole  company  assembled  at  the  king's  palace  by  break 
of  day.  Four  thousand  of  the  guards,  drawn  up  four  deep, 
placed  themselves  in  front  of  the  palace,  and  two  thousand 
on  the  two  sides  of  it,  ranged  in  the  same  order.     All  the 

*  Lampdd.  in  vita  Alex.  Sever. 

t   AAAd  Kai  Kara'yoT^Teueii'  wcTo  )^pr^va.t.  aVTOVf. 

%  Cyrop.  1.  viii.  pp.  218,  220,  S  Cyrop.  p.  206. 


HISTORY    OF    CYRUS.  567 

cavalry  were  also  drawn  out,  tlie  Persians  on  the  right,  and 
that  of  the  allies  on  the  left.  The  chariots  of  war  were 
ranged  half  on  one  side,  and  half  on  the  other.  As  soon  as 
the  palace  gates  were  opened,  a  gi-ent  number  of  bulls  of  ex- 
quisite beauty  Avere  led  out  by  four  Mnd  foir:  these  were  to 
be  sacrificed  to  Jupiter  and  other  g(  ds,  according  to  the 
ceremonies  prescribed  by  the  magi.  Next  followed  the 
horses  that  were  to  be  sacrificed  to  the  Sun.  Immediately 
after  them  a  white  chariot,  crowned  with  flowers,  the  i)ole 
of  which  was  gilt :  this  was  to  be  offered  to  Jupiter.  Then 
came  a  second  chariot  of  the  same  color,  and  adorned  in  the 
same  manner,  to  be  offered  to  the  Sun.  After  these  foU 
lowed  a  third,  the  horses  of  Avhich  were  caparisoned  with 
scarlet  housings.  Behind  came  the  men  who  carried  the 
sacred  fire  in  a  large  hearth.  When  all  these  were  on  their 
march,  Cyrus  himself  made  his  appearance  upon  his  car, 
with  his  upright  tiara  upon  his  head,  encircled  with  the 
royal  diadem.  His  under  tunic  was  of  purple  mixed  Avith 
white,  which  was  a  color  peculiar  to  kings.  Over  his  other 
garments  he  Avore  a  large  purple  cloak.  His  hands  Avere 
uncovered.  A  little  below  him  sat  the  master  of  tlie  horse, 
who  was  of  a  comely  stature,  but  not  so  tail  as  Cyrus,  for 
which  reason  the  stature  of  the  latter  appeared  still  more 
advantageotisly.  As  soon  as  the  people  perceiA'ed  the  prince, 
they  all  fell  prostrate  before  him  and  worshipped  him : 
whether  it  Avas  that  certain  persons  appointed  on  purpose, 
and  placed  at  proper  distances,  led  othei'S  by  their  example, 
or  that  the  people  Avere  moved  to  do  it  of  their  oAvn  accord, 
being  struck  Avith  the  appearance  of  so  much  pomp  and 
magnificence,  and  Avich  so  many  awful  circumstances  of 
majesty  and  splendor.  The  Persians  had  ncA^er  prostrated 
themselves  in  this  manner  before  Cyrus  till  on  this  occasion. 
When  Cyrus's  chariot  Avas  come  out  of  tlie  palace,  the 
four  thousand  guards  began  to  march  ;  the  other  tAvo  thou- 
sand moved  at  the  same  time,  and  ]jlaced  themselves  on  each 
side  of  the  chariot.  The  eunuchs,  or  great  oflicers  of  the 
king's  household,  to  the  number  of  three  hundred,  richly 
clad,  with  javelins  in  their  hands,  and  mounted  upon  stately 
horses,  mnrched  immediately  after  the  chariot.  After  them 
were  led  two  hundred  horses  of  the  king's  stable,  each  of 
them  having  embroidered  furniture  and  bits  of  gold.  Next 
came  the  Persian  cavalry,  divided  into  four  bodies,  each 
consisting  of  ten  thousand  men  ;  then  the  Median  horse, 
and  after  those  the  caA^alry  of  the  allies.     The  chariots  of 


568  AXCIEN^T    HISTORY. 

war,  four  abreast,  brovight  up  the  rear,  and  eloseJ  the  pro- 
cession. 

^  When  they  came  to  the  fields  consecrated  to  the  gods, 
they  offered  their  sacrifices  first  to  Jupiter,  and  then  to  the 
Sun.  To  the  honor  of  the  first,  bulls  were  burnt,  and  to  the 
honor  of  the  second,  hoi'ses.  They  likewise  sacrificed  some  vic- 
tims to  the  Earth,  according  to  the  appointment  of  the  Magi ; 
then  to  the  demi-gods,  the  patrons  and  protectors  of  Syria.* 

In  order  to  recreate  the  people  after  this  grave  and  sol- 
emn ceremony,  Cyrus  thought  fit  that  it  should  conclude 
with  games,  and  horse  and  chariot  races.  The  place  where 
they  were  was  large  and  spacious.  He  ordered  a  certain 
portion  of  it  to  be  marked  out  about  the  distance  of  five 
stadia,t  and  proposed  pj-izes  for  the  victors  of  each  nation, 
which  were  to  encounter  separately  and  among  themselves. 
He  himself  won  the  prize  in  the  Persian  horse-races,  for  no- 
body was  so  complete  a  horseman  as  he.  The  chariots  ran 
but  two  at  a  time,  one  against  another. 

This  kind  of  racinar  continued  a  lonjc  time  afterwards 
among  the  Pei-sians,  except  only  that  it  was  not  always  at- 
tended with  sacrifices.  All  the  ceremonies  being  ended, 
they  returned  to  the  city  in  the  same  order. 

Some  days  after,  Cyru3,  to  celebrate  the  victory  he  had 
obtained  in  the  horse-races,  gave  a  great  entertainment  to 
all  his  chief  ofticers,  as  well  strangers  as  Medes  and  Per- 
sians. They  had  never  yet  seen  any  thing  of  the  kind  so 
sumptuous  and  magnificent.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  feast 
he  made  every  one  a  noble  present ;  so  that  they  all  went 
home  with  hearts  overflowing  with  joy,  admiration,  and 
gratitude  ;  and  all  powerful  as  he  was,  master  of  all  the 
East,  and  so  many  kingdoms,  he  did  not  think  it  descend- 
ing from  his  majesty  to  conduct  the  whole  company  to  the 
door  of  his  apartment.  Such  Avere  the  manners  and  behav- 
ior of  those  ancient  times,  when  men  understood  how  to 
imite  great  simplicity  with  the  highest  degree  of  human 
grandeur.  % 

ARTICLE  III. 

THE    niSTOEY    OF  CYKUS    FROM    THE  TAKIXG    OF  BABYLOX  TO 
THE    TIME    OF    HIS    DEATH. 

Cyrus,  finding  himself  master  of  all  the  East  by  the  tak- 
ing of  Babylon,  did  not  imitate  the  example  of  most  other 

•  Among  the  Ancients  Syria  is  often  put  for  Assyria. 

t  A  little  mora  than  half  a  mile.  I  Cyrop.  1.  viii.  pp.  220-22^, 


HISTORY    OF    CYRUS.  569 

conquerors,  who  sully  the  glory  of  their  victories  by  a  vo- 
luptuous and  effeminate  life,  to  which  they  fancy  they  may 
justly  abandon  themselves  after  their  past  toils,  and  the  long 
course  of  hardshi))S  they  ])ave  gone  through.  He  thought  it 
incumbent  upon  him  to  maintain  his  rej^utation  by  the  same 
methods  he  had  acquired  it,  that  is,  by  a  prudent  conduct, 
by  a  laborious  and  active  life,  and  a  constant  application  to 
the  duties  of  his  high  station. 

SECTION  I. CYRUS  TAKES  A  .TOURNEY  INTO  PERSIA.   AT 

HIS  RETURN  FROM  THENCE  TO  BABYLON,  HE  FORMS  A 

PLAN  OF  governmj;nt  for  the  whole  empire.     Dan- 
iel's  CREDIT   AND    POWER. 

When  Cyras  judged  he  had  sufficiently  regulated  his  af- 
fairs at  Babylon,  he  thought  proper  to  take  a  journey  into 
Persia.*  In  his  way  thither  he  went  through  Media,  to 
visit  his  uncle  Cyaxares,  to  whom  he  carried  \  ery  magnif- 
icent presents,  telling  him,  at  the  same  time,  that  he  would 
find  a  noble  palace  at  Babylon,  ready  pre])ared  for  him, 
whenever  he  should  please  to  go  thither ;  and  that  he  was 
to  look  upon  that  city  as  his  own.  Indeed  Gyrus,  as  long 
as  his  uncle  lived,  held  the  empire  only  in  copartnership 
with  him,  though  he  had  entirely  conquered  and  acquired  it 
by  his  own  valor.  Nay,  so  far  did  he  carry  his  complai- 
sance, that  he  let  his  uncle  enjoy  the  first  rank.  This  is  the 
Cyaxares,  who  is  called  in  Scripture  Darius  the  Mede  ;  and 
we  shall  find  that,  under  his  reign,  which  lasted  but  two 
years,  Daniel  had  several  revelations. f  It  appears  that  Cy- 
rus, when  he  returned  from  Persia,  was  accompanied  by 
Cyaxares  to  Babylon. 

When  they  arrived  there,  they  concerted  together  a 
scheme  of  government  for  the  whole  empire.  They  divided 
it  into  a  hundred  and  twenty  provinces,  t  And  that  the 
prince's  orders  might  be  conveyed  with  the  greater  expedi- 
tion, Cyrus  caused  post-houses  to  be  erected  at  proper  dis- 
tances, where  the  couriers,  that  travelled  day  and  night, 
found  horses  always  ready,  and  by  that  means  performed 
their  journeys  with  incredible  despatch.  §  The  government 
of  these  provinces  was  given  to  those  persons  that  had  as- 
sisted Cyrus  most,  and  rendered  him  the  greatest  service  in 
the  war.  (|  Over  these  governors  were  appointed  three  super- 
intendents, who  were  always  to  reside  at  court,  and  to  whom 

*  Cyrop.  1.  viii.  p.  227.  t  A.  M.  3466.    Ant.  .1.  C.  538.   , 

t  Dan.  vi.  1.  §  Cyrop.  1.  viii.  p.  2o2.  l|  Cyrop.  p.  230. 


570  AXCIENT    HISTORY. 

the  governors  were  to  give  an  account,  from  time  to  time,  of 
every  thing  that  passed  in  their  respective  pi-ovinces,  and 
from  whom  they  were  to  receive  the  ])rince's  orders  and  in- 
structions ;  so  that  these  three  principal  ministers  had  the 
superintendency  over,  and  the  chief  administration  of,  the 
great  affairs  of  the  whole  empire.  Of  these  three  Daniel  was 
made  chief.*  He  highly  deserved  such  a  ])refercnce,  not 
only  on  account  of  his  great  wisdom,  which  Avas  celebrated 
throughout  all  the  East,  and  had  appeared  in  a  distinguished 
manner  at  Belshazzar's  feast,  but  likewise  on  account  of  his 
great  age,  and  consummate  experience.  For  at  that  time  it 
was  fully  sixty-seven  years,  from  the  fourth  of  Nebuchodon- 
osor,  since  he  had  been  employed  as  jirime  minister  of  the 
kings  of  Babylon. 

As  this  distinction  had  made  him  the  second  person  in  the 
empire,  and  placed  him  immediately  under  the  king,  the  other 
courtiers  conceived  so  great  a  jealousy  of  him,  that  they  con- 
spired to  destroy  him.  As  there  was  no  hold  to  be  taken  of 
him,  unless  it  Avas  on  account  of  the  law  of  his  God,  to  Avhich 
they  kncAV  him  inviolably  attached,  they  obtained  an  edict 
from  Darius,  AA^hereby  all  persons  Avere  forbidden  to  ask  any 
thing  Avhatever,  for  the  space  of  thirty  days,  either  of  any 
god  or  any  man,  save  of  the  king ;  and  that  upon  pain  of 
being  cast  into  the  den  of  lions.  Now,  as  Daniel  Avas  saying 
his  usual  prayers,  AAUth  his  face  turned  towards  Jerusalem, 
he  was  surprised,  accused,  and  cast  into  the  den  of  lions. 
Bat  being  miraculously  ])reserved,  and  coming  out  safe  and 
unhurt,  his  accusers  AA'ere  throAvn  in,  and  immediately  de- 
voured by  those  animals.  This  event  still  augmented 
Daniel's  credit  and  reputation. f 

ToAvards  the  end  of  the  same  year,  which  was  reckoned 
the  first  of  Darivis  the  Mede,  Daniel,  knowing  by  the  compu- 
tation he  made,  that  the  seventy  years  of  Judah's  captivity, 
determined  by  the  prophet  Jeremiah,  Avere  drawing  toAvards 
an  end,  he  prayed  earnestly  to  God  that  he  would  remember 
his  people,  rebuild  Jerusalem,  and  look  Avith  an  eye  of  mercy 
upon  his  holy  city,  and  the  sanctuary  he  had  ])laced  therein. 
Upon  which  the  angel  Gabriel  assured  him  in  a  vision,  not  only 
of  the  deliverance  of  the  Jcavs  from  their  temporal  captivity, 
but  likewise  of  another  deliverance  much  more  considerable, 
namely,  a  deliverance  from  the  bondage  of  sin  nnd  Satan, 
which  God  AA'^ould  procure  to  his  church,  and  which  was  to  be 
accomplished  at  the  end  of  scAcnty  Aveeks,  that  Avere  to  elapse 

•  Daii.  vi.  2,  3.  Cyrop.  vi.  4-27- 


HISTORY    OF    CYRUS.  571 

from  the  tune  the  order  should  be  given  for  the  rebuilding  of 
Jerusalem,  that  is,  after  the  space  of  four  hundred  and  ninety- 
years  ;  for,  taking  each  day  for  a  year,  accordmg  to  the  lan- 
guage sometimes  used  in  holy  Scripture,  those  seventy 
weeks  of  years  make  up  exactly  four  hundred  and  ninety 
years.* 

Cyrus,  upon  his  return  to  Babylon,  had  given  orders  for 
all  his  forces  to  join  him  there.  On  the  general  i-eview  made 
of  them,  he  found  they  consisted  of  a  hundred  and  twenty 
thousand  horse,  two  thousand  chariots  armed  with  scythes, 
and  six  hundred  thousand  foot.  When  he  had  furnished  the 
garrisons  with  as  many  as  were  necessary  for  the  defence  of 
the  several  parts  of  the  empire,  he  raai'ched  with  the  remain- 
der into  Syria,  where  he  regulated  the  affairs  of  that  pro- 
vince, and  then  subdued  all  those  countries,  as  far  as  the  Red 
Sea,  and  the  confines  of  Ethiopia. f 

It  was  probably  in  this  interval  of  time,  that  Daniel  was 
cast  into  the  den  of  lions  and  miraculously  delivered  from 
them,  as  we  have  just  related. 

Perhaps  in  the  same  interval  also  were  those  famous 
pieces  of  gold  coined,  which  are  called  Darics,  from  the  name 
of  Darius  the  Mede,  which  for  their  fineness  and  beauty, 
were  for  several  ages  preferred  to  all  other  money  through- 
out the  East. 

sectiox  ii. the  beginxixg  of  the  united  empire  of  the 

persians  and  medes.     the  famous  edict  of  cyrus. 
Daniel's  prophecies. 

Here,  pioperly  speaking,  begins  the  empire  of  the  Per- 
sians and  Medes  united  under  one  and  the  same  authority. 
This  empire  from  Cyrus,  the  first  king  and  founder  of  it,  to 
Darius  Codomanus,  who  was  vanquished  by  Alexander  the 
Great,  lasted  for  the  space  of  two  hundred  and  six  years, 
namely,  from  the  year  of  the  world  3468  to  the  year  3674. 
But  in  this  volume  I  propose  to  speak  only  of  the  fiist  three 
kings ;  and  little  remains  to  be  said  of  the  founder  of  this 
new  empire. 

Cyrus. t  Cyaxares  dying  at  the  end  of  two  years,  and 
Cambyses  likewise  ending  his  days  in  Persia,  Cyrus  returned, 
to  Babylon,  and  took  upon  him  the  government  of  the  new 
empire. 

The  yeai's   of  Cyrus's  reign   are    computed  differently. 

♦  Dan.  ix.  1-27.         't  Cyrop.  1.  viii.  p.  233.  t  A.  M.  3468.    Ant.  J.  C.  556- 


572  ANCIENT    HISTORY. 

Some  make  it  thirty  years,  beginning;  with  liis  first  setting 
out  from  Persia,  at  the  head  of  an  army,  to  succor  his  uncle 
Cyaxares  :  others  make  the  duration  of  it  to  be  but  seven 
years,  because  they  date  it  only  from  the  time  when,  by  the 
death  of  Cyaxares  and  Cambyses,  he  became  sole  monarch 
of  the  Avhole  empire.* 

In  the  first  of  these  seven  years  ]n'ecisely,  expired  the 
seventieth  year  of  the  Babyloni.sh  captivity,  Aviien  Cyrus 
published  the  famous  edict,  whereby  the  Jews  were  permitted 
to  return  to  Jerusalem. f  There  is  no  question  but  this  edict 
was  obtained  by  the  care  and  solicitations  of  Paniel,  who 
was  in  great  credit  and  authority  at  court.  That  he  might 
the  more  effectually  induce  the  king  to  grant  him  his  request, 
he  showed  hmi  undoubtedly  the  pro]>hecies  of  Isaiah,  wherein, 
above  two  hundred  years  before  his  birth,  he  was  marked  out 
by  name,  as  a  prince  appointed  by  God  to  be  conqueror,  and 
to  reduce  a  multitude  of  nations  under  his  dominion ;  and, 
at  the  same  time,  to  be  the  deliverer  of  the  cajitive  Jews,  by 
ordering  their  temple  to  be  rebuilt,  and  Jerusalem  and  Judea 
to  be  repossessed  by  their  ancient  inhabitants.  I  think  it 
may  not  be  im])ropcr,  in  this  place,  to  iusert  that  edict  at 
length,  which  is  certainly  the  most  glorious  circumstance  in 
the  life  of  Cyrus,  and  for  which  it  may  be  presumed  God 
had  endowed  him  with  so  many  heroic  virtues,  and  blessed 
him  with  such  an  uninterrupted  series  of  victories  and  suc- 
cess. 

"  Now  in  the  first  year  of  Cyrus,  king  of  Persia  (that  the 
word  of  the  Lord,  by  the  mouth  of  Jeremiah,might  be  fulfilled), 
the  Lord  stirred  up  the  spirit  of  Cyrus  king  of  Persia,  that  he 
made  a  proclamation  throughout  all  his  kingdom,  and  put  it 
also  in  writing,  saying,  Thus  saith  Cyrus  king  of  Persia,  The 
Lord  God  of  heaven  hath  given  me  all  the  kingdoms  of  the 
earth,  and  he  hath  charged  me  to  build  a  house  at  Jerusalem, 
which  is  in  Judah,  Who  is  there  among  you  of  all  his  people? 
his  God  be  with  him,  and  let  him  go  up  to  Jerusalem,  which  is 
in  Judah,  and  build  the  house  of  the  Lord  God  of  Israel  (he 
Ls  the  true  God)  Avhich  is  in  Jerusalem.  And  whosoever  re- 
maineth  in  any  place  where  he  sojourneth,  let  the  men  of  his 
place  help  him  with  silver,  and  with  gold,  and  with  goods, 
and  with  beasts,  besides  the  free-will-offering  for  the  h;juse 
of  God  that  is  in  Jerusalem."  t 

Cyrus  at  the  same  time  restored  to  the  Jews  all  the  ves- 
sels of  the  temple  of  the  Lord,  which  Nebuchodonosor  had 

•  Vic.  1.  i.  de  Div.  n.  46.  t  Isa-  xliv.  and  xlv.  t  Ezra  ii.  1-7, 


HISTORY    OF    CYRUS  573 

brought  from  Jerusalem,  and  placed  in  the  temple  of  his 
god  Baal.  Shortly  after,  the  Jews  departed  under  the  con- 
duct of  Zorobabel,  to  return  into  their  own  country. 

The  Samaritans,  who  had  formerly  been  the  declared 
enemies  of  the  Jews  did  all  they  possibly  could  to  hinder 
the  building  of  the  temple ;  and  though  they  could  not  alter 
Cyrus's  decree,  yet  they  ])revailed  by  bribes  and  secret 
dealings  Avith  the  ministers  and  other  officers  concerned 
therein,  to  obstruct  the  execution  of  it,  so  that  for  several 
years  the  building  went  on  very  slowly.* 

It  seems  to  have  been  out  of  grief  to  see  the  execution 
of  this  decree  so  long  retarded,  that  in  the  third  year  of 
Cyrus,  in  the  first  month  of  that  year,  Daniel  gave  himself 
up  to  mourning  and  fasting  for  three  w'eeks  together.f  He 
was  then  near  the  rivei*  Tigris  in  Persia.  When  this  time 
of  fasting  was  ended,  he  saw^  the  vision  concerning  the  suc- 
cession of  the  kings  of  Persia,  the  empire  of  the  Macedo- 
nians, and  the  conquests  of  the  Romans.  This  revelation  is 
related  in  the  tenth,  eleventh,  and  tw^elfth  chapters  of  the 
prophecies  of  Daniel,  of  w'hich  I  shall  soon  speak. 

By  what  we  find  in  the  conclusion  of  the  last  chapter, 
we  have  reason  to  conjecture  that  he  died  soon  after ;  and, 
indeed,  his  great  age  makes  it  unlikely  that  he  could  Vive 
much  longer  ;  for,  at  this  time,  he  must  have  been  at  least 
eighty-five  years  of  age,  if  we  suppose  him  to  have  been 
twelve  when  he  wms  carried  to  Babylon  with  the  other  cap- 
tives. From  that  early  age  he  had  given  proofs  of  some- 
thing more  than  human  wisdom,  in  the  judgment  of  Susan- 
nah. He  was  ever  afterwards  very  much  esteemed  by  all 
the  princes  who  reigned  at  Babylon,  and  w^as  always  em- 
ployed by  them  with  distinction  in  the  administration  of 
their  affairs,  t 

Daniel's  wisdom  did  not  only  reach  to  things  divine  and 
political,  but  also  to  arts  and  sciences,  and  particularly  to 
that  of  architecture.  Josephus  sjDeaks  of  a  famous  edifice 
built  by  him  at  Susa,  §  in  the  manner  of  a  castle,  which  he 
says  still  subsisted  in  his  time,  finished  wnth  such  wonder- 
ful art,  that  it  then  seemed  as  fresh  and  beautiful  as  if  had 
been  but  lately  built.  ||  Within  this  palace  the  Persian  and 
Parthian  kings  Avere  usually  buried  ;  and  for  the  sake  of  the 

*  Ezra  iv.  1-5.  t  A.  M.  3470.     Aiit.  J.  C.  534.    Daa.  .x.  1-3. 

t  "  But  go  lliou  thy  way  till  the  end  be  ;  for  thou  shalt  rest,  and  stand  in  thy 
lot  at  the  end  of  the  days.  "    D.in.  xii.  1.3. 

§  So  It  onght  to  be  read,  aecording  to  St.  Jerome,  who  rehites  the  same  fact ; 
Com.  in  T>»r\.  viii.  2.  and  not  Eebatana.  as  it  is  uow  read  in  the  text  of  Josephus. 

II  Antiq.  1.  x.  cap.  12. 


574  AKCIENT    HISTORY. 

founder,  the  keeping  of  it  was  committed  to  one  of  the 
Jewish  nation,  even  to  his  time.  It  was  a  common  tradition 
in  tjiose  parts  for  many  ages,  that  Daniel  died  in  that  city,* 
and  there  they  show  his  monument  even  to  this  day.  It  is 
certain,  that  he  used  to  go  thither  from  time  to  time,  and 
he  himself  tells  us,  that  "  he  did  the  king's  business  there  ;  "  f 
that  is,  was  governor  for  the  king  of  Babylon. 

REFLECTIONS    ON    DANIEl's    PROPHECIES. 

I  have  hitherto  deferred  making  any  reflections  upon  the 
prophecies  of  Daniel,  which  certainly  to  any  reasonable 
mind  are  a  very  convincing  proof  of  the  truth  of  our  religion. 
I  shall  not  dwell  upon  that  which  personally  related  to 
Nebuchadnezzar,  and  foretold  in  what  manner,  for  the  pun- 
ishment of  his  pride,  he  should  be  reduced  to  the  condition 
of  the  beasts  of  the  field,  and  after  a  certain  number  of 
years,  restored  again  to  his  understanding  and  to  his  throne. 
It  is  well  known,  the  thing  happened  exactly  according  to 
Daniel's  prediction  ;  the  king  himself  relates  it  in  a  declara- 
tion, addressed  to  all  the  people  and  nations  of  his  empire. 
Was  it  possible  for  Daniel  to  ascribe  such  a  manifesto  or 
proclamation  to  Nebuchadnezzar,  if  it  had  not  been  genuine  ; 
to  speak  of  it,  as  a  thing  sent  into  all  the  provinces,  if  no- 
body had  seen  it ;  and  in  the  midst  of  Babylon,  that  was 
full  of  both  Jews  and  Gentiles,  to  publish  an  attestation  of 
so  important  a  matter,  and  so  injurious  to  the  king  and  of 
which  the  falsehood  must  have  been  notorious  to  all  the 
world  ?  t 

I  shall  content  myself  with  representing  very  briefly, 
and  under  one  and  the  same  point  of  view,  the  prophecies 
of  Daniel,  which  signify  the  succession  of  four  great  em- 
pires, and  which  for  that  reason  have  an  essential  and 
necessary  relation  to  the  subject  matter  of  this  work,  which 
is  only  the  history  of  those  very  empires. 

The  first  of  these  pi-ophecies  Avas  occasioned  by  the 
dream  Nebuchadnezzar  had,  of  an  image  composed  of  dif- 
ferent metals,  gold,  silver,  brass,  and  iron  ;  which  image 
was  broken  in  pieces,  and  beat  as  small  as  dust,  by  a  little 
stone  from  the  mountain,  Avhich  afterwards  became  itself  a 
mountain  of  extraordinary  height  and  magnitude.  §  This 
dream  I  have  already  spoken  of  at  large.  || 

About  fifty  years  after,  the  same  Daniel  saw  another 

♦  Now  called  Tuster-  t  Dan.  viii.  27, 

t  Dan,  iv,  §  Dau.  ii.  H  Page  -163  of  thio  volume. 


HISTORY    OF    CYRUS.  575 

vision,  very  like  that  which  I  have  just  been  speaking  of :  * 
this  was  the  vision  of  the  four  large  beasts,  which  came  out 
of  the  sea.  Tlie  first  was  like  a  lion,  and  had  eagle's  wings : 
the  second  was  like  a  bear:  the  third  was  like  a  leo])ard, 
which  had  four  heads  :  the  fourth  and  last,  still  more  strong 
and  terrible  than  the  other,  had  great  iron  teeth  ;  it  de- 
voured and  brake  in  pieces,  and  stamped  the  residue  with 
its  feet.  From  the  micist  of  the  ten  horns  which  this  beast 
had,  there  came  up  a  little  one,  which  had  eyes  like  those 
of  a  man,  and  a  mouth  speaking  great  things,  and  this 
horn  became  greater  than  the  others :  the  same  horn  made 
war  with  the  saints,  and  prevailed  against  them,  until  the 
Ancient  of  Days,  that  is,  the  everlasting  God,  came,  and, 
sitting  upon  his  throne,  surrounded  with  a  thousand  millions 
of  angels,  pronounced  an  irreversible  judgment  upon  the 
four  beasts,  whose  time  and  duration  he  had  determined, 
and  gave  the  Son  of  Man  power  over  all  the  nations  and  all 
the  tribes,  an  everlasting  power  and  dominion  Avhich  shall 
not  pass  away,  and  a  kingdom  which  shall  not  be  destroyed. 

It  is  generally  agreed  that  these  two  visions,  the  one  of 
the  image  composed  of  different  metals,  the  other  of  the 
four  beasts  that  came  out  of  the  sea,  signified  so  many  dif- 
ferent monarchies,  which  were  to  succeed  one  another,  were 
to  be  successively  destroyed  by  each  other,  and  were  all  to 
give  place  to  the  eternal  empire  of  Jesus  Christ,  for  whom 
alone  they  had  subsisted.  It  is  also  agreed,  that  these  four 
monarchies  were  those  of  the  Babylonians,  of  the  Persians 
and  Medes  united,  of  the  Macedonians,  and  of  the  Romans. f 
This  is  plainly  demonstrated  by  the  very  order  of  their  suc- 
cession. But  where  did  Daniel  see  this  succession  and  this 
order?  Who  could  reveal  the  changes  of  empires  to  him, 
but  He  only  who  is  the  master  of  times  and  monarchies, 
who  has  determined  every  thing  by  his  own  decrees,  and 
who,  by  a  su])ernatural  revelation,  imparts  the  knowledge 
of  them  to  whom  he  pleases  ?  t 

In  the  following  chapter,  this  prophet  still  speaks  with 
greater  clearness  and  precision.  §  For  after  having  repre- 
sented the  Persian  and  Macedonian  monarchies  under  the 
iigure  of  tAvo  beasts,  he  thus  expounds  his  meaning  in  the 
plainest  manner.     The  ram  which  hath  two  unequal  horns, 

*  This  was  the  first  year  of  Belshazzar,  king  of  Babylou.    Dan.  vii. 

t  Some  interpreters,  instead  of  the  Romans,  put  tlie  kings  of  Syria  and 
Egypt,  Alexander's  successors. 

t  "  lie  fliaiiffeth  the  times  and  the  seasons ;  he  removeth  and  setteth  up 
kings  ;  he  revealeth  the  deep  and  secret  things  ;  and  tlie  light  dwelleth  with  him." 
Dan.  ii.  21,  22.  §  Dan.  viii. 


576  ANCIENT    HISTORY. 

represents  the  king  of  the  Medes  and  Persians  ;  the  goat 
which  overthrows  and  tramples  him  under  his  feet,  is  the 
king  of  the  Grecians ;  and  the  great  horn,  whicli  that  ani- 
mal has  between  his  eyes,  represents  the  first  king  and 
founder  of  tliat  monarchy.  How  did  Daniel  see,  that  the 
Persian  empire  should  be  composed  of  two  different  nations, 
Medes  and  Persians  ;  and  that  this  em]Hre  sliould  be  de- 
stroyed by  the  power  of  the  Grecians?  How  did  he  foresee 
the  rapidity  of  Alexander's  conquests,  which  he  so  aptly 
describes,  by  saying,  that  "he  touched  not  the  ground." 
How  did  he  learn,  that  Alexander  should  not  have  any  suc- 
cessor equal  to  himself,  and  that  the  first  monarch  of  the 
Grecian  emjnre  should  be  likewise  the  most  powerful  ?  *  By 
what  other  light  than  that  of  divine  revelation  could  he  dis- 
cover, that  Alexander  would  have  no  son  to  succeed  him  ; 
that  his  empire  would  be  dismembered,  and  divided  in  four 
principal  kingdoms,  and  his  successors  would  be  of  his  na- 
tion, but  not  of  his  blood ;  and  that  out  of  the  ruins  of  a 
monarchy  so  suddenly  formed,  several  states  would  be  es- 
tablished, of  Avhich  some  would  be  the  east,  others  in  the 
west,  some  in  the  south,  and  others  in  the  north  ? 

The  particulars  of  the  facts  foretold  in  the  remainder  of 
the  eighth,  and  in  the  eleventh  chapter,  are  no  less  astonish- 
ing. How  could  Daniel,  in  Cyrus's  reign,  foretell,  f  that  the 
fourth  of  Cyrus's  successors  t  should  gather  together  all 
his  forces,  to  attack  the  Grecian  states  ?  How  could  this 
prophet,  who  lived  so  long  before  the  times  of  the  Maccabees, 
particularly  describe  all  the  persecutions  which  Antiochus 
should  bring  upon  the  Jews ;  the  manner  of  his  abolishing 
the  sacrifices,  which  were  daily  offered  in  the  temple  of 
Jerusalem  ;  the  profanation  of  that  holy  place,  by  setting  up 
an  idol  therein,  and  the  vengeance  which  God  would  inflict 
upon  it  ?  How  could  he,  in  the  first  year  of  the  Persian 
empire,  foretell  the  wars  which  Alexander's  successors  would 
make  in  the  kingdoms  of  Syria  and  Egy])t,  their  mutual  in- 
vasions of  one  another's  territories,  their  insincerity  in  their 
treaties  and  their  marriage  alliances,  which  could  only  be 
to  cloak  their  fr;tudulent  and  perfidious  designs '?  § 

*  "And  a  inighly  kincr  sliall  staml  up,  tliat  shall  rule  with  great  doniiuioii  : 
and  his  kingdom  shall  be  divided  towards  the  four  winds  of  heaven,  and  not 
to  his  posteriiy,  nor  according  to  his  doniiiiioii  which  lie  ruled."  Ban.  xi.  .S,  4. 
'•  Four  kingdoms  shall  stand  up  out  of  the  nation,  but  not  in  his  poiver."— Dan. 
viii.  22. 

t  "  Behold,  there  shall  stand  up  yet  three  kings  of  Persia,  and  the  fourth 
sliall  be  far  riclier  than  they  all :  and  by  his  strength,  through  his  riches,  he  shall 
Btir  up  all  against  the  realm  of  Grecia."— Dan.  xi.  2. 

t  Xerxes.  §  Dan.  xi.  4-45. 


HISTORY    OF    CYKUS.  577 

I  leave  to  the  intelligent  and  religious  reader  to  draw  the 
conclusion  which  naturally  results  from  these  predictions  of 
Daniel ;  for  they  are  so  clear  and  express,  that  Porphyry,  a 
professed  enemy  of  the  Christian  religion,  could  find  no 
other  way  of  disputing  the  divine  original  of  them,  than  by 
pretending  that  they  were  written  after  the  events,  and 
rather  a  narration  of  things  past,  than  a  prediction  of  things 
to  come.* 

Before  I  conclude  this  article  of  Daniel's  prophecies,  I 
must  desire  the  reader  to  remark,  what  an  opposition  the 
Holy  Ghost  has  put  between  the  em])ires  of  the  world,  and 
the  kingdom  of  Jesus  Christ.  In  the  former,  every  thing 
appears  great,  splendid  and  magnificent.  Strength,  power, 
glory  and  majesty,  seem  to  be  their  natural  attendants.  In 
them  we  easily  discern  those  great  warriors,  those  famous  con- 
querors, those  thunderbolts  of  war,  who  spread  terror  every- 
where, and  whom  nothing  could  withstand.  But  then  they 
are  represented  as  wild  beasts,  as  bears,  lions,  and  leopards, 
whose  sole  attribute  is  to  tear  in  pieces,  to  devour,  and  to 
destroy.  What  an  image  and  picture  is  this  of  conquerors  ! 
How  admirably  does  it  instruct  us  to  lessen  the  ideas  we 
are  apt  to  form,  as  well  of  empires,  as  of  their  founders  or 
governors ! 

In  the  empire  of  Jesus  Christ  it  is  quite  otherwise.  Let  us 
consider  its  origin  and  first  rise,  or  carefully  examine  its 
progress  and  growth  at  all  times,  and  we  shall  find,  that 
weakness  and  meanness,  if  I  may  be  allowed  to  say  so,  have 
always  outwardly  been  its  striking  characteristics.  It  is  the 
leaven,  the  grain  of  mustard-seed,  the  little  stone  cut  out 
of  the  mountain.  And  yet,  in  reality,  there  is  no  true 
greatness  but  in  this  empire.  The  eternal  Word  is  the 
founder  and  the  king  thereof.  All  the  thrones  of  the  earth 
come  to  pay  homage  to  his,  and  to  bow  themselves  before 
him.  The  end  of  his  reign  is  the  salvation  of  mankind  ;  it 
is  to  make  them  eternally  happy,  and  to  form  to  himself  a 
nation  of  saints  and  just  persons,  who  are  all  of  them  so 
many  kings  and  conquerors.  It  is  for  their  sakes  only,  that 
the  whole  world  doth  subsist ;  and  when  the  number  of  them 
shall  be  complete,  "  then,"  says  St.  Paul,  "  cometh  the  end 
and  consummation  of  all  things,  when  Jesus  Christ  shall 
have  delivered  \ip  the  kingdom  to  God,  even  the  Father  j 
when  he  shall  have  put  down  all  rule,  and  all  authority  and 
power."  t 

*  S.  Hieron.  in  Proem,  ad  Com.  iji  Dan.  t  1  Cor.  xv.  21. 

37 


578  ANCIEXT    HISTORY. 

Can  a  writer  who  sees,  in  the  prophecies  of  Daniel,  that 
the  several  empires  of  the  world,  after  having  subsisted  the 
time  determined  for  them  by  the  sovereign  Disposer  of  king- 
doms, do  all  terminate  and  centre  in  the  empire  of  Jesus 
Christ ; — can  a  writer,  I  say,  amid  all  these  jjrofane  objects, 
forbear  turning  his  eyes  now  and  then  towards  that  great 
and  divine  one,  and  not  have  it  ahvays  in  view,  at  least  at  a 
distance,  as  the  end  and  consummation  of  all  others  ? 

SECTIOX  III. THE  LAST  YEARS  OF  CYRUS.   THE  DEATH  OF 

THAT  PRINCE. 

Let  US  return  to  Cyrus.  Being  equally  beloved  by  liis 
own  natural  subjects,  and  by  those  of  the  conquered  nations, 
he  peaceably  enjoyed  the  fruits  of  his  labors  and  victories. 
His  empire  was  bounded  on  the  east  by  the  river  Indus,  on 
the  north  by  the  Caspian  and  Euxine  Seas,  on  the  west  by 
tht  /Egean  Sea,  and  on  the  south  by  Ethiopia  and  the  sea 
of  Arabia.  Pie  established  his  residence  in  the  midst  of 
all  these  countries,  spending  generally  seven  months  of  the 
year  at  Babylon  in  the  Avinter  season,  because  of  the  warmth 
of  that  climate  ;  three  months  at  Susa  in  the  spring,  and 
two  months  at  Ecbatana  during  the  heat  of  the  summer.* 

Seven  years  being  spent  in  this  state  of  tranquillity,  Cyrus 
returned  into  Persia,  which  was  the  seventh  time  from  his 
accession  to  the  whole  monarchy,  which  shows  that  he  used 
to  go  regularly  into  Persia  once  a  year.  Cambyses  had  now 
been  dead  for  some  time,  and  Cyrus  himself  was  grown 
pretty  old,  being  at  this  time  about  seventy  years  of  age ; 
thirty  of  which  had  passed  since  his  being  first  made  general 
of  the  Persian  forces,  nine  from  the  taking  of  Babylon  and 
seven  from  his  beginning  to  reign  alone  after  the  death  of 
Cyaxares. 

To  the  very  last  he  enjoyed  a  vigorous  state  of  health, 
which  was  tlic  fruit  of  his  sober  and  temperate  life.t  And 
as  they  who  giAC  themselves  up  to  drunkenness  and  de- 
bauchery often  feel  all  the  infirmities  of  age,  even  Avhile 
they  are  young,  Cyrus,  on  the  contrary,  at  a  very  advanced 
age,  enjoyed  all  the  vigor  and  advantages  of  youth. 

When  he  perceived  the  time  of  his  death  to  draw  nigh, 
he  ordered  his  children,  and  the  chief  ofificers  of  the  state, 
to  be  assembled  about  him ;  and  after  having  thanked  the 

*  Cyrop.  1.  viii.  p.  233,  &c. 

t  Cyrus  quidein  apiui  Xenophontem  eo  sermone,  queni  moriens  habuit,  ctim 
admodum  seiiex  es^set,  iiegal  se  unquani  sensisse  seiiectutem  suam  iiabecilliorem 
facUm,  quam  adole^ccutia  i'uissct.— Cic.  de  Seu.  u.  3U. 


HISTORY    OF    CYRUS.  579 

gods  for  all  their  favors  towards  him  thronofh  the  course  of 
his  life,  and  implored  the  like  protection  for  h's  children,  his 
country,  and  his  friends,  he  declared  his  eldest  son,  Cam- 
byses,  his  successor,  and  left  the  other,  whose  name  was 
Tanaoxares,  several  very  considerable  governments.  He 
gave  them  both  excellent  instructions,  by  representing  to 
them,  that  the  main  strength  and  support  of  the  throne,  was 
neither  the  vast- extent  of  countries,  nor  the  number  of  forces, 
nor  immence  riches,  but  a  due  respect  for  the  gods,  a  good 
understanding  between  brethren,  and  the  art  of  acquiring 
and  preserving  true  and  faithful  friends.  "  I  conjure  you, 
therefore,"  said  he,  "  my  dear  children,  in  the  name  of  the 
gods,  to  respect  and  love  one  another,  if  you  would  retain 
any  desire  to  please  me  for  the  future.  For  I  do  not  think 
you  will  esteem  me  to  be  no  longer  any  thing,  because  you 
will  not  see  me  after  my  death.  You  never  saw  my  soul  to 
this  instant ;  you  must  have  known,  however,  by  its  actions, 
that  it  really  existed.  Do  you  believe,  that  honors  would 
still  be  paid  to  those  whose  bodies  are  now  but  ashes,  if  their 
.souls  had  no  longer  any  being  or  power  ?  No,  no,  my  sons  ;  I 
could  never  imagine  that  the  soul  only  lived  while  in  a  mortal 
body,  and  died  when  separated  from  it.  But  if  I  mistake, 
and  nothing  of  me  shall  remain  after  death,  at  least  fear  the 
gods,  who  never  die,  who  see  all  things,  and  whose  power  is 
infinite.  Fear  them,  and  let  that  fear  prevent  you  from  ever 
doing,  or  deliberating  to  do,  any  thing  contrary  to  re- 
ligion and  justice.  Next  to  them  fear  mankind,  and  the 
ages  to  come.  The  gods  have  not  buried  you  in  obscurity, 
but  have  exposed  you  upon  this  great  theatre  to  the  view  of 
the  whole  universe.  If  your  actions  are  guiltless  and  up- 
right, be  assured  they  will  augment  your  glory  and  power. 
For  my  body,  my  sons,  when  life  has  forsaken  it,  enclose  it 
neither  in'  gold  rior  silver,  nor  any  other  matter  whatever^ 
Restore  it  isimediately  to  the  earth.  Can  it  be  more 
happy  than  in  being  blended,  and  in  a  manner  incor]ioratcd, 
with  the  benefactress  and  common  mother  of  mankind  ?  " 
After  having  given  his  hand  to  be  kissed  by  all  that  were 
present,  finding  himself  at  the  point  of  death,  he  added 
these  last  words  ;  "  Adieu,  dear  children  ;  may  your  lives  be 
happy  ;  carry  my  last  remembrance  to  your  mother.  And 
for  you,  my  faithful  friends,  as  well  absent  as  present,  re- 
ceive this  last  farewell,  and  may  you  live  in  peace !  "  After 
having  said  this,  he  covered  his  face,  and  died  equally  lo/^ 
mented  by  all  his  people.* 

•A.M.  3475.     Ant.  J.  C.  529. 


580  ANCIENT    HISTORY. 

The  order  given  by  Cyitis  to  restore  his  body  to  the 
earth,  is  very  remarkable.  He  would  have  thought  it  dis- 
graced and  injured,  if  enclosed  in  gold  or  silver.  Kestore 
IT  TO  THE  EARTH,  says  he.  Where  did  that  prince  learn, 
that  it  was  from  thence  it  derived  its  original  ?  Behold  one 
of  those  jjrecious  traces  of  tradition  as  old  as  the  world. 
Cyrus,  after  having  done  good  to  his  subjects  during  his 
whole  life,  demands  to  be  incorporated  with  .the  earth,  that 
benefactress  of  the  human  race,  to  perpetuate  that  good,  in 
some  measure,  even  after  his  death. 

CHARACTER  AXD  EULOGY  OF  CYRUS. 

Cyrus  may  justly  be  considered  as  the  wisest  conqueror, 
and  the  most  accomplished  prince,  to  be  found  in  jjrofane 
history.  He  was  possessed  of  all  the  qualities  requisite  to 
form  a  great  man  ;  wisdom,  moderation,  courage,  magna- 
nimity, noble  sentiments,  a  wonderful  ability  in  managing 
men's  tempers  and  gaining  their  affections,  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  every  branch  of  the  military  art  as  far  as  that 
age  had  carried  it,  a  vast  extent  of  genius  and  capacity  for 
forming,  and  an  equal  steadiness  and  prudence  for  execu- 
ting the  greatest  designs. 

It  is  very  common  for  those  heroes  who  shine  in  the  field, 
and  make  a  great  figure  in  the  time  of  action,  to  make  but 
a  very  poor  one  upon  other  occasions,  and  in  matters  of  a 
different  nature.  We  are  astonished,  when  we  see  them 
alone  and  without  their  armies,  to  find  what  a  difference 
there  is  between  a  general  and  a  great  man  ;  to  see  what 
low  sentiments  and  mean  actions  they  are  capable  of  in 
private  life  ;  how  they  are  influenced  by  jealousy,  and  gov- 
erned by  interest ;  how  disagreeable  and  even  odious  they 
render  themselves  by  their  haughty  deportment  and  arro- 
gance, which  they  think  necessary  to  ])reseive  their  author- 
ity, and  which  only  serve  to  make  them  hated  and  despised. 

Cyrus  had  none  of  these  defects.  He  ap})eared  always 
the  same,  that  is,  always  great,  even  in  the  most  indifferent 
matters.  Bc;ing  assured  of  his  greatness,  of  which  real 
merit  was  the  foundation  and  support,  he  thought  of  nothing 
more  than  to  render  himself  affable,  and  easy  of  access: 
and  whatever  he  seemed  to  lose  by  this  condescending,  hum- 
ble demeanor,  was  abundantly  compensated  by  the  cordial 
affection  and'  sincere  respect  it  procured  him  from  his 
people. 

Never  was  any  prince  a  greater  master  of  the  art  of  in- 


HISTORY    OF    CYRl'S.  581 

sinuation,  so  necessary  for  those  that  govern,  and  yet  so 
little  understood  or  practised.  He  knew  perfectly  what 
advantages  may  result  from  a  single  word  rightly  timed, 
from  an  obliging  carriage,  from  a  command  temj)ered  with 
I'eason,  from  a  little  praise  in  granting  a  favor,  and  from 
softening  a  refusal  with  expressions  of  concern  and  good- 
will.    History  abounds  with  beauties  of  this  kind. 

He  Avas  rich  in  a  sort  of  wealth  which  most  sovereigns 
want,  Avho  are  possessed  of  every  tiling  but  faithful  friends, 
and  whose  indigence  in  that  j^articular  is  concealed  by  the 
splendor  and  affluence  Avith  which  they  are  surrounded. 
Cyrus  was  beloved,  because  he  himself  had  a  love  for  others  ; 
.  for,  has  a  man  any  friends,  or  does  he  deserve  to  have  any, 
when  he  himself  is  void  of  friendshij>?  Nothing  affects  us 
more,  than  to  see  in  Xenophon,  the  manner  in  Avhich  Cyrus 
lived  and  conversed  with  his  friends,  ahvays  preserving  as 
much  dignity  as  was  requisite  to  keej)  up  a  due  decorum, 
and  yet  infinitely  removed  from  that  ill-judged  haughtiness, 
which  deprives  the  great  of  the  most  innocent  and  agreea- 
ble pleasure  in  life,  that  of  conA'ersing  freely  and  sociably 
with  ])ersons  of  merit,  though  of  an  inferior  station.* 

The  use  he  made  of  his  friends  may  serve  as  a  perfect 
model  to  all  persons  in  authority.  His  friends  had  received 
from  him  not  only  the  liberty,  but  an  express  command,  to 
tell  him  whatever  they  thought. t  And  though  he  was  much 
Superior  to  all  his  officers  in  understanding,  yet  he  never 
undertook  any  thing  without  asking  their  advice  ;  and  wliat- 
ever  was  to  be  done,  whether  it  was  to  reform  any  thing  in 
the  government,  to  make  changes  in  the  army,  or  to  form 
a  new  enterprise,  he  would  always  have  every  man  speak 
his  sentiments,  and  would  often  make  use  of  them  to  cor- 
rect his  own  ;  so  different  was  he  from  the  person  mentioned 
by  Tacitus,  who  thought  it  a  sufficient  reason  for  rejecting 
the  most  excellent  i)roject  or  advice,  that  it  did  not  proceed 
from  himself :  Cojisilii,  quamvis  egregii^  quod  ipse  non 
afferet,  inimicus.  % 

CicerQ  observes,  that,  during  the  whole  time  of  Cyrus's 
government,  he  was  never  heard  to  speak  one  rough  or  an- 
gry Avord  :  Cujiis  summo  in  imperio  nemo  xinquanx  verbiini 
ullum  asperius  audlvit.  §  What  a  high  encomium  for  a 
prince  is  comprehended  in  that  short  sentence  !  Cyrus  must 
have  had  a  very  great  connnand  of  himself,  to  be  able,  in 

*  Hal)es  amicos,  quia  amicus  ipse  es. — Paiwg.  Trajan. 

t  Plat.  1.  in.  de  Leg.  p.  694. 

X  Hist.  1.  i.  c.  26.  §  Cic.  1.  i.  Epist.  21  ad  Q.  Fratrem. 


582  AXCIEXT    IIISTOlir. 

the  midst  of  so  much  agitation,  and  in  spite  of  all  tlie  in- 
toxicating effects  of  sovereign  power,  always  to  pi-eserve 
his  mind  in  such  a  state. of  calmness  and  composure,  that 
no  crosses,  disapjjointments,  or  unforeseen  accidents,  shoidd 
ever  ruffle  its  tranquillity,  or  provoke  him  to  utter  anv  harsh 
or  offensive  expression. 

But,  what  Avas  still  greater  in  him,  and  more  truly  royal 
than  all  this,  was  his  steadfast  persuasion,  that  all  his  labors 
and  endeavors  ought  to  tend  to  the  happiness  of  his  people  ; 
and  that  it  was  not  by  the  splendor  of  riches,  by  pompous 
equi2)ages,  luxurious  living,-  or  a  magnificent  table,  that  a 
king  ought  to  distinguish  himself  from  his  subjects,  but  by 
a  superiority  of  mei'it  in  every  kind,  and  particularly  by  a 
constant  indefatigable  care  and  vigilance  to  promote  their 
interests,  and  to  secure  the  public  welfare  and  tranquillity.* 
He  said  himself  one  day,  as  he  was  discoursing  with  his 
courtiers  uj^on  the  duties  of  a  king,  that  a  prince  ought  to 
consider  himself  as  a  shepherd, f  the  image  under  which 
both  sacred  and  profane  antiquity  represented  good  kings, 
and  that  he  ought  to  exercise  the  same  vigilance,  care,  laid 
goodness.  "  It  is  his  duty,"  says  he,  "  to  watch,  that  his 
people  may  live  in  safety  and  (juiet ;  to  charge  himself  with 
anxieties,  and  cares,  that  they  may  be  exem})t  from  them  : 
to  choose  whatever  is  salutary  for  them,  and  remove  what 
is  hurtful  and  prejudicial ;  to  ])lace  liis  delight  in  seeing 
them  increase  and  multiply,  and  valiantly  expose  his  own 
person  in  their  defence  and  ])i"otection.  Th's,"  says  he, 
"is  the  natural  idea,  and  the  just  image  of  a  good  king. 
It  is  reasonable,  at  the  same  time  that  his  subjects  should 
render  him  all  the  service  he  stands  in  need  of ;  but  it  is 
still  more  reasonable,  that  he  should  labor  to  make  them 
happy  ;  because  it  is  for  that  very  end  that  lie  is  their  king, 
as  much  as  it  is  the  end  and  office  of  a  shepherd  to  take  care 
of  his  flock." 

Indeed,  to  be  the  guardian  of  the  commonwealth  and  to 
be  king ;  to  be  for  the  people,  and  to  be  their  sovereign,  is 
but  one  and  the  same  thing.  A  man  is  born  for  others, 
when  he  is  born  to  govern,  because  tlie  reason  and  end  of 
governing  others  is  only  to  be  iiseful  and  serviceable  to 
them.  The  very  basis  and  foundation  of  the  condition  of 
princes  is,  not  to  be  for  themselves  ;  the  very  characteristic 
of  their  greatness  is,  that  they  are  consecrated  to  the  pub- 

*  Cyrop.  1.  i.  p.  27. 

t  "  rhoushaltfeed  my  people,"  said  God  to  David.  II.  Sam.  v.  2.  Uoiiiivt  Kauy, 
Bays  Homer  iu  many  places. 


HISTORY    OF    CYRUS.  583 

lie  good.  They  may  properly  be  considered  as  a  light  which 
is  placed  on  high,  only  to  diffuse  and  shed  its  beams  on 
every  thing  below.  Are  such  sentiments  as  these  any  dis- 
paragement to  the  dignity  of  the  regal  state  ? 

It  was  by  the  concurrence  of  all  these  virtues  that  Cyrus 
founded  such  an  extensive  empire  in  so  short  a  time ; 
that  he  peaceably  enjoyed  the  fruits  of  his  conquests  for 
many  years  ;  that  he  made  himself  so  much  esteemed  and 
beloved,  not  only  by  his  own  natural  subjects,  but  by  all 
the  nations  he  had  conquered ;  that  after  his  death  he  was 
universally  regretted  as  the  common  father  of  all  the  peoi)le. 

We  ought  not,  indeed,  to  be  surprised  that  Cvrus  was 
so  acc()m|)lished  in  every  virtue  (it  will  be  readily  under- 
stood, that  I  speak  only  of  pagan  virtues),  because  we  know 
it  was  God  himself,  who  had  formed  him  to  be  the  instru- 
ment and  agent  of  his  gracious  designs  towards  his  peculiar 
people. 

When  I  say  that  God  himself  had  formed  this  prince,  I 
do  not  mean  that  he  did  it  by  any  sensible  miracle,  nor  that 
he  immediately  made  him  such  as  we  admire  in  the  accounts 
we  have  of  him  in  history.  God  gave  him  a  happy  genius, 
and  implanted  in  his  mind  the  seeds  of  all  the  noblest  qual- 
ities, disposing  his  heart  at  the  same  time  to  aspire  after  the 
m.ost  excellent  and  sublime  virtues.  But  above  all,  he  took 
care  that  this  happy  genius  should  be  cultivated  by  a  good 
education,  and  by  that  means  be  pre)>ared  for  the  great  de- 
signs for  which  he  intended  him.  We  may  venture  to  say, 
without  fear  of  being  mistaken,  that  the  greatest  excellen- 
cies in  Cyrus  were  owing  to  his  education,  where  the 
confounding  of  him,  in  some  sort,  with  his  subjects,  and  the 
keeping  him  under  the  same  subjection  to  the  authority  of 
his  teachers,  served  to  eradicate  that  pride  which  is  so  nat- 
ural to  princes  ;  taught  him  to  hearken  to  advice,  and  to 
obey  before  he  came  to  command ;  inured  him  to  hardship 
and  toil ;  accustomed  him  to  temperance  and  sobriety ; 
and,  in  a  word,  rendered  him  such  as  we  have  seen  him 
throughout  his  whole  conduct,  gentle,  modest,  affable,  oblig- 
ing, compassionate  ;  an  enemy  to  all  luxury  and  pride,  and 
still  more  so  to  flattery. 

It  must  be  confessed,  that  such  a  prince  is  one  of  the 
most  ])recious  and  valuable  gifts  that  Heaven  can  make  to 
mortal  men.  The  infidels  themselves  have  acknowledged 
this  ;  nor  has  the  darkness  of  their  false  religion  been  able 
to  hide  these  two  remarkable  truths  from  their  observation, 


584  AXCIEXT    HISTORY. 

that  all  good  kings  are  the  gift  of  God.  And  that  such  a 
gift  includes  many  others  ;  for  nothing  can  be  so  excellent 
as  that  which  bears  the  most  perfect  resemblance  to  the 
Deity;  and  the  noblest  image  of  the  Deity  is  a  just,  mod- 
erate, chaste,  and  virtuous  prince,  who  rules,  with  no  otlier 
view  than  to  establish  the  reign  of  justice  and  virtue.  This 
is  the  portraiture  which  Pliny  has  left  us  of  Trajan,  and 
which  has  a  great  resemblance  to  that  of  Cyrus.  Nullum, 
est  prcestahilius  et  pulchrius  Dei  rmtnus  erga  mortales^ 
quam  castus,  et  sanctus,  et  Deo  simillimiis  princeps* 

When  I  narrowly  examine  the  hero's  life  there  seems  to 
have  been  one  circumstance  wanting  to  his  glory,  which 
would  have  enhanced  it  exceedingly  ;  I  mean  that  of  hav- 
ing struggled  under  some  grievous  calamity  for  some  time, 
and  of  having  his  virtue  tried  by  some  sudden  reverse  of 
fortune.  I  know,  indeed,  that  the  emjieror  Galba,  when 
he  adopted  Piso,  told  him  that  the  stings  of  prosperity 
were  infinitely  sharper  than  those  of  adversity  ;  and  that 
the  former  put  the  soul  to  a  much  severer  trial  than 
the  latter :  Fortunam  adhuc  tantum  adversam  tulisti  :  se- 
cundoe  res  acrioribus  stimulis  expAorant  animos.f  And  the 
reason  he  gives  is,  that  Avhen  misfortunes  come  with  their 
whole  weight  upon  a  man's  soul,  she  exerts  herself,  and 
summons  all  her  strength  to  bear  the  burden  ;  whereas  pros- 
perity, attacking  the  mind  secretly  or  insensibly,  leaves  it 
all  its  weakness,  and  insinuates  a  poison  into  it,  by  so  much 
the  more  dangerous,  as  it  is  the  more  subtile  :  Quia  miseries 
tolerantur,  felicitate  corritmpimur . 

However,  it  must  be  owned  that  adversity,  M'hen  su]> 
ported  with  nobleness  and  dignity,  and  surmounted  by  an 
invincible  patience,  adds  a  great  lustre  to  a  prince's  glory, 
and  gives  him  occasion  to  display  many  fine  qualities  and 
virtues,  which  would  have  been  concealed  in  the  bosom  of 
prosperity ;  as  a  greatness  of  mind,  independent  of  every 
thmg  without ;  an  unshaken  constancy,  proof  against  the 
severest  strokes  of  fortune  ;  an  intrepidity  of  soul  animated 
at  the  sight  of  danger ;  a  fruitf ulness  in  ex])edients,  improv- 
ing even  from  crosses  and  disappointments  ;  a  presence  of 
mind,  which  views,  and  provides  against  every  thing  ;  and 
lastly,  a  firmness  of  soul,  that  not  only  suffices  to  support 
itself,  but  is  capable  of  supporting  others. 

Cyrus  wanted  this  kind  of  glory.  %  He  himself  informs 
us,  that  during  the  whole   course   of   his  life,  which   was 

*  Paiieg.  Trag.  t  Tac.  Hist.  1.  i.  c.  1&  %  Cyrop.  1.  viil.  p.  2S1. 


HISTORY    OF    CYRUS.  585 

pretty  long,  the  haj^piness  of  it  was  never  interrupted  by 
any  unfortunate  accident :  and  that  in  all  his  designs  the 
success  had  answered  his  utmost  expectation.  But  he  ac- 
quaints us,  at  the  same  time,  with  another  thing  almost  in- 
credible, and  which  was  the  source  of  all  that  moderation 
and  evenness  of  temper  so  conspicuous  in  him,  and  for 
which  he  can  never  be  sufficiently  admired  ;  namely,  that  in 
the  midst  of  his  uninterrui>ted  prosperity  he  still  preserved 
in  his  heart  a  secret  fear,  proceeding  from  the  changes  and 
misfortunes  that  might  happen  :  and  this  prudent  fear  was 
not  only  a  preservative  against  insolence,  but  even  against 
intemperate  joy.* 

There  remains  one  point  more  to  be  examined,  with  re- 
gard to  this  prince's  reputation  and  charactei- ;  I  mean  the 
nature  of  his  victories  and  conquests,  upon  which  I  shall 
touch  but  lightly.  If  these  Avere  founded  only  upon  ambi- 
tion, injustice,  and  violence,  Cyrus  would  be  so  far  from 
meriting  the  praises  bestowed  iqjon  him,  that  he  woidd  de- 
serve to  be  ranked  among  those  famous  robbers  of  the  uni- 
verse, those  public  enemies  to  mankind,!  who  acknowledged 
no  right  but  that  of  force ;  who  looked  upon  the  common 
rules  of  justice  as  laws  which  only  private  persons  were 
obliged  to  observe,  and  derogatory  to  the  majesty  of 
kings  ;  who  set  no  other  bounds  to  their  designs  and  pre- 
tensions, than  their  incapacity  of  carrying  them  any  far- 
ther ;  who  sacrificed  the  lives  of  millions  to  their  particular 
ambition  ;  who  made  their  glory  consist  in  spreading  deso- 
lation and  destruction,  like  fires  and  torrents,  and  Avho 
reigned  as  bears  and  lions  would  if  they  were  masters,  t 

This  is  indeed  the  true  character  of  the  greatest  part  of 
those  pretended  heroes  whom  the  Avorld  admires  ;  and  by 
such  ideas  as  these,  we  ought  to  correct  the  impressions 
made  upon  our  mnids  by  the  undue  praises  of  some  histo- 
rians, and  the  sentiments  of  many,  deceived  by  his  false 
images  of  greatness. 

I  do  not  know  M^hether  I  am  not  biassed  in  favor  of 
Cyrus,  but  he  seems  to  me  to  hav^  been  of  a  A'^ery  different 
character  from  those  conquerors,  whom  I  have  just  now  de- 
scribed. Not  that  I  would  justify  Cyrus  in  every  respect, 
or  represent  him  as  exempt  from  ambition,  which  undoubted- 
ly was  the  soul  of  all  his  undertakings ;  but  he  certainly 

*  OvK  eta  ju-eya  ^poj^ttr,  ov&'  eifauecr^ot  t*C7reTrTa,ue'  w;. 

t  Ifl  la  suiviina  fortuna  fequius  quod  valiiliuB.  Et  sua  retinere,  privatae 
(lonma  :  de  aljeiiis  certaie,  rect  em  laudeiuesse. — Tacit.  Annal.  lib.  xv.  cap.  1. 

t  Quce  alia  vita  esset,  si  leoiies  ursique  reguareat  ?— Sen.  de  Clew.  lib.  i.  cap. 
26. 


686  ANCIENT   HISTORY. 

reverenced  the  laws,  and  knew  tliat  there  are  unjust  wars, 
which  render  him  who  wantonly  provokes  them  accountable 
ior  all  the  blood  that  is  shed.  Xow,  every  war  is  of  this 
sort,  to  wliich  the  prince  is  induced  l)y  no  other  motive  than 
that  of  enlarging  his  conquests,  of  acquiring  a  vain  reputa- 
tion, or  rendering  himself  terrible  to  his  neighbors. 

Cyrus,  as  we  have  seen  at  the  beginning  of  the  war, 
founded  all  his  hopes  of  success  on  the  justice  of  his  cause, 
and  represented  to  his  soldiers,  in  order  to  inspire  them  with 
the  greater  courage  and  confidence,  that  they  were  not  the 
aggressors ;  that  it  was  the  enemy  that  attacked  them  ;  and 
that  therefore  they  were  entitled  to  the  protection  of  the 
gods,  who  seemed  themselves  to  have  put  their  arms  into  their 
Innds,  that  tlicy  miglit  fight  in  defence  of  their  friends  and 
allies,  unjustly  oppressed.  If  we  carefully  examine  Cyrus's 
conquests,  we  shall  find  that  they  Avere  all  consequences  of 
the  victories  he  obtained  over  Croesus,  king  of  Lydia,  who 
was  master  of  the  greatest  j)art  of  Lesser  Asia  ;  and  over 
the  king  of  Babylon,  who  was  master  of  all  U})j)er  Asia,  and 
many  other  countries ;  both  which  princes  were  the  aggres- 
sors.* 

With  good  reason,  therefore,  is  Cyrus  represented  as 
one  of  the  greatest  })rinces  recorded  in  history ;  and  his 
reign  justly  jiroposed  as  the  model  of  a  perfect  government, 
which  it  could  not  be,  unless  justice  had  been  the  basis  and 
foundation  of  it :  Cyrus  a  Xenophonte  scHptus  ad  justi 
eJjUgiem  imj^erii.-f 

SECTION  IV. WHERKIN  HEUODOTUS    AND    XENOPHON    DIFFEB 

IX    THEIR    ACCOUNTS    OF    CYRUS. 

Herodotus  and  Xenophon,  who  perfectly  agree  in  the 
substance  and  most  essential  part  of  the  history  of  Cyrus, 
and  particulrirly  in  what  relates  to  his  expedition  against 
Babylon,  and  his  other  conquests,  yet  differ  exti-emely  in 
the  accounts  they  give  of  several  very  important  facts,  as 
the  birth  and  death  of  that  prince,  and  the  establishment  of 
the  Persian  empire.  I  therefore  think  myself  obliged  to 
give  a  succinct  account  of  what  Herodotus  relates  as  to 
these  points. 

He  tells  us,  as  Justin  does  after  him,  that  Astyages,  king 
of  the  Medes,  being  warned  by  a  frightful  dream,  that  the 
son  who  was  to  be  born  of  his  daughter  would  dethrone 
him,  did  therefore  marry  his  daughter  Mandane  to  a  Per- 

•  Cyrop.  1.  i.  p.  25.  t  Cic,  1.  i.  Eplst.  I.  ad  Q.  Fratrem. 


HISTORY    OF    CYRUS.  587 

Bian  of  obscure  birtli  and  fortune,  wliose  name  was  Cam- 
byses :  this  daughter  being  delivered  of  a  son,  the  king 
commanded  Harpagus,  one  of  his  principal  officers,  to  de- 
destroy  the  infant.  He,  instead  of  killing  the  child,  put  it 
into  the  hands  of  one  of  the  king's  shepherds,  and  ordered 
him  to  leave  it  exposed  in  a  forest.  But  the  child,  being 
miraculously  preserved,  and  secretly  brought  up  by  the 
shepherd's  wife,  was  afterwards  known  to  be  the  same  by 
his  grandfather,  who  contented  himself  with  banishing  him 
to  the  most  remote  parts  of  Persia,  and  vented  all  his  wrath 
upon  the  unfortunate  Harpagus,  whom  he  invited  to  a  feast 
and  entertained  with  the  flesh  of  his  own  son.  Several 
years  after,  young  Cyrus,  being  informed  by  Har2>agus  who 
he  was,  and  being  encouraged  by  his  counsels  and  remon- 
strances, raised  an  army  in  Persia,  marched  against  Asty- 
ages,  came  to  a  battle,  and  defeated  him,  and  so  transferred 
the  emi)ire  from  the  Medes  to  the  Persians.* 

The  same  Herodotus  makes  Cyrus  die  in  a  manner  little 
becoming  so  great  a  conqueror.  This  prince,  according  to 
him,  carried  his  arms  against  the  Scythians;  and,  after 
having  attacked  them,  in  the  first  battle  feigned  a  flight, 
leaving  a  great  quantity  of  wine  and  provisions  behind  him 
in  the  field.  The  Scythians  did  not  fail  to  seize  the  booty. 
When  they  had  drank  freely,  and  were  asleep,  Cyrus  re- 
turned upon  them,  and  obtained  an  easy  victory,  taking  a 
vast  number  of  prisoners,  among  whom  was  the  son  of  the 
queen,  named  Tomyris,  Avho  commanded  tlie  army.  This 
young  cai)tive  prince,  whom  Cyrus  refused  to  restore  to  his 
mother,  being  recovered  from  his  drunken  fit,  and  not  able 
to  endure  his  captivity,  killed  himself  with  his  own  hand. 
His  mother  Tomyris,  animated  with  a  desire  of  revenge, 
gave  the  Persians  a  second  battle,  and  feigning  a  flight,  as 
they  had  done  before,  by  that  means  drew  them  into  an 
ambush,  and  killed  above  two  hundred  thousand  of  their 
men,  together  Avith  their  king  Cyrus.  Then  ordering 
Cyrus's  head  to  be  cut  off,  she  flung  it  into  a  vessel  full  of 
blood,  insulting  him  at  the  same  time  Avith  these  opprobri- 
ous words,t  "  Xow  glut  thyself  with  blood,  in  which  thou 
hast  ahvays  delighted,  and  of  which  thy  thirst  has  ahvays 
been  insatiable."  | 

The  account  given  by  Herodotus  of  the  infancy  of  Cyrus, 
and  his  first  adventures,  has  much  more  the  air  of  a  romance 

*  Her.  1.  i.  c.  107-130.    Justin.  1. 1.  c.  4,  6. 

t  Satis  te,  inquit,  sauguiue,  quem  sitisti,  cujusque  insatiabilis  semper  fulatL 
^-Justin.  1.  i,  c.  3.  t  Her.  1.  i.  c.  205-214,    Justiu.  i.  i.  c.  8. 


588  ANCIENT    HISTORY. 

than  of  a  history.  And  as  to  the  manner  of  his  death,  what 
probability  is  there  that  a  prince,  so  experienced  in  war, 
and  no  less  renowned  for  his  prudence  than  for  his  braA^ery, 
should  so  easily  fall  into  an  ambuscade  laid  for  him  by  a 
woman?  What  the  same  historian  relates  concerning  his 
hasty,  violent  passion,  and  his  childish  revenge  upon  the 
river  Gyndes,  in  which  one  of  his  sacred  horses  was  drowned, 
and  which  he  immediately  caused  to  be  cut  by  his  army 
into  three  hundred  and  sixty  channels,  is  directly  repugnant 
to  the  idea  we  have  of  Cyrus,  who  was  a  prince  of  ex- 
traordinary moderation  and  temper.*  Besides,  is  it  at  all 
])robable,  that  Cyrus,  who  was  marching  to  the  conquest  of 
Babylon,  should  so  idly  waste  his  time  when  so  precious  to 
him,  should  si)end  the  ardor  of  his  troops  in  such  an  un- 
profitable piece  of  work,  and  miss  the  op]>ortunity  of  sur- 
prising the  Babylonians,  by  amusing  himself  with  a  ridicu- 
lous war  with  a  river  instead  of  carrying  it  against  his 
enemies  ?  f 

But  what  decides  this  point  unanswerably  in  favor  of 
Xenophon,  is  the  conformity  we  find  between  his  narrative 
and  the  Holy  Scri])ture ;  where  we  see,  that  instead  of 
Cyrus's  having  raised  the  Persian  em])ire  upon  the  ruins  of 
that  of  the  Medes,  as  Herodotus  relates  it,  those  two  nations 
attacked  Babylon  together,  and  united  their  forces  to  reduce 
the  formidable  jjov,  e/  of  tlie  Babylonian  monarchy. 

From  whence,  then,  could  so  great  a  difference  as  there 
is  betAveen  these  two  historians  proceed  ?  Herodotus  him- 
self explains  it  to  us.  In  the  A-ery  place  Avhere  he  gives  the 
account  of  Cyrus's  birth,  and  in  that  Avhere  he  sj:)eaks  of  his 
death,  he  acquaints  us,  that  even  at  that  tune  those  tAvo 
great  events  Avere  related  different  Avays.  Herodotus  fol- 
loAved  that  which  pleased  him  best ;  for  it  a]>pcars  that  he 
was  fond  of  extraordinary  and  Avonderful  things,  and  Avas 
very  credulous.  Xenophon  was  of  a  graA'er  disposition  and 
of  less  credulity ;  and  in  the  very  beginning  of  his  history 
informs  its,  that  he  had  taken  great  care  and  ]jains  to  inform 
himself  of  Cyrus's  birth,  education  and  character. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE    HISTORY    OF    CAMBYSES. 

As  soon  as  Cambyses  was  seated  on  the  throne,  he  re- 
solved to  make  Avar  against  Egypt,  for  a  particular  affi'ont, 

►Herod.  1.  i.  c.  189.  t  Saa.  1.  iii.  de  ir;i,  c.  21. 


HISTORY   OF   CAMBYSES.  589 

which,  according  to  Herodotus,  he  pretended  to  have  re- 
ceived from  Amasis,  of  which  I  have  already  given  an 
account.  But  it  is  more  probable  that  Amasis,  who  had 
submitted  to  Cyrus,  and  become  tributary  to  him,  might 
draw  this  war  upon  himself,  by  refusing,  after  Cyrus's  death, 
to  pay  the  same  homage  and  tribute  to  his  successor,  and  by 
attempting  to  shake  off  his  yoke.* 

Cambyses,  in  order  to  carry  on  the  war  with  success, 
made  vast  preparations  both  by  sea  and  land.  Tlie  Cypriots 
and  Phcenicians  furnished  him  with  ships.  As  for  his  land 
army,  he  added  to  his  own  troops  a  great  number  of  Gre- 
cians, lonians,  and  vEolians,  which  made  up  the  principal 
part  of  his  forces.  But  none  was  of  greater  service  to  him 
in  this  war,  than  Phanes  of  Halicarnassus,  who,  being  the 
commander  of  some  auxiliary  Greeks  in  the  service  of  Ama- 
sis, and  being  in  some  manner  dissatisfied  with  that  prince, 
came  over  to  Cambyses,  and  gave  him  such  intelligence  con- 
cerning the  nature  of  the  country,  the  strength  of  the  en- 
emy, and  the  state  of  his  affairs,  as  very  much  faciliated  the 
success  of  his  expedition.  It  was  particularly  by  his  advice, 
that  he  contracted  Avith  an  Arabian  king,  whose  territories^ 
lay  between  the  confines  of  Palestine  and  Egypt,  to  furnish 
his  army  with  water  during  his  march  through  the  desert 
that  lay  between  those  two  counti-ies :  which  agreement 
that  ])rince  fulfilled,  by  sending  the  water  on  the  backs  of 
camels,  without  which  Cambyses  could  never  have  marched 
his  army  that  way.f 

Il.ivhig  made  all  these  preparations,  he  invaded  Egypt 
in  the  fourth  year  of  his  reign.  ^  When  he  arrived  upon  the 
frontiei's,  he  was  infoimied  that  Amasis  was  just  dead,  and 
that  Psammenitus,  his  son,  who  succeeded  him,  was  busy  in 
collecting  all  his  forces,  to  hinder  him  from  penetrating  into 
his  kingdom.  Before  Cambyses  could  open  a  passage  into 
the  country,  it  was  necessary  he  should  render  himself  mas- 
ter of  Pelusium,  which  was  the  key  of  Egypt  on  the  side 
where  he  invaded  it.  Now  Pelusium  was  so  strong  a  place, 
that  in  all  probability  it  must  have  stopped  him  a  great 
while.  But,  according  to  Polyaenus,  to  facilitate  this  enter- 
prise, Cambyses  adopted  the  following  stratagem.  Being 
informed  that  the  whole  garrison  consisted  of  Egyptians,  he 
placed  in  the  front  of  his  army  a  great  number  of  cats,  dogs, 
sheep,  and  other  animals,  which  were  looked  upon  as  sacred 

*  A.  M.  3475.    Ant.  J.  C.  529. '  Herod.  1.  iil.  c.  1-3. 

t  Herod.  1.  iii.  c.  4-9.  t  Herod.  1.  iii.  c.  10. 


590  AN^CIEN'T    HISTORY. 

by  that  nation,  and  then  attacked  the  city  by  storm.  The 
soldiers  of  the  garrison,  not  daring  either  to  fling  a  dart  or 
shoot  an  arrow  that  way,  for  fear  of  hitting  some  of  those 
animals,  Cambyses  became  master  of  the  place  without  op- 
position.* 

When  Cambyses  had  got  possession  of  the  city,  Psam- 
menitus  advanced  with  a  great  army  to  stop  his  progress ; 
and  a  considerable  battle  ensued  between  them.  But  before 
they  engaged,  the  Greeks,  who  were  in  the  army  of  Psam- 
menitus,  in  order  to  be  revenged  of  Phanes  for  his  revolt, 
took  his  children,  which  he  had  been  obliged  to  leave  in 
Egypt  when  he  fled,  cut  their  throats  between  the  two 
camps,  and  in  presence  of  the  two  armies  drank  their  blood. 
This  outrageous  cruelty  did  not  procure  them  the  victory. 
The  Persians,  enraged  at  so  horrid  a  spectacle,  fell  u])on 
them  with  great  fury,  quickly  routed  and  overthrew  the 
whole  Egyptian  army,  the  greatest  part  of  which  were  killed 
upon  the  spot.  Those  that  could  save  themselves  escaped  to 
Memphis. t 

On  the  occasion  of  this  battle,  Herodotus  takes  notice  of 
an  extraordinary  circumstance,  of  which  he  himself  was  a 
witness.  The  bones  of  the  Persians  and  Egyptians  were  still 
in  the  place  where  the  battle  was  fought,  but  separated  from 
one  another.  The  skulls  of  the  Egyptians  were  so  hard, 
that  a  violent  stroke  of  a  stone  would  hardly  break  them  ; 
and  those  of  the  Persians  so  soft,  that  you  might  break 
them,  or  pierce  them  through,  with  the  greatest  ease  imagin- 
able. The  reason  of  this  difference  Avas,  that  tlie  former, 
from  their  infancy,  were  accustomed  to  have  their  heads 
shaved,  and  to  go  uncovered,  Avhereas  the  latter  had  their 
heads  always  covered  with  their  tiaras,  which  is  one  of  their 
principal  ornaments,  t 

Cambyses,  having  pursued  the  fugitives  to  Memphis,  sent 
a  herald  into  the  city,  in  a  vessel  of  Mitylene,  by  the  river 
Nile,  on  which  Memphis  stood,  to  sumnion  the  inhabitants 
to  surrender.  But  the  people,  trans])orted  with  rage,  fell 
upon  the  herald,  and  tore  him  and  all  that  were  with  him 
to  pieces.  Cambyses,  having  soon  after  taken  the  place, 
fully  revenged  the  indignity,  causing  ten  times  as  many 
Egyptians,  of  the  first  nobility,  as  there  had  been  of  his  peo- 
ple massacred,  to  be  publicly  executed.  Among  these  was 
the  eldest  son  of  Psammenitus.  .  As  for  the  king  himself, 
Cambyses  was  inclined  to  treat  hha  kindly.     He  not  only 

*  Polysen.  1.  vii.  +  Herod.  1.  iii.  c.  11.  t  Idem.  c.  12. 


HISTORY    OF    CASrBYSES.  591 

spared  his  life,  but  appointed  him  an  honorable  maintenance. 
But  the  Egyptian  monarch,  little  affected  with  this  kind 
usage,  did  what  he  could  to  raise  new  troubles  and  commo- 
tions, in  order  to  recover  his  kingdom,  as  a  punishment  for 
which,  he  was  made  to  drink  bull's  blood,  and  died  imme- 
diately. His  reign  lasted  but  six  months,  after  which  all 
Egypt  submitted  to  the  conqueror.  On  the  news  of  this  suc- 
cess, the  Lydians,  the  Cyrenians,  and  the  Barceans,  all  sent 
ambassadors  with  presents  to  Cambyses,  to  offer  him  their 
submissions.* 

From  Memphis  he  Avent  to  the  city  of  Sais,  which  was  the 
burying-place  of  the  kings  of  Egypt.  As  soon  as  he  entered 
the  palace,  he  caused  the  body  of  Amasis  to  be  taken  out  of 
his  tomb ;  and,  after  having  exposed  it  to  a  thousand  indig- 
nities in  his  own  presence,  he  ordered  it  to  be  cast  into  the 
fire  and  burnt,  which  was  a  thing  equally  contrary  to  the 
customs  of  the  Persians  and  Egyptians.  The  rage  this  i)rince 
testified  against  the  dead  carcase  of  Amasis,  shows  to  what 
a  degree  he  hated  his  person.  Whatever  was  the  cause  of 
that  aversion,  it  seems  to  have  been  one  of  the  chief  motives 
Cambyses  had  for  carrying  his  arms  into  Egypt. f 

The  next  year,  which  was  the  sixth  of  his  reign,  he  re- 
solved to  make  war  in  three  different  countries  ;  against  the 
Carthaginians,  the  Ammonians,  and  the  Ethiopians.  The  first 
of  these  projects  lie  was  obliged  to  lay  aside,  because  the 
Phcenicians,  without  whose  assistance  he  could  not  carry  on 
that  war,  refused  to  succor  him  against  the  Carthaginians, 
who  were  descended  from  them,  Carthage  being  originally  a 
Tyrian  colony.  $ 

But,  being  determined  to  invade  the  other  two  nations, 
he  sent  ambassadors  into  Ethiopia,  who,  under  that  charac- 
ter, were  to  act  as  spies  for  him,  to  learn  the  state  and 
strength  of  the  country,  and  give  him  intelligence  of  both. 
They  carried  presents  along  with  them,  such  as  the  Persitins 
were  used  to  make,  as  purple,  golden  bracelets,  perfumes, 
and  wine.  These  presents,  among  which  there  Avas  nothing 
useful  or  serviceable  to  life,  except  the  wine,  were  despised 
by  the  Ethopians  ;  neither  did  they  make  much  more  account 
of  his  ambassadors,  whom  they  took  for  what  they  really 
were,  spies  and  enemies  in  disguise.  However,  the  king  of 
Ethiopia  was  willing,  after  his  manner,  to  make  a  present  to 
the  king  of  Persia  ;  and  taking  a. bow  in  his  hands,  which  a 
Persian  was  so  far  from  being  able  to  draw,  that  he  could 

•  Herod.  1.  iii.  c.  13.  "  Idem.  c.  16,  t  Idem.  c.  17,  19. 


592  ANCIENT    HISTORY. 

scarcely  lift  it,  he  drew  it  in  presence  of  the  ambassadors, 
and  told  them :  "  This  is  the  present  and  the  counsel  the 
king  of  Ethiopia  gives  the  king  of  Persia.  When  the  Per- 
sians shall  be  able  to  use  a  bow  of  this  size  and  strength, 
with  as  much  ease  as  I  have  now  bent  it,  then  let  him  come 
to  attack  the  Ethopians,  and  bring  more  troops  with  him 
than  Cambyses  is  master  of.  In  the  mean  time,  let  them 
thank  the  gods  for  not  having  put  it  into  the  hearts  of  the 
Ethiopians  to  extend  their  dominions  beyond  their  own 
country."  * 

This  answer  having  enraged  Cambyses,  he  commanded 
his  army  to  begin  their  march  immediately,  without  consid- 
ering, that  he  neither  had  provisions  nor  any  thing  necessary 
for  such  an  expedition  :  but  he  left  the  Grecians  behind  him, 
in  his  newly  conquered  country,  to  keep  it  in  subjection  dur- 
ing his  absence. t 

As  soon  as  he  arrived  at  Thebes,  in  Upper  Egypt,  he  de- 
tached fifty  thousand  of  his  men  against  the  Ammonians, 
ordered  them  to  ravage  the  cou  .itry  and  to  destroy  the  tem- 
ple of  Jupiter  Amnion,  which  was  famous  there.  But  after 
they  had  made  several  days'  march  in  the  desert,  a  violent 
wind  blowing  from  the  south,  brought  such  a  vast  quantity 
of  sand  upon  the  army,  that  the  men  were  all  overwhelmed 
and  buried  under  it.  | 

In  the  mean  time,  Cambyses  marched  forward  like  a  mad- 
man against  the  Ethiopians,  notwithstanding  his  being  desti- 
tute of  all  sorts  of  provisions,  which  quickly  caused  a  terrible 
famine  in  his  army.  He  had  still  time,  says  Herodotus,  to 
remedy  this  evil ;  but  Cambyses  would  have  thought  it  a 
dishonor  to  have  desisted  from  his  undertaking,  and  there- 
fore proceeded  in  his  expedition.  At  first  his  army  was 
obliged  to  live  upon  herbs,  roots,  and  leaves  of  trees,  but, 
coming  afterwards  into  a  country  entirely  barren,  they  were 
reduced  to  the  necessity  of  eating  their  beasts  of  burden. 
At  last  they  were  brought  to  such  a  cruel  extremity,  as  to  be 
obliged  to  eat  one  another ;  every  tenth  man  u])on  whom 
the  lot  fell,  being  doomed  to  serve  as  meat  for  his  compan- 
ions ;  a  meat,  says  Seneca,  more  cruel  and  terrible  than  fam- 
ine itself :  Dechnum  quemque  sortiti,  alimentwn  habuer- 
unt  fume  scevvus.  §  Notwithstanding  all  this,  the  king  still 
persisted  in  his  design,  or  rather  in  his  madness,  nor  did  the 
miserable  desolation  of  his  army  make  him  sensible  of  his 
error.     But  at  length,  beginning  to  be  afraid  for  his  own 

*  Herod.  1.  iii.  c.  20-24.    t  Idem.  c.  25.    t  Idem.  c.  25,  26.    §  De  Ira,  1.  iii.  c.  20. 


HISTORY    OF    CAMBYSES.  593 

person,  he  ordered  them  to  return.  During  all  this  dreadful 
famine  among  tlie  troops,  (who  would  believe  it)  ?  there  was 
no  abatement  of  delicacies  at  his  table,  and  camels  were  still 
reserved  to  carry  his  kitchen  furniture,  and  the  instruments 
of  his  luxury :  Servabantur  UK  interim  (jencrosce  aves^  et 
instrumenta  epularum  caynelis  vehehantur^  clim  sortirentuv 
milites  ejus  quis  male  j^eriret^  quis  2')ejus  viveret* 

The  remainder  of  his  army,  of  which  the  greatest  part 
was  lost  in  this  expedition,  he  brought  back  to  Thebes, 
where  he  succeeded  much  better  in  the  war  declared  against 
the  gods,  whom  he  found  more  easy  to  be  conquered  than 
men.  Thebes  was  full  of  temples,  that  were  incredibly  rich 
and  magnificent.  All  these  Cambyses  pillaged,  and  then 
set  them  on  fire.  Tlie  richness  of  these  temples  must  have 
been  vastly  great,  since  the  very  remains,  saved  from  the 
flames,  amounted  to  an  immense  sum,  three  hundred  talents 
of  gold,  and  two  thousand  three  hundred  talents  of  silver. f 
He  likewise  carried  away  at  this  time  the  famous  circle  of 
gold,  that  encompassed  the  tomb  of  Ozymandias,  being 
three  hundred  and  fifty-five  cubits  in  circumference,  and  in 
which  were  represented  all  the  motions  of  the  several  con- 
stellations.t 

From  Thebes  he  Avent  back  to  Memphis,  where  he  dis- 
missed all  the  Greeks,  and  sent  them  to  their  respective 
homes  ;  but  on  his  return  into  the  city,  finding  it  full  of  re- 
joicings, he  fell  into  a  great  rage,  supposing  all  this  to  have 
been  for  the  ill  success  of  his  expedition.  He  therefore 
called  the  magistrates  before  him,  to  know  the  meaning  of 
these  public  rejoicings  ;  and  upon  their  telling  him,  that  it 
was  because  they  had  found  their  god  Apis,  he  would  not 
believe  them,  but  caused  them  to  be  put  to  death  as  impos- 
tors that  insulted  him  and  his  misfortunes.  And  then  he 
sent  for  the  priests,  who  made  him  the  same  answer  ;  upon 
which  he  replied,  that  since  their  god  was  so  kind  and 
familiar  as  to  appear  among  them,  he  would  be  acquainted 
with  him,  and  therefore  commanded  him  forthAvith  to  be 
brought  to  him.  But  when  instead  of  a  god  he  saw  a  calf, 
he  was  strangely  astonished,  and  falling  again  into  a  rage, 
he  drew  out  his  dagger,  and  run  it  into  the  thigh  of  the 
beast :  and  then,  upbraiding  the  priests  for  their  stupidity 
in  worsliipping  a  brute  for  a  god,  ordered  them  to  be  severely 
whipped,  and  all  the  Egyptians  in  Memphis,  that  should  be 
found  celebrating  the  feast  of  Apis,  to   be  slain.     The  god 

*  De  Ira,  1.  iii.  c.  20.  t  Diod.  Sic.  1.  i.  p.  48.  t  Idem.  p.  46. 

38 


594  ANCIENT    HISTORY. 

ttras  carried  back  to  the  temple,  where  he  Languislied  of  his 
wound  for  some  time,  and  then  died.* 

The  Egyptians  say,  that  after  this  fact,  which  they 
reckoned  to  have  been  the  highest  instance  of  impiety  that 
ever  was  committed  among  them,  Cambyses  grew  mad. 
But  his  actions  showed  him  to  have  been  mad  long. before, 
of  which  he  continued  to  give  various  instances  :  among  the 
rest  are  these  following.! 

He  had  a  brother,  the  only  son  of  Cyrus,  besides  himself, 
and  born  of  the  same  mother :  his  name,  according  to  Xeno- 
hon,  was  Tanaoxares,  but  Herodotus  calls  him  Smerdis,  and 
Justin,  Mergis.  He  accompanied  Cambyses  in  his  Egyptian 
expedition.  But,  being  the  only  person,  among  all  the 
Persians,  that  could  draw  the  bow  a\  hich  the  ambassadors 
of  Cambyses  brought  him  from  the  king  of  Ethiopia,  Cam- 
byses from  hence  conceived  such  a  jealousy  against  him,  that 
he  could  bear  him  no  longer  in  the  army,  but  sent  him  back 
into  Persia.  And  not  long  after,  dreaming  that  somebody 
told  him  that  Smerdis  sat  on  the  throne,  he  conceived  a 
suspicion  that  his  brother  aspired  to  the  throne,  and  sent 
after  him  into  Persia,  Prexaspes,  one  of  his  chief  confidants 
with  orders  to  put  him  to  death,  Avhich  he  accordingly 
executed,  t 

This  murder  was  the  cause  of  another  still  more  criminal. 
Cambyses  had  with  him  in  the  camp  his  youngest  sister, 
whose  name  was  Meroe.  Herodotus  informs  us  in  what  a 
strange  manner  his  sister  became  his  wife.  As  the  princess 
was  exceedingly  beautiful,  Cambyses  absolutely  resolved  tp 
marry  her.  To  that  end  he  called  together  all  the  judges  of 
the  Persian  nation,  to  w  hom  belonged  the  interpretation  of 
their  laws,  to  know  of  them,  whether  there  was  any  law  that 
would  allow  a  brother  to  marry  a  sister.  The  judges,  being 
unwilling  on  the  one  hand  directly  to  authorize  such  an 
incestuous  marriage,  and  on  the  other,  fearing  the  king's 
violent  temper  should  they  contradict  him,  endeavored  to 
find  out  a  subterfuge,  and  gave  him  this  crafty  answer :  that 
they  had  no  law  indeed  which  permitted  a  brother  to  marry 
a  sister,  but  they  had  a  law  which  allowed  the  king  of  Persia 
to  do  what  he  pleased.  This  answer,  serving  his  purpose  as 
well  as  a  direct  approbation,  he  solemnly  married  her,  and 
hereby  gave  the  first  example  of  that  incest,  which  was 
afterM'ards  practised  by  most  of  his  successors,  and  by  some 
of  them  carried  so  far  as  to  marry  their  own  daughters,  how 

♦  Herod.  1.  iii.  c.  27-29.  t  Herod.  1.  iii.  c.  30.  t  Ibid. 


HISTORY   OF   CAMBYSES.  595 

repugnant  soever  it  be  to  modesty  and  good  order.  This 
lady  he  carried  with  him  in  all  his  expeditious,  and  her 
name  being  Meroe,  he  gave  it  to  an  island  in  the  Nile,  be- 
tween Kgypt  and  Ethiopia,  on  the  conquering  of  it,  having 
advanced  thus  far  in  his  wild  march  against  the  Ethiopians. 
The  circumstance  that  gave  occasion  to  liis  murdering  this 
])rincess,  was  as  follows.  One  day  Cambyses  was  diverting 
himself  in  seeing  a  combat  between  a  young  lion  and  a 
young  dog;  the  lion  having  the  better,  another  dog, brother 
to  him  that  was  engaged,  came  to  his  assistance,  and  helped 
him  to  master  the  lion.  This  adventure  mightily  delighted 
Cambyses,  but  drew  tears  from  Meroe,  who  being  obliged 
to  tell  her  husband  the  reason  of  her  weeping,  confessed 
that  this  combat  made  her  call  to  mind  the  fate  of  her 
brother  Sinerdis,  who  had  not  the  same  good  fortune  as 
that  little  dog.  There  needed  no  more  than  this  to  excite 
the  rage  of  tliis  brutal  prince,  who  immediately  gave  her, 
notwithstanding  her  being  with  child,  such  a  blow  with 
his  foot  on  the  belly,  that  she  died  of  it.  So  abominable  a 
marriage  deserved  no  better  end.* 

He  caused  also  several  of  the  principal  of  his  followers 
to  be  buried  alive,  and  daily  sacrificed  some  one  or  other  of 
them  to  his  wild  fury.  He  had  obliged  Prexaspes,  one  of 
his  ))rincij)al  officers  and  favorites,  to  declare  to  him  what 
his  Persian  subjects  thought  and  said  of  him.  "  They  ad- 
mire. Sir,"  says  Prexaspes,  "  a  great  many  excellent  quali- 
ties they  see  in  you,  but  they  are  somewhat  mortified  at 
your  immoderate  love  of  wine."  "  I  understand  you,"  re- 
plied the  king,  "  that  is,  they  pretend  that  wine  deprives  me 
of  my  reason  ;  you  shall  be  judge  of  that  immediately." 
Upon  which  he  began  to  drink  excessively,  pouring  it  down 
in  larger  quantities  than  he  had  ever  done  before.  Then 
ordering  Prexaspes's  son,  who  was  his  chief  cup-bearer,  to 
stand  upright  at  the  end  of  the  room,  with  his  left  hand 
upon  his  head,  he  took  his  bow,  and  levelled  it  at  him  ;  and 
declaring  that  he  aimed  it  at  his  heart,  let  fly,  and  actually 
shot  him  m  the  heart.  He  then  ordered  his  side  to  be 
opened,  and  showing  the  father  the  heart  of  his  son,  which 
the  arrow  had  pierced,  asked  him,  in  an  insulting,  scolling 
manner,  if  he  had  not  a  steady  hand  ?  The  wretched  father, 
who  ought  not  to  have  had  either  voice  or  life  remaining 
after  a  stroke  like  this,  was  so  mean-spirited  as  to  reply, 
"  Apollo  himself  could  not  have  shot  better."     Seneca,  who 

*  Herod.  1.  iii.  c.  31,  3'2. 


596  AXCIENT    HISTORY. 

copied  this  story  from  Herodotus,  after  having  shown  his 
detestation  of  the  barbarous  cruelty  of  the  prince,  condemns 
still  more  the  cowardly  and  monstrous  flattery  of  the  father : 
Sceleratius  telum  illud  laudatmn  est,  quam  missum* 

When  Croesus  took  u])on  him  to  advise  Cainbyses  against 
these  proceedings,  and  laid  before  him  the  ill  consequences 
they  would  lead  to,  he  ordered  him  to  be  put  to  death. 
And  when  those  M'ho  received  his  order,  knowing  he  would 
repent  of  it  the  next  day,  deferred  the  execution,  he  caused 
them  all  to  be  put  to  death  because  they  had  not  obeyed  his 
commands,  though  at  the  same  time  he  expressed  great  joy 
that  Croesus  was  alive.f 

It  was  about  this  time  that  Oretes,  one  of  the  satraps  of 
Cambyses,  who  had  the  government  of  Sardis,  after  a  very 
strange  and  extraordinary  manner,  brought  about  the  death 
of  Polycrates,  tyrant  of  Samos.  The  story  of  this  Polycrates 
is  of  so  singular  a  nature,  that  the  reader  will  not  be  dis- 
pleased if  I  re])eat  it  here. 

This  Polycrates  was  a  prince,  who,  through  the  whole 
course  of  his  life,  liad  been  perfectly  prosperous  and  success- 
ful in  all  his  affairs,  and  had  never  met  with  tlie  least  dis- 
appointment, or  unfortunate  accident,  to  disturb  his  felicity. 
Amasis,  king  of  Egypt,  his  friend  and  ally,  thought  himself 
obliged  to  send  him  a  letter  of  admonition  upon  that  sub- 
ject. In  this  letter  he  declared  to  him,  that  he  had  terrible 
apprehensions  concerning  his  condition  ;  that  such  a  long 
and  uninterrupted  course  of  prosperity  was  to  be  suspected  ; 
that  some  malignant  invidious  god,  who  looks  upon  the 
fortune  of  men  with  a  jealous  eye,  would  certainly,  sooner 
or  later,  bring  ruin  and  destruction  upon  him  ;  and,  in  order 
to  prevent  such  a  fatal  stroke,  he  advised  him  to  procure 
some  misfortune  to  himself  by  some  voluntary  loss,  that  he 
was  persuaded  would  prove  a  sensible  mortification  to  him.| 

The  tyrant  followed  his  advice.  Having  an  emerald 
ring  which  he  highly  esteemed,  particularly  for  its  curious 
workmanship,  as  he  was  walking  upon  the  deck  of  one  of 
his  galleys  with  his  courtiers,  he  threw  it  into  the  sea  with- 
out any  one's  perceiving  what  he  had  done.  Not  many 
days  after,  some  fishermen,  having  caught  a  fish  of  an  extraor- 
dinary size,  made  a  present  of  it  to  Polycrates.  When  the 
fish  was  opened,  the  king's  ring  was  found  in  the  belly  of  it. 
His  surprise  was  very  great,  and  his  joy  still  gi-eater. 

•  Herod.  1.  iii.  c.  34,  35.    Sen.  1.  iii.  de  Ira.  c.  14.  t  Idem.  c.  36. 

t  Idem.  c.  3tM3. 


HISTORY    OF    CA3fBYSES.  597 

When  Amasis  heard  Avhat  had  liappened,  he  was  very 
differently  affected  with  it.  He  wrote  anotlier  letter  to 
Polycrates,  telling  him,  that  to  avoid  the  mortification  of 
seeing  his  friend  and  ally  fall  into  some  grievous  calamity, 
he  from  that  time  renounced  his  friendship  and  alliance.  A 
strange,  Avhimsical  notion  !  as  if  friendshii:)  Avas  merely  a 
name,  or  a  title  destitute  of  all  substance  and  reality. 

Be  that  as  it  will,  the  thing  did  really  happen  as  the 
Egyptian  king  apprehended.  Some  years  after,  about  the 
time  Cambyses  fell  sick,  Oretes,  who,  as  I  said  before,  was 
his  governor  at  Sardis,  not  being  able  to  bear  the  reproach 
which  another  satrap  had  cast  xipon  him,  in  a  private  quarrel, 
for  his  not  having  yet  conquered  the  isle  of  Samos,  which 
lay  so  near  his  government,  and  would  be  so  commodious  to 
his  master,  Oretes,  upon  this  resolved,  at  any  rate,  to  destroy 
Polycrates,  that  he  might  get  possession  of  the  island.  The 
way  he  took  to  effect  his  design  was  tliis.  He  feigned  an 
inclination  upon  some  pretended  discontent,  to  revolt  from 
Cambyses,  and  in  ordei',  he  said,  to  secure  his  treasure  and 
effects,  ho  Avas  determined  to  deposit  them  in  the  hands  of 
Polycrates,  at  the  same  time  to  make  him  a  present  of  one 
half  of  them,  which  would  enable  liim  to  conquer  Ionia  and 
the  adjacent  islands,  a  project  he  had  long  had  in  view. 
Oretes  knew  the  tyrant  loved  money,  and  passionately  cov- 
eted to  enlarge  his  dominions.  He  therefore  laid  that  double 
bait  before  him,  by  which  he  equally  tempted  his  avarice  and 
ambition.  Polycrates,  that  he  might  not  rashly  engage  in 
an  affair  of  that  importance,  thought  it  proper  to  inform 
himself  more  surely  of  the  truth  of  the  matter,  and  to  that 
end  sent  a  messenger  of  his  own  to  Sardis.  When  he  came 
there,  Oretes  showed  him  a  vast  number  of  bags  full  of  gold 
as  ho  said,  but  in  truth  filled  Avith  stones,  and  having  only 
the  mouth  of  them  covered  Avith  gold  coin.  As  soon  as  he 
was  returned  home,  Polycrates,  impatient  to  go  and  sieze 
his  prey,  set  out  for  Sardis,  contrary  to  the  advice  of  all  his 
friends,  and  took  along  with  him  Democedes,  a  celebrated 
physician  of  Crotona.  Immediately  on  his  arrival,  Oretes 
had  him  arrested,  as  an  enemy  to  the  state,  and  as  such 
caused  him  to  be  hanged.  In  such  an  ignominious  and 
shameful  manner  did  he  end  a  life,  Avhich  had  been  but  one 
continued  series  of  prosperity  and  good  fortune.* 

Cambyses,  in  the  beginning  of  the  eighth  year  of  his 
reign,  left  -b^gypt  in  order  to  return  into  Persia.     When  ha 

'  *  Herod.  1.  iii.  c.  120-125. 


698  ANCIENT    HISTORY. 

reached  Syria,  he  found  a  herald  there,  sent  from  Susa  to 
the  army,  to  let  them  know  that  Smerdis,  the  son  of  Cyrus,, 
was  proclaimed  king,  and  command  them  all  to  obey  him. 
This  event  had  been  brought  about  in  the  following  manner. 
Cambyses,at  his  departure  from  Susa  on  his  Egy|)tian  ex- 
pedition, had  left  the  administration  of  affairs  during  his 
absence  in  the  hands  of  Patisithes,  one  of  the  chief  of  the 
Magi.  This  Patisithes  had  a  brother  strongly  resembling 
Smerdis,  the  son  of  Cyrus,  and  who  perhaps  for  that  reason 
was  called  by  the  same  name.  As  soon  as  Patisithes  was 
fully  assured  of  the  death  of  that  prince,  which  was  con- 
cealed from  the  public,  knowing,  at  the  same  time,  that 
Cambyses  indulged  his  extravagance  to  such  a  degree,  that 
he  was  grown  insupportable,  he  placed  his  own  brother  upon 
the  throne,  giving  out  that  he  was  the  true  Smerdis,  the  son 
of  Cyrus ;  and  immediately  despatched  heralds  into  all  the 
parts  of  the  em|)ire,  to  give  notice  of  Smerdis's  accession, 
and  to  require  all  the  subjects  tliereof  to  pay  him  obedi- 
ence.* 

Cambyses  caused  the  herald  that  came  with  these  orders 
into  Syria  to  be  arrested  ;  and  having  strictly  examined  liim 
in  the  presence  of  Prexaspes,  who  had  received  onlers  to 
kill  his  brother,  he  found  that  the  true  Smerdis  was  certain- 
ly dead,  and  he  who  had  usurped  the  throne  was  no  other 
than  Smerdis  the  Magian.  Upon  this  he  made  great  lamen- 
tations, that  being  deceived  by  a  dream,  and  the  identity  of 
the  names,  he  had  been  induced  to  destroy  his  own  brother ; 
and  immediately  gave  orders  for  his  army  to  mai'ch  and  cut 
off  the  usurper.  But  as  he  was  mounting  his  horse  for  this 
expedition,  his  sword  slipped  out  of  its  scabbard,  and  gave 
him  a  wound  in  the  thigh,  of  which  he  died  soon  after.  The 
Egyptians  remarking,  that  it  was  upon  tlie  same  part  of  the 
body  where  he  had  Avounded  their  god  Apis,  looked  upon  it 
as  a  judgment  upon  him  for  that  sacrilegious  impiety. f 

While  he  was  in  Egypt,  having  consulted  the  oracle  of 
B.itos,  which  was  famous  in  that  country,  he  was  told  that 
he  should  die  at  Ecbatana  ;  understanding  this  of  Ecbatana 
in  Media,  he  resolved  to  preserve  his  life  by  never  going 
thither ;  but  what  he  thought  to  avoid  in  Media,  he  found 
in  Syria  ;  for  the  town  where  he  lay  sick  of  this  wound  was 
also  called  Ecbatana.  On  this  being  made  known  to  him, 
taking  it  for  certain  that  he  must  die  there,  he  assembled  the 
chiefs  of  the  Persians  together,  and  representing  to  them 
*  Herod,  I,  ii}.  c.  61.  t  Idem.  c.  62-64-  " 


HISTORY    OF    SMERDIS.  599 

that  it  was  Smerdis  the  Magian  wlio  had  usurped  the  throne, 
earnestly  exhorted  them  not  to  submit  to  that  impostor,  nor 
to  suffer  the  sovereignty  to  pass  from  the  Persians  again  to 
the  Medes,  of  Av-^hich  nation  the  Magian  was,  but  to  take  care 
to  set  up  a  king  over  them  of  tlieir  own  people.  The  Persians, 
thinking  he  had  said  all  this  out  of  hatred  to  his  brother, 
paid  no  regard  to  it,  but  upon  his  death,  quietly  submitted 
to  him  whom  they  found  on  the  throne,  supposing  him  to  be 
the  true  Smerdis.* 

Cambyses  reigned  seven  years  and  five  months.  In 
Scripture  he  is  called  Ahasuerus.  When  he  first  came  to 
the  crown,  the  enemies  of  the  Jews  made  their  addresses 
directly  to  him,  desiring  him  to  prevent  the  building  of  their 
temple.  And  their  application  was  not  in  vain.  Indeed,  he 
did  not  openly  revoke  the  edict  of  his  father  Cyrus,  perhaps 
out  of  some  remains  of  respect  for  his  memory,  but  in  a 
great  measure  frustrated  its  intent,  by  the  many  discourage- 
ments-he laid  the  Jews  under ;  so  that  the  work  went  on 
vei-y  slowly  during  his  reign. f 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE   HISTORY   OF    SMERDIS    THE    MAGIAN. 

This  prince  is  called  in  Scripture  Artaxerxes.  As  soon 
as  he  was  settled  on  the  throne,  by  the  death  of  Cambyses, t 
the  inhabitants  of  Samaria  wrote  a  letter  to  him,  setting 
forth  what  a  turbulent,  seditious,  and  rebellious  people  the 
Jews  were.  By  virtue  of  this  letter,  they  obtained  an  order 
from  the  king,  prohibiting  the  Jews  from  proceeding  any 
farther  in  the  rebuilding  of  their  city  and  temple.  So  that 
the  ivork  was  suspended  till  the  second  year  of  Darius,  for 
about  the  space  of  two  years. 

The  Magian,  sensible  how  important  it  was  for  him  that 
the  imposture  should  not  be  discovered,  affected,  according 
to  the  custom  of  the  eastern  monarchs  in' those  times,  never 
to  appear  in  public,  but  to  live  retired  in  his  palace,  and 
there  transact  all  his  affairs  by  the  intercourse  of  his  eunuchs, 
without  admitting  any  but  his  most  intimate  confidants  to 
his  presence. 

And,  the  better  to  secure  himself  in  the  possession  of  th<3 

*  Herod.  1.  iii.  c.  64-66.  t  1.  Esd.  iv.  4,  6. 

t  A.  M.  3482.    Aiit.  J.  C.  522-     I.  Esd.  iv.  7-14. 


600  a:s^cient  history. 

throne  he  had  usurped,  he  studied,  from  his  first  accession, 
to  gain  the  affections  of  his  subjects,  by  granting  them  an 
exemption  from  taxes,  and  from  all  military  service  for 
three  years  ;  and  did  so  many  things  for  their  benefit,  that 
his  death  was  much  lamented  by  the  generality  of  the  Per- 
sians, on  the  revolution  that  happened  afterwards.* 

But  the  very  precautions  he  made  use  of,  to  keep  himself 
out  of  the  way  of  being  discovered  either  by  the  nobility  or 
the  people,  did  but  make  it  the  more  suspected  that  he  was 
not  the  true  Smerdis.  He  had  married  all  his  predecessor's 
wives,  and  among  them  Atossa,  a  daughter  of  Cyrus,  and 
Phedyma,  a  daughter  of  Otanes,  a  noble  Persian  of  the  first 
quality.  This  nobleman  sent  a  trusty  messenger  to  his 
daughter,  to  know  of  her  whether  the  king  was  really  Smer- 
dis, the  son  of  Cyrus,  or  some  other  man.  She  answered, 
that  having  never  seen  Smerdis,  the  son  of  Cyrus,  she  could 
not  tell.  He  then  l)y  a  second  message,  desired  her  to  in- 
quire of  Atossa,  who  covdd  not  but  know  her  own  brother, 
whether  this  was  he  or  not.  Whereupon  she  informed  him, 
that  the  present  king  kept  all  his  wives  apart,  so  that  they 
never  could  converse  with  one  another,  and  that  therefore 
she  could  not  come  at  Atossa,  to  ask  this  question  of  her. 
He  sent  her  a  third  message,  whereby  he  directed  her  that 
when  he  should  next  lie  with  her,  she  should  take  the  op- 
portunity when  he  was  fast  asleep,  to  feel  whether  lie  had 
any  ears  or  no.  For  Cyrus  having  caused  the  ears  of 
Smerdis,  the  Magian,  to  be  cut  off  for  some  crime,  he  told 
her,  that  if  the  person  she  lay  with  had  ears,  she  might 
satisfy  herself  that  he  was  Smerdis  the  son  of  Cyrus  ;  but 
if  not,  he  was  Smerdis  the  Magian,  and  therefore  imworthy 
of  possessing  either  the  crown  or  her.  Phedyma,  having 
received  these  instructions,  took  the  next  op]wrtunity  of 
making  the  trial  she  was  directed  to ;  and  liriding  that  the 
person  she  lay  with  had  no  ears,  she  send  word  of  it  to  her 
father,  whereby  the  fraud  was  discovered.! 

Otanes  immediately  entered  into  a  conspiracy  with  five 
more  of  the  chief  Persian  nobility  ;  and  Darius,  an  illustrious 
Persian  nobleman,  whose  father,  Hystasjies,  was  governor 
of  Persia,  X  coming  very  seasonably,  as  they  were  forming 
their  plan,  was  admitted  into  the  association,  and  vigorously 
promoted  the  execution.  The  affair  was  conducted  with 
great  secrecy,  and  the  very  day  fixed,  lest  it  should  be  di». 
covered.  § 

*  Herod.  1.  iii.  c. 67.  t  Idem.  c.  69.  t  Tbe  province  so  called. 

§  Herod.  1.  iii.  c.  70-73. 


HISTORY    OP    SAIERDIS.  601 

While  they  were  concerting  their  measures,  an  extraordi- 
nary occurrence,  which  they  had  not  the  least  expectation 
of,  strangely  perplexed  the  Magians.  In  order  to  remove 
all  suspicion,  they  had  proposed  to  Prexaspes,  and  obtained 
a  promise  from  him,  that  he  would  publicly  declare  before 
the  people,  who  were  to  be  assembled  for  that  ]:>urpose,  that 
the  king  upon  the  throne  was  truly  Smerdis,  the  son  of 
Cyrus.* 

When  the  people  were  assembled,  which  was  on  the  very 
same  day,  Prexaspes  spoke  from  the  top  of  a  tower,  and,  to 
the  great  astonishment  of  all  present,  sincerely  declared  all 
that  had  passed  ;  that  he  had  with  his  own  hand  killed  Smer- 
dis, the  son  of  Cyrus,  by  order  of  Cambyses  ;  that  the  per- 
son who  now  possessedthe  throne,  was  Smerdis  the  Magian  ; 
that  he  begged  pardon  of  the  gods  and  men  for  the  crime  he 
had  committed,  by  compulsion  and  against  his  will.  Having 
said  this,  he  threw  himself  headlong  from  the  top  of  the 
tower,  and  broke  his  neck.  It  is  easy  to  imagine  Avhat  con- 
fusion the  news  of  this  accident  occasioned  in  the  palace. 

The  conspirators,  without  knowing  any  thing  of  what 
had  happened,  were  going  to  the  palace  at  this  juncture,  and 
were  suffered  to  enter  unsuspected,  for  the  outer  guard, 
knowing  them  to  be  persons  of  the  first  rank  at  court,  did 
not  so  much  as  ask  them  any  questions.  But  coming  near 
the  king's  apartment,  and  finding  the  officers  there  unwilling 
to  give  'admittance,  they  drew  their  scimitars,  fell  upon  the 
guards,  and  forced  their  passage.  Smerdis,  the  Magian, 
and  his  brother,  who  Avere  deliberating  together  upon  the 
affair  of  Prexaspes,  hearing  a  sudden  uproar,  snatched  up 
their  arms,  made  the  best  defence  they  could,  and  wounded 
some  of  the  conspirators.  One  of  the  two  brothers  being 
quickly  killed,  the  other  fled  into  a  distant  room  to  save 
himself,  but  was  pursued  tliither  by  Gobryas  and  Darius. 
Gobryas  having  seized  him,  held  him  fast  in  his  arms  ;  but, 
as  it  was  quite  dark  in  that  place,  Darius  was  afraid  to  kill 
him,  lest,  at  the  same  time,  he  should  kill  his  friend.  Go- 
bryas judging  what  it  was  that  restrained  him,  obliged  him 
to  run  his  sword  through  the  Magian's  body,  though  he 
should  .hap])en  to  kill  them  both  together.  But  Darius  did 
it  with  so  much  dexterity  and  good  fortune,  that  he  killed 
the  Magian  without  hurting  his  companion. t 

In  the  same  instant,  with  their  hands  all  besmeared  with 
blood,  they  went  out  of  the  palace,  exposed  the  heads  of  the 

*  Herod.  1.  iii.  c.  74,  75.  t  Idem.,  c.  76-78. 


602  ANCIENT    HISTORT. 

false  Sraerdis  and  his  brother  Patisithes  to  the  eyes  of  the 
people,  and  declared  the  whole  imposture.  Upon  tliis,  the 
people  grew  so  enraged  against  the  impostors,  that  they  fell 
upon  their  whole  sect,  and  slew  as  many  of  them  as  they 
could  find.  For  this  reason,  the  day  on  which  this  was 
done,  became  thenceforward  an  annual  festival  among  the 
Persians,  by  whom  it  was  celebrated  with  great  rejoicings. 
It  was  called  The  daughter  of  the  Magi ;  none  of  that  sect 
venturing  to  appear  in  public  upon  that  festival.* 

When  the  tumult  and  disorder,  inseparable  from  such  an 
event,  were  appeased,  the  lords  who  had  slain  the  usurper 
entered  into  consultation  among  themselves,  what  sort  of 
government  was  most  projier  for  them  to  establish.  Otanes, 
who  spoke  first,  declared  directly  against  monarchy,  strong- 
ly representing  and  exaggerating  the  dangers  and  incon- 
veniences to  which  that  form  of  government  was  liable, 
chiefly  flowing,  according  to  him,  from  the  absolute  and 
unlimited  power  annexed  to  it,  by  Avhich  the  most  virtuous 
man  is  almost  iniavoidably  corrupted.  He  therefore  con- 
cluded, by  declaring  upon  a  ])opular  government.  Megabyzus, 
who  next  delivered  his  opinion,  admitting  all  that  the  other 
had  said  against  a  monarchical  government,  confuted  his 
reasons  for  a  democracy.  He  represented  the  people  as  a 
violent,  fierce,  and  ungovernable  animal,  that  acts  only  by 
caprice  and  passion.  "  A  king,"  said  he,  "  knows  what  he 
does ;  but  the  people  neither  know  nor  hear  any  thiiig,  and 
blindly  give  themselves  up  to  those  Avho  know  how  to 
manage  them."  He  therefore  declared  for  an  aristocracy, 
wherein  the  supreme  power  is  confided  to  a  few  wise  and 
experienced  persons.  Darius,  who  spoke  last,  showed  the 
inconveniences  of  an  aristocracy,  otherwise  called  oligarchy, 
wherein  reign  distrust,  envy,  dissensions,  and  ambition,  all 
natural  sources  of  faction,  sedition  and  murder,  for  wdiich 
there  is  usually  no  other  remedy  than  submitting  to  one 
man's  authority :  and  this  is  called  monarchy,  which  of  all 
forms  of  government  is  the  most  commendable,  the  safest, 
and  the  most  advantageous ;  the  good  that  can  be  done  by 
a  prince,  whose  power  is  equal  to  the  goodness  of  his  inclina- 
tions, being  inexpressibly  great.  "  In  short,"  said  he,  "  to 
determine  this  point  by  a  fact  which  to  me  seems  decisive  and 
undeniable,  to  what  form  of  government  is  tlie  present  great- 
ness of  the  Persian  empire  owing  ?  Is  it  not  that  which  I  am 
now  recommending?  "  The  opinion  of  Darius  was  embraced 

*  Herod.  1.  lii.  c.  79. 


HISTORY    OF    SMKKDIS.  G03 

by  the  rest  of  the  lords,  and  they  resohed,  that  the  monarcliy 
should  be  conthiued  on  the  same  footing  whereon  it  had 
been  established  by  Cyrus. 

The  next  question  Avas  to  know,  which  of  them  should 
be  khig,  and  how  they  should  proceed  to  the  election.  This 
tliey  thought  fit  to  refer  to  the  gods.  Accordingly,  they 
agreed  to  meet  the  next  morning,  by  sunrise,  on  horseback, 
at  a  certain  place  in  the  suburbs  of  the  city,  and  lie  Avhose  horse 
first  neighed  should  be  king.  For  the  sun  being  the  chief 
deity  of  the  Persians,  they  imagined,  that  takmgthis  course 
would  be  giving  him  ihe  honor  of  the  election.  The  groom  of 
Darius,  hearing  of  the  agreement,  made  use  of  the  following 
artifice  to  secure  the  crown  to  his  master.  He  carried,  the 
night  before,  a  mare  into  the  place  appointed  for  their  meet- 
ing the  next  day,  and  brought  to  her  his  master's  horse. 
The  lords  assembling  the  next  morning  at  the  rendezvous, 
no  sooner  was  Darius's  horse  come  to  the  place  where  he 
had  smelt  the  mare,  than  he  began  to  neigh,  whereupon 
Darius  was  saluted  king  by  the  others,  and  placed  on  the 
throne.  He  was  the  son  of  Hystaspes,  a  Persian  by  birth, 
and  of  the  royal  family  of  Achaemenes.* 

The  Persian  empire  being  thus  restored  and  settled  by 
the  wisdom  and  A^alor  of  these  seven  lords,  they  were  raised 
by  the  new  king  to  the  highest  dignities  and  honored  with 
the  most  ample  privileges.  They  had  access  to  his  person 
whenever  they  would,  and  in  all  public  affairs  were  the  first 
to  deliver  their  opinions.  And  whereas  the  Persians  wore 
their  tiara  or  turban  with  the  top  bent  backward,  except  the 
king,  who  wore  his  erect ;  these  lords  had  the  privilege  of 
wearing  theirs  with  the  top  bent  forward,  because,  when  they 
attacked  the  Magi,  they  had  bent  theirs  in  that  manner,  the 
better  to  know  one  another  in  the  hurry  and  confusion. 
From  that  time  forward  the  Persian  kings  of  this  family- 
always  had  seven  counsellors,  honored  with  the  same  priv- 
ilege.t 

Here  I  shall  conclude  the  history  of  the  Persian  empire, 
reserving  the  remainder  of  it  for  the  following  volumes. 

•  Herod.  1.  iii.  c.  84-87.  t  Ibid. 


604  AXCIENT    HISTORY. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE   MANNERS    AND    CUSTOMS    OF    THE    ASSYRIANS,  BABYLC 
NIANS,  LYDIANS,  MEDES  AND  PERSIANS. 

I  SHALL  give,  in  this  place,  an  account  of  the  mannei'S 
and  customs  of  these  several  nations  jointly,  because  they 
agree  in  several  points  ;  and  if  I  was  to  treat  them  sepa- 
rately, I  should  be  obliged  to  make  frequent  repetitions  ; 
besides  that,  excepting  the  Persians,  the  ancient  authors 
say  very  little  of  the  manners  of  the  other  nations.  I  shall 
reduce  what  I  have  to  say  of  them  to  these  four  heads. 
I.  Their  government. 

II.  Their  art  of  war. 

III.  Their  arts  and  sciences.     And, 

IV.  Their  religion. 

After  which  I  shall  lay  down  the  causes  of  the  declensioA 
and  ruin  of  the  great  Persian  empire. 

ARTICLE  I. 

OF    THKIR    GOVERNMENT. 

After  a  short  account  of  the  nature  of  the  government 
of  Persia,  and  the  manner  of  educating  the  children  of  their 
kings,  I  shall  proceed  to  consider  these  four  things  :  their 
public  council,  wherein  the  affairs  of  the  state  were  consid- 
ered ;  the  administration  of  justice  ;  their  care  of  the  prov- 
inces ;  and  the  good  order  observed  in  their  revenues. 

•SECTION     I. THEIR     MONARCHIAL     FORM     OF     GOVERNMENT. 

THE    RESPECT    THEY    PAID    TO    THEIR    KINGS.       THE     MAN- 
NER   OF    EDUCATING    THEIR    CHILDREN. 

Monarchial,  or  regal  government,  as  we  call  it,  is  of  all 
others  the  most  ancient,  the  most  universal,  the  best  adapt- 
ed to  keep  the  people  in  peace  and  union,  and  the  least  ex- 
posed to  the  revolutions  and  vicissitudes  incident  to  states. 
For  these  reasons,  the  wisest  Avriters  among  the  ancients,  as 
Platp,  Aristotle,  Plutarch,  and,  especially  Herodotus,  have 
thought  fit  to  prefer  this  form  of  government  to  all  others. 
It  is  likewise  the  only  form  that  ever  was  established  among 


MANNERS    OF    THE    ASSYRIANS,    ETC.  605 

the  eastern  nations,  a  republican  government  being  utterly 
unknown  in  that  part  of  the  world. 

Those  people  paid  extraordinary  honors  to  the  prince  on 
the  throne,  because  in  his  person  they  respected  the  character 
of  the  Deity,  whose  image  and  vicegerent  he  Avas  with  re- 
gard to  them,  being  placed  on  the  throne  by  the  hands  of 
the  Supreme  Governor  of  the  world,  and  clothed  Avith  his 
authority  and  power,  in  order  to  be  the  minister  of  his 
providence,  and  the  dispenser  of  his  goodness  towards  the 
people.*  In  this  manner  did  the  pagans  themselves  in  old 
times  both  think  and  speak  :  Principem  dat  Deus,  qui  erya 
otnne  hominum  genus  vice  sua  fungatur.-\ 

These  sentiments  are  very  laudable  and  just.  For  cer- 
tainly the  most  profound  respect  and  reverence  are  due  to 
the  supreme  power,  because  it  cometh  from  God,  and  is 
entirely  appointed  for  the  good  of  the  public :  besides,  it  is 
evident,  that  an  authority  not  respected  according  to  the 
full  extent  of  its  commission,  must  thereby  either  become 
useless,  or  at  least  very  much  limited  in  the  good  effects 
wliich  ought  to  flow  from  it.  Bat  in  the  times  of  paganism, 
these  honors  and  homages,  though  just  and  reasonable  in 
themselves,  Avere  often  carried  too  far ;  the  Christian  being 
the  only  religion  thtit  has  knoAvn  how  to  keep  within  bounds 
in  that  particular.  We  honor  the  emperor,  said  Tertullian 
in  the  name  of  all  the  Christians  ;  but  in  such  a  manner,  as 
is  laAvful  for  us,  and  proper  for  him  ;  that  is,  as  a  man,  \Adio 
is  next  aftei-  God  in  rank  and  authority,  from  whom  he  has 
received  all  that  he  is,  and  AA^hatever  he  has,  and  who  knows 
no  su])erior  but  God  alone.  %  For  this  reason  he  calls,  in 
another  place,  the  emperor  a  second  majesty,  inferior  to 
nothing  but  the  first :  lieligio  secundce  majestatis.^ 

Among  the  Assyrians,  and  more  particularly  among  the 
Persians,  the  prince  used  to  be  styled,  "  The  gi'eat  king,  the 
king  of  kings."  Two  reasons  might  induce  those  princes  to 
take  that  ostentatious  title.  The  one,  because  their  empire  Avas 
formed  of  many  conquered  kingdoms,  all  united  under  one 
head  ;  the  other,  because  they  had  scA'eral  kings,  their  vas- 
sals, either  in  their  court,  or  dependent  upon  them. 

The  croAvn  Avas  hereditary  among  them,  descending  from 
father  to  son,  and  generally  to  the  oldest.  When  an  heir  to 
the  crown  was  born,  all  the  empire  testified  their  joy  by 

*■  Pint,  ill  Theniist.  p.  125,  ad.  Priiic.  indoc.  p.  780.        t  Pliii.  in  Paneg.  Traj. 

t  (.'olimiis  Iiupera  orein  sic,  quoniodo  et  nobis  licet,  et  ipsi  expedit ;  ut 
homiiien)  a  Deo  secimdniii,  el  quisquid  5st  a  Deo  conseculuni,  et  solo  Deo  miuo- 
rem. — Tertul.  L-  ad  Scap.  §  Apolog.  c  i.  p.  35. 


606  ANCIENT    HISTORY. 

sacrifices,  feasts,  and  all  manner  of  public  rejoicing  ;  and  his 
birthday  was  thenceforward  an  annual  festival  and  day  of 
solemnity  for  all  the  Persians.* 

The  manner  of  educating  the  future  master  of  the  em- 
pire is  admired  by  Plato,  and  recommended  to  the  Greeks 
as  a  perfect  model  for  a  prince's  education.! 

He  was  never  wholly  committed  to  the  care  of  the  nurse, 
who  generally  was  a  woman  of  mean  and  low  condition : 
but  from  among  the  eunuchs,  that  is,  the  chief  officers  of  the 
household,  some  of  the  most  approved  merit  and  probity 
were  chosen,  to  take  care  of  the  young  prince's  person  and 
health,  till  he  was  seven  years  of  age,  and  to  begin  to  form 
his  manners  and  behavior.  He  was  then  taken  from  them, 
and  put  into  the  hands  of  other  masters,  mIio  were  to 
continue  the  care  of  his  education,  to  teach  him  to  ride  as 
soon  as  his  strength  Avould  permit,  and  to  exercise  him  in 
hunting. 

At  fourteen  years  of  age,  when  the  mind  begins  to  attain 
some  maturity,  four  of  the  wisest  and  most  virtuous  men  of 
the  state  were  appointed  to  be  his  pi-eceptors.  The  first, 
says  Plato,  taught  him  magic,  that  is,  in  their  language,  the 
worship  of  the  gods  according  to  their  ancient  maxims,  and 
the  law  of  Zoroaster,  the  son  of  Oromasdes  ;  he  also  instnxct- 
ed  him  in  the  principles  of  government.  The  second  was  to 
accustom  him  to  speak  truth,  and  to  administer  justice.  The 
third  was  to  teach  him  not  to  be  overcome  by  pleasures,  that 
he  might  be  truly  a  king,  and  always  free,  master  of  himself 
and  his  desires.  The  fourth  was  to  fortify  him  against  fear, 
which  would  have  made  him  a  slave,  and  to  inspire  him  with  a 
noble  and  prudent  assurance,  so  necessary  for  those  that  are 
born  to  command.  Each  of  these  governors  excelled  in  his 
way,  and  was  eminent  in  that  ]iart  of  education  assigned  to 
him.  One  was  particularly  distinguished  for  his  knowledge 
in  religion,  and  the  art  of  governing ;  another  for  his  love 
of  truth  and  justice  ;  this  for  his  modei-ation  and  abstinence 
from  pleasures,  that  for  a  superior  strength  of  mind  and  im- 
common  intrepidity. 

I  do  not  know  whether  such  a  diversity  of  masters,  who, 
without  doubt,  were  of  different  tempers,  and  perhaps  had 
different  interests  in  view,  was  proper  to  answer  the  end 
pro])Osed  ;  or  whether  it  was  ]>ossible,  that  four  men  should 
agree  together  in  the  same  principles,  and  harmoniously 
pursue  the  same  end.     Probably,  the  reason  of  having  so 

•  Plut.  in  Alcib.  c.  i.  p.  121.  t  Ibid. 


MANNERS    OF    THE    ASSYRIANS,    ETC.  607 

many  was,  that  they  apprehended  it  impossible  to  find  any 
one  person  possessed  of  all  the  qualities  they  judged  neces- 
sary for  giving  a  right  education  to  the  presumptive  heir  of 
the  crown  ;  so  great  an  idea  had  they,  even  in  those  corrupt 
times,  of  the  importance  of  a  prince  s  education. 

Bo  this  as  it  will,  all  this  care,  as  Plato  remarks  in  the 
same  place,  was  frustrated  by  the  luxury,  pomp,  and  magnif- 
icence with  which  the  young  prince  was  surrounded ;  by 
the  numerous  train  of  attendants  that  paid  him  a  servile 
submission  ;  by  all  the  appurtenances  and  equipage  of  a 
voluptuous  and  effeminate  life,  in  which  pleasure,  and  the 
inventing  of  new  diversions,  seemed  to  engross  all  attention : 
dangers  which  the  most  excellent  disposition  could  never 
surmount.  The  corrupt  manners  of  the  nation,  therefore, 
quickly  debauched  the  prince,  and  drew  him  into  the  reign- 
ing pleasures,  against  which  no  education  is  a  sufficient  de- 
fence. 

The  education  here  spoken  of  by  Plato,  can  relate  only 
to  the  children  of  Artaxerxes,  surnamed  Longimanus,  the 
son  and  successor  of  Xerxes,  in  whose  time  lived  Alcibiades, 
who  is  introduced  in  the  dialogue  from  whence  this  observa- 
tion is  taken.  For  Plato,  in  another  passage,  Avhich  w  3  shall 
cite  hereafter,  informs  us,  that  neither  Cyrus  nor  Darius 
ever  thought  of  giving  the  princes,  their  sons,  a  good  educa- 
tion ;  and  what  we  find  in  history  concerning  Artaxerxes 
Longimanus,  gives  us  reason  to  believe,  that  he  was  more 
careful  than  his  predecessors  in  the  point  of  educating  chil- 
dren, but  was  not  closely  imitated  in  that  respect  by  his 
successors. 

SECTION    II. THE    PUBLIC    COtlNCIL,    WHEREIN    THE    AFFAIRS 

OF  STATE  WERE  CONSIDEKEl  . 

As  absolute  as  the  regal  authority  was  among  the  Per- 
sians, yet  it  was,  in  some  measure,  kept  within  bounds  by 
the  establishment  of  this  council,  appointed  by  the  state ;  a 
council  which  consisted  of  seven  of  the  princes,  or  chief 
lords  of  the  nation,  no  less  distinguished  for  their  wisdom 
and  abilities,  than  for  their  extraction.  We  have  already 
seen  the  origin  of  this  establishment  in  the  conspiracy  of  the 
seven  Persian  noblemen,  who  entered  into  an  association 
against  Smerdis,  the  Magian,  and  killed  him. 

The  Scripture  relates,  that  Ezra  was  sent  into  Judea,  in 
the  name  and  by  the  authority  of  king  Artaxerxes  and 
his  seven  counsellors,  "  forasmuch  as  thou  art  sent  of  the 


608  ANCIEXT    HISTORY. 

king  and  of  his  seven  counsellors."  *  Tlie  same  Scripture, 
a  long  time  before  this,  in  the  reign  of  Darius,  otherwise 
called  Ahasuerus,  who  succeeded  the  Magian,  informs  us, 
that  these  counsellors  were  well  versed  in  the  laws,  ancient 
customs,  and  maxims  of  the  state  ;  that  they  always  at- 
tended the  prince,  who  never  transacted  any  thing,  or  de- 
tei-mined  any  affair  of  importance,  without  their  advice. 

This  last  passage  gives  room  for  some  reflections,  which 
may  very  much  contribute  to  the  knowledge  of  the  genius 
and  character  of  the  Persian  government. 

In  the  first  place,  the  king  there  spoken  of,  that  is,  Da- 
rius, was  one  of  the  most  celebrated  princes  that  ever 
reigned  in  Persia,  and  one  of  the  most  deserving,  on  account 
of  his  wisdom  and  prudence;  though  he  had  his  failings.  It 
is  to  him,  as  well  as  to  Cyrus,  that  the  greatest  part  of  those 
excellent  laws  are  ascribed,  which  have  ever  since  subsisted 
in  that  country,  and  have  been  the  foundation  and  standard 
of  their  government.  Now,  this  prince,  notwithstanding 
his  extraordinary  penetration  and  ability,  thought  he  stood 
in  need  of  advice,  nor  did  he  apprehend  that  tlie  joining  of 
a  number  of  assistants  to  himself,  for  the  determination  of 
affairs,  would  be  any  discredit  to  his  own  understanding ; 
by  which  proceeding,  he  really  showed  a  superiority  of 
genius  which  is  very  uncommon,  and  implies  a  great  fund 
of  merit  For  a  prince  of  slender  talents  and  narrow  ca- 
pacity, is  generally  full  of  himself ;  and  the  less  understand- 
ing he  has,  the  more  obstinate  and  untractable  is  he  gener- 
ally. He  thinks  it  want  of  respect  to  offer  to  discover  any 
thing  to  him  which  he  does  not  perceive  ;  and  is  affronted, 
if  you  seem  to  doubt  that  he,  who  is  supreme  in  power,  is 
not  the  same  in  penetration  and  understanding.  But  Darius 
had  a  different  way  of  thinking,  and  did  nothing  without 
counsel  and  advice  :  Illormn  faciehat  cimcta  consilio. 

Secondly,  Darius,  however  absolute  he  was,  and  how- 
ever jealous  he  might  be  of  his  prerogative,  did  not  think 
he  derogated  from  either,  when  he  instituted  tiiat  council ; 
for  the  council  did  not  at  all  interfere  with  the  king's 
authority  of  ruling  and  commanding,  which  always  resides 
in  the  person  of  the  prince,  but  was  conlined  entirely  to  that 
of  reason,  which  consisted  in  communicating  and  imparting 
their  knowledge  and  exjjerience  to  the  king.  He  was  per- 
suaded that  the  noblest  character  of  sovereign  power,  when 
it  is  pure,  and  has  neither  degenerated  from  its  origin,  nor 
•  Ezra.  vU.  14. 


MAXXERS    OF    THE    ASSYR1A>'S,    ETC. 


60d 


deviated  from  its  end,  is  to  govern  by  the  laws  :  to  make 
them  the  rule  of  his  will  and  desire  ;  and  to  think  nothing 
allowable  for  him,  Avhich  they  prohibit.* 

In  the  third  place,  this  council,  which  everywhere  ac- 
companied the  king,  was  a  perpetual  standing  council,  con- 
sisting of  the  greatest  men,  and  the  best  heads  in  the  king- 
dom ;  who,  under  the  direction  of  the  sovereign,  and  always 
with  a  dependency  upon  him,  were  in  a  manner  the  source 
of  public  order,  and  the  principle  of  all  the  wise  regulations 
and  transactions  at  home  and  abroad.  By  this  covmcil  the 
king  discharged  himself  of  several  weighty  cares,  which 
must  otherwise  have  overburdened  him,  and  by  them  he 
likewise  executed  whatever  had  been  resolved  on.  It -was 
by  means  of  this  standing  council,  that  the  great  maxims  of 
the  state  were  preserved  ;  the  knowledge  of  its  true  interest 
perpetuated;  affairs  carried  on  with  harmony  and  order; 
and  innovations,  errors,  and  oversights,  prevented.  For  in 
a  public  and  general  council,  things  are  discussed  by  unsus- 
pected persons  ;  all  the  ministers  are  mutual  inspectors  of 
one  another  ;  all  their  knowledge  and  experience  in  public 
matters  are  united  together  ;  and  they  all  become  equally 
capable  of  every  part  of  the  administration ,  because, 
though,  as  to  the  executive  part,  they  move  only  in  one  par- 
ticular sphere  of  business,  yet  they  are  obliged  to  inform 
themselves  in  all  affairs  relating  to  the  jniblic,  that  they  may 
be  able  to  deliver  their  opinions  in  a  judicious  manner. 

The  fourth  and  last  reflection  I  have  to  make  on  this 
head  is,  that  we  find  it  mentioned  in  Scripture,  that  the 
persons  of  which  this  council  consisted,  were  thoroughly 
acquainted  with  the  customs,  laws,  maxims,  and  rights  of 
the  kingdom. 

Two  things,  which,  as  the  Scripture  informs  us,  were 
practised 'by  the  Persians,  might  very  much  contribute  to 
instruct  the  king  and  his  council  in  the  methods  of  govern- 
ing with  wisdom  and  prudence.  The  first  was,  their  having 
public  registers,  wherein  all  the  ]^rince's  edicts  and  ordi- 
nances, all  the  privileges  granted  to  the  public,  and  all  the 
favors  conferred  upon  ])articular  persons,  were  entered  and 
recorded  .f  The  second  was,  the  annals  of  the  kingdom, 
in  which  all  the  events  of  former  reigns,  all  resolutions  taken, 
regulations  established,  and  services  done  by  particular  per- 
sons, were  exactly  entered. t     These  annals  were  carefully 

*  Regimur  a  t€,  et  subjeeti  tibi.  Bed  qaemadmodum  legibus.  sumus. — Plln. 
Paneg.  Traj.  1 1.  Esd.  v.  17,  and  vi.  2.  t  Esd.  iv.  15,  and  Estli.  vi.  1, 

39 


610  ANCIENT    HISTORY.  , 

preserved,  and  frequently  perused  both  by  the  kings  and  the 
ministers,  that  they  might  acquaint  themselves  with  times 
past :  might  have  a  clear  and  true  idea  of  the  state  of  the 
kingdom  ;  avoid  an  arbitrary,  unequal,  uncertain  conduct  ; 
maintain  a  uniformity  in  the  course  of  affairs  ;  and  in  short, 
acquire  such  light  from  the  jierusal  of  these  books,  as  should 
qualify  them  to  govern  the  state  with  wisdom. 

SECTION    III. THE    ADMINISTRATION    OF    JUSTICE. 

To  be  king,  and  to  be  judge,  is  but  one  and  the  same 
thing.  The  throne  is  but  a  tribunal,  and  the  sovereign 
power  is  the  highest  authority  for  administering  justice. 
"  God  hath  made  you  king  over  his  ])eople,"  said  the  queen 
of  Sheba  to  Solomon,  "  to  the  end  that  you  should  judge 
them,  and  render  justice  and  judgment  imto  them."  God 
hath  made  every  thing  subject  to  princes,  to  put  them  in  a 
condition  of  fearing  none  but  him.  His  design,  in  making 
them  independent,  was  to  giA-^e  them  the  more  inviolable 
attachment  to  justice.  That  they  might  not  excuse  them- 
selves on  pretence  of  inability,  or  want  of  ])ower,  he  had 
delegated  his  whole  power  unto  them ;  he  has  made  thera 
masters  of  all  the  means  requisite  for  restraining  injustice 
and  oppression,  that  iniquity  should  tremble  in  their  pres- 
ence, and  be  incapable  of  hurting  any  person  whatever. 

But  what  is  that  justice  which  God  hath  put  into  the 
hands  of  kings,  and  of  which  he  hath  made  them  deposita- 
ries '?  Surely  it  is  nothing  else  than  order,  and  order  con- 
sists in  observing  a  universal  equity,  and  that  force  may  not 
usurp  the  place  of  laAv ;  that  one  man's  property  be  not  ex- 
])osed  to  the  violence  of  another  ;  that  the  common  band  of 
society  be  not  broken  :  that  artifice  and  fraud  may  not  pre- 
vail over  innocence  and  simplicity ;  that  all  things  jnay  rest 
in  peace  under  the  protection  of  the  laws,  and  the  weakest 
among  the  people  may  find  his  sanctuary  in  the  public 
authority. 

We  learn  from  Josephus,  that  the  kings  of  Persia  used 
to  administer  justice  in  their  own  persons.*  And  it  Avas 
to  qualify  them  for  the  due  discharge  of  this  duty,  that  care 
was  taken  to  have  them  instructed,  from  their  tenderest 
youth,  in  the  knowledge  of  the  laws  of  their  country ;  and 
that  in  their  public  schools,  as  we  have  already  mentioned 
in  the  history  of  Cyrus,  they  were  taught  equity  and  jus- 

'  Autiq,  Judaic.  I.  xi.  c.  3. 


JIAXXERS    OF    THE    ASSYRIAjVS,  ETC.  611 

tice,  in  the  same   manner   as  rhetoric  and   philosophy  are 
taught  in  other  places. 

These  are  the  great  and  essential  duties  of  the  regal  dig- 
nity. Indeed  it  is  reasonable,  and  absolutely  necessary,  that 
the  prince  be  assisted  in  the  execution  of  that  august  func- 
tion, as  he  is  in  others  :  but  to  be  assisted  is  not  to  be  de- 
prived, or  dispossessed.  He  continues  judge,  as  long  as  he 
continues  king.  Though  he  commnnicntes  Ids  authority, 
yet  does  he  not  resign  or  divide  i  .  It  is  therefore  absolutely 
necessary  for  him  to  bestow  some  time  upon  the  study  of 
equity  and  justice  ;  not  that  he  need  enter  into  the  whole 
detail  of  particular  laAvs,  but  only  acquaint  himself  with 
the  principal  rules  and  maxims  of  the  law  of  his  country, 
that  he  may  be  capable  of  doing  justice,  and  of  speaking 
wisely  upon  important  points.  For  this  reason,  the  kings 
of  Persia  never  ascended  the  throne,  till  they  had  been  for 
some  time  xmdcr  the  care  and  instruction  of  the  Magi,  Avho 
were  to  teach  them  that  science  of  which  they  were  the  only 
masters  and  professors,  as  well  as  of  theology. 

Now,  since  to  the  sovereign  alone  is  committed  the  right 
of  administering  justice,  and  since,  within  his  dominions, 
there  is  no  other  power  of  administering  it,  th;  n  what  is 
delegated  by  him  ;  how  greatly  does  it  behoove  him  to  take 
care  into  what  hands  he  commits  a  part  of  so  gi-eat  a  trust ; 
to  know  whether  those  he  places  so  near  the  throne  are  Avor- 
thy  to  partake  of  such  a  prerogative  ;  and  strictly  to  keep 
all  such  at  a  distance  from  it,  as  he  judges  unworthy  !  We 
f  nd  that  in  Persia,  their  kings  were  extremely  careful  to 
have  justice  rendered  with  integrity  and  impartiality.  One 
of  their  royal  judges,  for  so  they  called  them,  having  suf- 
fered himself  to  be  corrupted  by  bribery,  was  condemned 
by  Cambyses  to  be  put  to  death  without  mercy,  and  to  have 
nis  skin  put  upon  the  seat  where  he  used  to  sit  and  give 
judgment,  and  where  his  son,  who  succeeded  him  in  his 
office,  was  to  sit,  that  the  very  place  whence  he  gave  judg- 
ment, should  remind  him  of  his  duty.* 

Their  ordinary  judges  were  taken  out  of  the  class  of  old 
men,  into  which  none  were  admitted  till  the  age  of  fifty 
years  ;  so  that  a  man  could  not  exercise  the  office  of  a  judge 
before  that  age,  the  Persians  being  of  opinion,  that  too 
much  maturity  could  not  be  required  in  an  employment 
Avhich  disposed  of  the  fortunes,  rej)utations,  and  lives  of 
their  fellow-citizens  f 

•  Herod.  1.  v;  c.  26.  fKenoph.  Cyrop.  1.  i.  pi 


612  AXCIBXT    HISTORY. 

Among  them,  it  was  not  lawful  either  for  a  ]iri\'nte  per- 
son to  put  any  of  his  slaves  to  death,  or  for  tlie  prince  to 
inflict  capital  punishment  upon  any  of  his  subjects  for  the 
first  olfence ;  because  it  might  rather  1  e  considered  as  an 
effect  of  human  weakness  and  frailty,  than  of  a  confirmed 
malignity  of  mind.* 

The  Persians  thought  it  reasonable  to  put  the  good  as 
well  as  the  evil,  the  merits  of  the  offender  as  well  as  his^ 
demerits,  into  the  scales  of  jiistice:  nor  was  it  just  in  their 
opinion,  that  one  single  crime  sliould  obliterate  ;ill  the  good 
actions  a  man  had  done  during  his  life.  Upon  this  princi- 
ple it  was  that  Darius,  having  condemned  a  judge  to  death 
for  some  ]>revarication  in  his  office,  and  afterwards  calling 
to  mind  the  important  services  he  had  rendered  both  the 
state  and  the  royal  family,  revoked  the  sentence  at  the  very 
moment  in  which  it  was  to  be  executed,!  ^nd  acknowledged 
that  lie  had  jironounced  it  with  more  precij)itation  than 
wisdom,  t 

But  one  important  and  essential  rule  which  they  oD- 
served  in  their  judgments,  was,  in  the  first  place,  never  to 
condemn  any  person  without  confronting  him  with  his 
accuser,  and  without  giving  him  time,  and  all  other  means 
necessary,  for  defending  himself  against  the  articles  laid  to  his 
charge  :  and,  in  tlie  second  place,  if  the  person  accused  was 
found  innocent,  to  inflict  the  very  same  punishment  upon 
the  accuser,  as  the  other  was  to  have  suffered,  had  he  been 
found  guilty.  Artaxerxes  gave  a  fine  example  of  the  just 
riffor  which  ought  to  be  exercised  on  such  occasions.  One  of 
the  king's  favorites,  ambitious  of  getting  a  place  possessed 
by  one  of  his  best  officers,  endeavoi'cd  to  make  the  king 
suspect  the  fidelity  of  that  officer:  and  to  that  end,  sent  in- 
formations to  court  full  of  calumnies  against  him;  persuad- 
ing himself  that  the  king,  from  the  great  credit  he  had  with 
his  majesty,  would  believe  the  thing  upon  his  bare  word, 
without  further  examination.  For,  sucli  is  tlie  general 
character  of  calumniators.  They  are  afraid  of  evidence 
and  light ;  they  make  it  their  business  to  shut  out  the 
innocent  from  all  access  to  the  ])rince,  and  thereby  ])ut  it 
out  of  their  power  to  vindicate  themselves.  The  officer  Avas 
imprisoned  ;  but  he  desired  the  king,  before  he  was  con- 
demned, that  his  cause  might  be  heard,  and  his  accusers 
ordered  to  produce  their  evidence  against  him.     The  king 

*  Herod.  1.  i.  c.137.  t  Herod.  1.  vii.  c  19*. 

t  Tvoiit  in  Ta.)(yTtpa  avrbf  i/aojuaTepa  ipya<Tii.ivo%  cIi),  cAvcri. 


MANNERS    OF    THE    ASSYRIANS,  ETC.  613 

complied  with  his  request :  and  as  there  was  no  proof  but 
the  letters  which  his  enemy  had  written  against  liim,  he 
was  cleared,  and  his  innocence  fully  justified  by  the  three 
commissioners  that  sat  upon  his  trial.  All  the  king's  indig- 
nation fell  upon  the  perfidious  accuser,  wlio  had  thus  at- 
tempted to  abuse  the  favor  and  confidence  of  his  royal  mas- 
ter.* This  prince  was  very  wise,  and  knew  that  one  of  the 
true  signs  of  a  prudent  government,  was  to  have  tlie  sub- 
jects stand  more  in  fear  of  tlie  laws  than  of  informers. t 
He  thoiight,  that  to  act  otherwise,  would  be  a  violation  of 
the  common  rules  of  natural  equity  and  humanity ;  it 
would  be  opening  a  door  to  envy,  hatred,  calumny,  and  re- 
venge ;  it  would  be  exposing  the  honest  simplicity  of  faith- 
ful subjects  to  the  malice  of  detestable  informers,  and  arm- 
ing these  with  the  swoi*d  of  public  authority  :t  in  a  word, 
it  would  divest  the  throne  of  tho  most  noble  privilege  be- 
longing to  it,  namely,  of  being  a  sanctuary  for  innocence 
and  justice,  against  violence  and  calumny. 

There  is  upon  record  a  ctill  more  memorable  example  of 
firmness  and  love  of  justice,  in  another  king  of  Persia,  be- 
fore Artaxerxes  ;  in  liim,  I  mean,  whom  the  Scripture  calls 
Ahasuerus,  and  who  is  thought  to  be  the  same  as  Darius, 
the  son  of  Hystaspes,  from  whom  Haman  had,  by  his  ear- 
nest solicitations,  extorted  that  fatal  edict,  which  was  calcu- 
lated to  exterminate  the  whole  race  of  the  Jews  throughout 
the  Persian  empire  in  one  day.  When  God  had,  by  the  means 
of  Esther,  opened  his  eyes,  he  made  haste  to  make  amends 
for  his  fault,  not  only  by  revoking  his  edict,  and  inflicting 
an  exemplary  punishment  niion  the  impostor  who  had  de- 
ceived h'.'Ai ;  but,  which  is  more,  by  a  public  acknowledg- 
ment of  his  error ;  which  should  be  a  pattern  to  all  ages, 
and  to  all  princes,  and  teach  them,  that  far  from  debasing 
their  dignity,  or  weakening  their  authority  thereby  they 
procure  them  both  the  more  respect.  After  declaring, 
that  it  is  but  too  common  for  calumniators  to  imjjose,  by 
their  misrepresentations  and  craftiness,  on  the  goodness  of 
their  ]>rinces,  whom  their  natural  sincerity  induces  to  judge 
favorably  of  others  ;  he  is  not  ashamed  to  acknowledge,  that 
he  had  been  so  unhai)py  as  to  suffer  himself  to  be  prejudiced 
by  such  means  against  the  Jews,  who  were  his  faithful  sub- 
jects, and  the  children  of  the  Most  High  God,  through  whose 
goodness  he  and  his  ancestors  had  attained  to  the  throne.  § 

*  Diod.  1.  XV.  pp.  333-336. 

t  Noil  jam  Uela  ores,  sed  leches  limeiitur. — Pliii.  in  Pftreg.  Traj. 

t  Priuceps,  qui  deiatores  uou  castigat.  initai. —  juetoii.  in  Vit.  Domit.  c.  Ix. 

§  E^tll.  c.  iii.  &c. 


614  AXCIEXT    HISTORY. 

The  Persians  were  not  only  enemies  of  injustice,  as  we 
have  now  shov/n,  but  also  abhorred  lying,  which  always  was 
deemed  among  them  as  a  mean  and  infamous  vice.  What 
they  esteemed  most  pitiful,  next  to  lying,  was  to  live  upon 
trust,  or  by  borrowing.  Such  a  kind  of  life  seemed  to  them 
idle,  ignominious,  servile,  and  the  more  despicable,  because 
it  makes  people  liars.* 

SECTION    IV. THE    CARE    OF    THE    PROVIXCES. 

It  seems  to  be  no  difficult  matter  to  maintain  good  order 
in  the  metropolis  of  a  kingdom,  where  the  conduct  of  the 
magistrates  and  judges  is  closely  inspected,  and  the  very 
sight  of  the  throne  is  capable  of  kee]*ing  the  subjects  in  awe. 
The  case  is  otherwise  with  resi)ect  to  the  provinces,  where 
the  distance  from  the  sovereign,  and  tlie  hojjcs  of  impunity, 
may  occasion  many  n\isdemeanors  on  the  jiart  of  the  magis- 
trates and  officers,  as  well  as  great  licentiousness  and  disor- 
der on  that  of  the  people.  In  this  the  Persian  jjolicy  exerted 
itself  with  the  greatest  care  ;  and  we  may  also  say,  with 
the  greatest  success. 

The  Persian  empire  was  divided  into  a  hundred  and 
twenty-seven  governments,!  the  governors  of  which  were 
called  satraps.  Over  tliem  were  appointed  three  principal 
ministers,  who  ins)>ected  their  conduct,  to  whom  they  gave 
an  account  of  all  the  affairs  of  their  several  ])rovinces,  and 
who  were  afterwtirds  to  make  their  re]iort  of  the  same  to 
tlie  king.  It  was  Darius  the  Mede,  that  is,  Cyaxares,  or 
rather  Cyrus  in  the  name  of  his  uncle,  who  put  the  govern- 
ment of  the  empire  into  this  excellent  method.  These  sa- 
traj?s  were,  by  the  very  design  of  their  office,  eacli  in  his 
res])ective  district,  to  have  tlie  same  care  and  regard  for  the 
interests  of  the  people,  as  for  those  of  the  prince  :  for  it  was 
a  maxim  Avith  Cyrus,  that  no  difference  ought  to  be  admitted 
between  these  two  interests,  Avhich  are  necessarily  linked 
together ;  since  neither  the  people  can  be  happy,  unless  the 
prince  is  ]>owerful,  and  in  a  condition  to  defend  them  ;  not 
the  prince  truly  powerful,  unless  liis  ])eople  be  happy. 

These  satraps  being  the  most  considerable  persons  in  the 
kingdom,  Cyrus  assigned  them  certain  funds  and  revenues 
proj>ortionable  to  their  station,  and  the  importance  of  their 
employments.  He  was  willing  they  should  live  nobly  in 
their  respective  provinces,  that  they  might  gain  the  respect 

*  Herod.  1.  i.  c.  I.Tj^. 

t  Authors  differ  abmit  the  number  of  govermneiits  or  provinces — Xenoph 
Cyi-op.  1.  viii.  pp.  i.'2it,  232. 


MAXXKKJi    OF    THE    ASSYRIAN'S,  ETC.  615 

of  the  nobility  and  common  people  within  their  jurisdiction  ; 
and  for  that  reason  their  retinue,  tlieir  equipage,  and  their 
table,  should  be  ansv/erable  to  their  dignit}-,  yet  without 
exceeding  the  bounds  of  prudence  and  moderation.  He, 
himself,  was  their  model  in  this  respect,  as  he  desired  they 
should  be  to  all  persons  of  distinguished  rank  with  tlie  ex- 
tent of  their  authority :  so  that  the  same  order  which 
reigned  in  the  prince's  court,  might  likewise  proportionably 
be  observed  in  the  courts  of  the  aatyxips^  and  in  the  noble- 
men's families.  And  to  ]jrevent,  as  far  as  possible,  all 
abuses  which  might  be  made  of  so  extensive  an  authority  as 
that  of  the  satraps,  the  king  resei-ved  to  himself  alone  the 
nomination  of  them,  and  c;msed  the  governors  of  ])laces, 
the  commanders  of  the  troops,  and  other  such  like  officers, 
to  depend  immediately  upon  the  prince  himself  ;  from  whom 
alone  they  Avere  to  receive  their  orders  and  instructions, 
that  if  the  satraps  Avere  inclined  to  abuse  their  power,  they 
might  be  sensible  those  officers  Avere  so  many  oA'erseers  and 
censors  of  their  conduct.  And,  to  make  this  correspondence 
by  letters  the  more  sure  and  expeditious,  the  king  caused 
post-houses  to  be  erected  throughout  all  the  empire,  and  ap- 
pointed couriers,  who  travelled  night  and  day,  and  made 
wonderful  despatch.  I  shall  speak  more  particularly  on  this 
article  at  the  end  of  this  section,  that  I  may  not  break  in 
upon  the  matter  in  hand. 

The  care  of  the  proAdnces,  howcA^er,  Avas  not  entirely 
left  to  the  satraps  and  governors  ;  the  king  himself  took 
cognizance  of  them  in  his  own  person,  being  pei'suaded,  that 
the  governing  only  by  others  is  but  to  govern  by  halves. 
An  officer  of  the  household  was  ordered  to  repeat  these 
Avords  to  the  king  every  morning  avIkmi  he  Avaked,  "  Rise, 
Sir,  and  think  of  discharging  the  duties  for  Avhich  Oro- 
masdes  has  placed  you  upon  the  throne."  *  Oromasdes 
was  the  principal  god  ancientlv  Avorshipped  by  the  Per- 
sians. A  good  prince,  says  Plut,  rch,  in  the  account  he 
giA'es  of  this  custom,  has  no  occasion  for  an  officer  to  giA'e 
him  this  d,aily  admonition  ;  his.  owr.  heart,  and  the  love  he 
has  for  his  people,  are  sufficient  monitors. 

The  king  of  Persia  thought  himself  obliged,  according 
to  the  ancient  custom  established  in  that  country,  from  time 
to  time,  personally  to  visit  all  the  provinces  of  his  empire  ;  t 
being  yiersuaded,  as  Pliny  says  of  Trajan,  that  the  most 
solid  glory,  and  the   most  exquisite  pleasure,  a  good  prince 

*  Plut.  ad  Priuc.  indoct.  p.  780.  t  Xenoph.  in  CEconom.  p.  228. 


616  ANCIENT    HISTORY 

can  enjoy,  is  from  time  to  time  to  let  the  people  see  their 
common  father  ;  "  to  reconcile  the  dissensions  and  mutual 
animosities  of  r^s-al  cities  ;  to  calm  commotions  or  seditions 
among  the  people,  and  that  not  so  much  by  the  dint  of 
power  and  severity,  as  by  reason  and  temper  ;  to  prevent  in- 
justice and  oppression  in  magistrates  ;  and  cancel  and  re- 
verse whatever  has  been  decreed  against  law  and  equity ; 
in  a  word,  like  a  beneficent  planet,  to  shed  liis  s;dutary  in- 
fluence xxniversally  ;  or  rather,  like  a  kind  of  divinity,  to  be 
present  everywhere,  to  see,  to  hear,  and  knoAV  every  thing, 
without  rejecting  any  man's  petitions  or  complaint."  * 

When  the  king  was  not  able  to  visit  the  provinces  him- 
self, he  sent,  in  his  stead,  some  of  the  greatest  men  of  the 
kingdom,  such  as  were  the  most  eminent  for  wisdom  and 
virtue.  These  persons  were  generally  called  the  eyes  and 
ears  of  the  prince,  because  by  their  means  he  saw  and 
was  informed  of  every  thing.  When  these  or  any  other  of 
his  great  ministers,  or  the  members  of  his  council,  were  said 
to  be  the  eyes  and  ears  of  the  pi-ince,  it  Avas  at  once  an  ad- 
monition to  the  king,  that  he  had  his  ministers,  as  we  have 
the  organs  of  our  senses,  not  that  he  should  lie  still  and  be 
idle,  but  act  by  their  means ;  and  to  the  ministers,  that  they 
ought  not  to  act  for  themselves,  but  for  the  king  their  head, 
and  for  the  advantage  of  the  Avhole  body  politic. 

The  particular  detail  of  affairs,  Avhich  the  king,  or  the 
commissioners  ap])ointed  by  him,  entered  into,  is  highly 
Avorthy  of  admiration,  and  shows  how  well  they  understood 
in  those  days  wherein  the  Avisdom  and  ability  of  governors 
consist.  The  attention  of  the  king  and  his  ministers  Avas 
not  only  employed  upon  great  objects,  as  Avar,  the  revenue, 
justice,  and  commerce ;  but  matters  of  less  importance,  as 
the  security  and  beauty  of  toAvns  and  cities,  the  convenient 
dAvelling  of  the  inhabitants,  the  preparations  of  high  roads, 
bridges,  causcAvays,  the  keeping  of  woods  and  forests  from 
being  laid  Avaste  and  destroyed,  and,  above  all,  the  im- 
provement of  agriculture,  and  the  encouraging  and  pro- 
moting of  all  sorts  of  trades,  even  to  tlie  lowest  and 
meanest  of  h:mdicraft  employments  ;  every  thing,  in  short, 
came  within  the  sphere  of  their  policy,  and  Avas  thought  to 
deserve  their  care  and  inspection.     And  indeed,  Avhatever 

*  Reconciliare  .TKHiulas  civitates,  tiiinentesque  populos  non  imperio  magis 
quam  rHtioiie  oompesc  ;re,  intercedsre  iniiuiiatibus  m  igistratiiiin,  infectumnua 
reddere  quicquid  lieri  noii  oportuerit :  postremo,  veloei^simi  sideris  more,  omnia 
invisere,  omnia  au<Ure,  et  undecum  lue  iiivocatum,  stutim,  velut  iimneii,  a^iesso 
et  a  listai-e.— Pliu.  in  Pauegyr.  Traj. 


MAXXERS    OF    THE    ASSYRIAXS,  KTC.  G17 

belongs  to  the  subjects,  as  well  as  the  subjects  themselves, 
is  a  part  of  the  trust  committed  to  the  head  of  the  common- 
wealth, and  is  entitled  to  his  care,  concern,  and  activity. 
His  love  for  the  commonwealth  is  universal.  It  extends 
itself  to  all  naatters,  and  takes  in  every  thing ;  it  is  the  sup- 
port of  private  persons,  as  well  as  of  the  ])ublic.*  Every 
province,  every  city,  every  family,  has  a  place  in  his  heart 
and  affections.  Every  thing  in  the  kingdom  has  a  relation 
to,  and  concerns  him  ;  every  thing  challenges  his  attention 
and  regard. 

1  have  already  said,  that  agriculture  was  one  of  the  main 
tilings  on  which  the  Persians  bestowed  their  care  and  atten- 
tion. Indeed,  one  of  the  prince's  first  cares  was  to  make 
husbandry  flourish ;  and  those  satraps,  whose  provinces 
were  the  best  cultivated,  enjoyed  the  most  of  his  favor. 
And  as  there  were  offices  erected  for  the  regulation  of  the 
military  part  of  the  government,  so  were  there  likewise  for 
the  inspecting  their  rural  labors  and  economy.  Indeed  these 
two  employments  had  a  near  relation,  the  business  of  the 
one  being  to  guard  the  country,  and  of  the  other  to  culti- 
vate it.  The  ]:)rince  protected  both  with  almost  the  same 
degree  of  affection,  because  both  concurred,  and  were  equally 
necessary  for  the  public  good.  Because  if  the  lands  cannot 
be  cultivated  without  the  aid  and  protection  of  armies  for 
their  defence  and  security  ;  so  neither  can  the  soldiers,  on 
the  other  hand,  be  fed  and  maintained  Avithout  the  labor  of 
the  husbandmen,  Avho  cultivate  the  ground.  It  was  with 
good  reason,  therefore,  that  the  prince,  since  it  was  impos- 
sible for  himself  to  see  into  every  thing,  caused  an  exact 
account  to  be  given  him,  how  every  province  and  canton 
was  cultivated  ;  that  he  might  know  whether  each  countiy 
brought  forth  abundantly  such  fruits  as  it  was  capable  of 
producing;  that  he  descended  so  far  into  those  particulars, 
'as  Xenophon  remarks  of  Cyrus  the  younger,  as  to  inform 
liimself,  whether  the  private  gardens  of  his  subjects  were 
well  kept,  and  yielded  plenty  of  fruit ;  that  he  rewarded  the 
superintendents  and  overseers,  whose  provinces  or  cantons 
were  the  best  cultivated,  and  j)unished  the  laziness  and  neg- 
ligence of  those  idle  persons  who  did  not  labor  and  improve 
their  grounds.  Such  a  care  as  this  is  by  no  means  unworthy 
of  a  king,  as  it  naturally  tends  to  propagate  riches  and  plenty 
throughout  his  kingdom,  and  to  beget  a  spirit  of  industry 

*  In  cui  oui-fT!  sunt  universre,  nullam  nou  reip,  partem  tanquam  sui  nutrit,— 
Seiiec.  lib.  de  Clem.  c.  xiii. 


618  AKCIENT    HISTORY. 

among  liis  subjects,  which  is  the  surest  means  of  jireventing 
that  increase  of  drones  and  idlers,  that  are  such  a  burden 
upon  the  ])ublic,  and  a  dishonor  to  the  state.* 

Xenophon,  in  the  next  passage  to  this  I  have  now  cited, 
puts  into  the  mouth  of  Socrates,  who  is  introduced  as  a 
speaker,  a  very  noble  encomium  u])on  agricultvire,  Avhich  he 
represents  as  an  employment  the  most  worthy  of  man,  the 
most  ancient,  and  the  most  suitable  to  his  nature  ;  as  the 
common  nurse  of  persons  of  all  ages  and  conditions  of  life  ; 
as  the  source  of  health,  strength,  plenty,  riches,  and  a  thou- 
sand sober  delights  and  honest  pleasures  ;  as  the  mistress 
and  school  of  sobriety,  temperance,  justice,  religion  ;  and  in 
a  word,  of  all  kinds  of  virtues,  both  civil  and  military. 
After  which  he  relates  the  fine  saying  of  Lysander,  the 
Lacedaemonian,  who,  as  he  was  walking  at  Sardis  with  the 
younger  C'yrus,  hearing  from  that  prince's  own  mouth  that 
he  himself  had  planted  several  of  the  trees  he  Avas  looking 
at,  made  the  following  answer  :  that  the  world  had  reason 
to  extol  the  happiness  of  Cyrus,  whose  virtue  was  as  emi- 
nent as  his  fortune,  and  who  in  the  midst  of  the  greatest 
affluence,  splendor,  and  magnificence,  had  yet  preserved  a 
taste  so  pure,  and  so  conformable  to  right  reason. f  "  Cum 
Cyrus  respondisset.  Ego  ista  sum  dimensus,  mei  sunt  ordi- 
nes,  rnea  descriptio,  mult»  etiam  istarum  arborum  mea 
manu  sunt  sataa :  tum  Lysandrum,  intuentem  ejus  ])urpuram, 
et  nitorem  corporis,  ornatumque  Persicum  multo  auro  mul- 
tisque  gemmis,  dixisse :    t  Recte  vero  te,  Cyre,  beatum 

FERUXT,  QUOXIA.M  VIRTUTI  TUjE  FORTUNA  COXJUNCTA  EST."§ 

How  much  is  it  to  be  wished,  that  our  young  nobility,  who, 
in  the  time  of  peace,  do  not  know  how  to  employ  them- 
selves, had  the  like  taste  for  planting  and  agriculture,  which 
sui'ely,  after  such  an  example  as  that  of  Cyrus,  should  be 
thought  no  dishonor  to  their  quality,  especially  if  they^ 
would  consider  that  for  several  ages,  it  was  the  constant 
employment  of  the  bravest  and  most  warlike  people  in  tlie 
world !  The  reader  may  easily  perceive  that  I  mean  the 
ancient  Romans. 

THE    IXVEXTION    OF    POSTS    AXD    COURIERS. 

I  promised  to  give  some  account,  in  this  place,  of  the 
invention  of  posts  and  couriers.     This  invention  is  ascribed 

*  Xenoph.  CEcon.  pp.  82" -830.  t  Idem.  pp.  830-833. 

t  In  the  original  (ireek  there  is  still  a  greater  energy  ;  AiKaioj?  /xoi  SoxeU,  a> 

Ku'pe,  evSam.wveivai.-  aya9o<;  yio    mv    ai'ijp    cvSat^oi-cic-      Thou  art  worthy,  CyrilS,  of 

th.at  happiness  thou  art  possessed  of  :  beoanse,  with  all  thy  Mfflueiiee  and  pros- 
lerily,  thou  art  also  virtuous.  §  Cic.  ile  Senect.  num.  59. 


MAXXEllS    OF    THE    ASSVKIANS,   ETC.  G19 

to  Cyrus  ;  nor,  indeed,  can  I  find  any  mention  of  such  an 
establishment  before  his  time.  As  the  Persian  empire  after 
his  last  conquest,  "was  of  a  vast  extent,  and  Cyrus  required 
that  all  his  <i^overnors  of  provinces,  and  the  chief  command- 
ers of  his  troops,  should  write  to  him,  and  srive  an  exact 
account  of  every  thing  that  passed  in  their  several  districts 
and  armies;  in  order  to  render  tliat  correspondence  the 
more  sure  and  exj^editious,  and  to  jjut  himself  in  a  condition 
of  receiving  speedy  intelligence  of  all  occurrences  and  af- 
fairs, and  of  sending  his  orders  thereupon  with  ex])edition, 
he  caused  post-houses  to  be  built,  and  messengers  to  be  ap- 
pointed in  every  })rovince.  Having  computed  how  far  a 
good  horse,  with  a  brisk  rider,  could  go  in  a  day,  without 
being  spoiled,  lie  had  stables  built  in  proportion,  at  equal 
distances  from  each  other,  and  had  them  furnished  with 
horses,  and  grooms  to  take  care  of  them.  At  each  of  these 
places  he  likewise  appointed  a  postmaster,  to  receive  the 
packets  from  the  couriers  as  they  arrived,  and  give  them  to 
others  ;  and  to  take  the  horses  that  had  performed  their 
stage,  and  to  find  fresh  ones.  Thus  the  post  went  contin- 
ually night  and  day,  Avith  extraordinary  speed ;  nor  did 
either  rain  or  snow,  heat  or  cold,  or  any  inclemency  of  the 
M^eather,  interrupt  its  progress.*  Herodotus  speaks  of  the 
same  sort  of  couriers  in  the  reign  of  Xerxes. f 

These  couriers  were  called,  in  the  Persian  language, 
"AyyafK"..  %  The  superintendency  of  the  posts  became  a 
considerable  employment.  Darius,  the  last  king  of  the 
ancient  Persians,  had  it  before  he  came  to  the  crown.  § 
Xenophon  takes  notice,  that  this  establishment  subsisted  in 
his  time ;  which  perfectly  agrees  with  what  is  related  in  the 
book  of  Esther,  concerning  the  edict  published  by  Aliasuerus 
in  favor  of  the  Jews  ;  which  edict  was  carried  through  the 
vast  empire  with  a  rapidity  that  would  have  been  impos- 
sible, without  these  posts  established  by  Cyrus. 

People  are  justly  surprised  to  find,  that  this  establish- 
ment of  posts  and  couriers,  first  invented  in  the  east  by 
Cyrus,  and  continued  for  many  ages  after\vards  by  his  suc- 
cessors, especially  considering  the  usefulness  of  it  to  a 
government,  should   never  have  been  imitated  in  the  west, 

*  Xen.  Cyiop.  1.  viii.  p.  232.  t  Herod.  1.  viii.  e.  ii8. 

t  "Av7apoi  is  derived  from  a  word  whicli,  in  Uiat  language,  signilies  a  service 
rendered  by  compulsion.  It  i.**  from  thenco  Iho  Greekti  borrowed  Iheir  verb 
avypevec:',  oonipellere,  cogero  :  and  tlie  Latijis,  angariare.  According  to  Siiidas, 
tliey  were  likewise  called  astanda'. 

§  Pint.  1.  i.  de  Fortuu.  Alex.  p.  ."26,  et  in  vit.  .Vlex.  p.  674,  nbi.  pro  '\<Tya.v&n^, 
iegendum  'Ao-toj'St;?, 


6'20  AXCIENT    HISTORY. 

particularly  by  people  so   expert  in  politics  as  the  Greeks 
and  Romans. 

It  is  more  astonishing,  that  whore  this  invention  was 
put  in  execution,  it  was  not  farther  improved,  and  that  the 
use  of  it  was  confined  only  to  affairs  of  state,  Avithout  con- 
sidering the  many  advantages  the  public  might  have  reaped 
from  it,  by  facilitating  a  mutual  correspondence,  as  well  as 
the  business  of  merchants  and  tradesmen  of  all  kinds :  by 
the  expedition  it  Avould  have  procured  to  the  affairs  of 
private  ])ersons  ;  the  despatch  of  journeys  which  required 
haste  ;  the  easy  communication  between  families,  cities,  and 
provinces  ;  and  by  the  safety  and  conveniency  of  remitting 
money  from  one  country  to  another.  It  is  Avell  known  what 
difficulty  people  at  a  distance  had  then,  and  for  many  ages 
afterwards,  to  communicate  any  news,  or  to  treat  of  affairs 
together  ;  being  obliged  either  to  send  a  servant  on  purpose, 
which  could  not  be  done.  Avithout  great  charge  and  loss  of 
time  ;  or  to  wait  for  the  departure  of  some  other  person, 
that  was  going  into  the  province  or  country  whither  they 
had  letters  to  send ;  which  method  was  liable  to  number- 
less disappointments,  accidents  and  delays. 

At  present  we  enjoy  this  general  conveniency  at  a  small 
expense  ;  but  we  do  not  thoroughly  consider  the  advantage 
of  it ;  the  want  thereof  would  make  us  fully  sensible  of  our 
liappiness  in  this  respect.  France  is  indebted  for  it  to  the 
university  of  Paris,  v\'hich  I  cannot  forbear  observing  here  : 
I  hope  the  reader  Avill  excuse  the  digression.  The  xiniAcrsity 
of  Paris,  being  formerly  the  only  one  in  the  kingdom,  and 
having  great  numbers  of  scholars  resorting  to  her  from  all 
parts  of  the  country,  did,  for  their  sakes  and  conveniency, 
establish  messengers,  Avhose  business  Avas,  not  only  to  bring 
clothes,  silver,  and  gold,  for  the  students,  but  likewise  to 
carry  bags  of  laAV  proceedings,  informations,  and  inquests ;  to 
conduct  all  sorts  of  persons,  indifferently,  to  or  from  Paris, 
finding  them  both  horses  and  diet ;  as  also  to  carry  letters,  par- 
cels and  packets,  for  the  public  as  Avell  as  the  university.  In 
the  uniA'ei'sity-registers  of  the  four  nations,  as  they  are 
called,  of  the  faculty  of  arts,  these  messengers  are  often  styled 
N^untii  volantes,  to  signify  the  great  speed  and  despatch  they 
Avere  obliged  to  make. 

The  state,  then,  is  indebted  to  the  uniA-ersity  of  Paris  for 
the  invention  and  establishment  of  these  messengers  and  let- 
ter-carriers. And  it  was  at  her  OAvn  charge  and  expense  that 
she  erected  these  offices,  to  the  satisfaction  both  of  our  kings 


max:ners  of  the  assyktaxs,  etc.  623 

and  the  public.  Slio  hr.s,  moreover,  maintained  and  sup- 
ported them  since  the  year  1576,  against  all  the  various  at- 
tempts of  the  farmers,  which  has  cost  her  immense  sums. 
For  there  never  was  any  ordinary  royal  messengers,  till 
Henry  III.  first  established  them  in  tlie  year  1576,  by  his 
edict  of  November,  appointing  them  in  the  same  cities  as  the 
imiversity  had  theirs  in,  and  granting  them  the  same  riglits 
and  privileges  as  the  kings,  his  predecessors,  had  granted 
the  messengers  of  the  university. 

The  university  never  had  any  other  fund  or  support  than 
the  profits  arising  from  the  post-office.  And  it  is  upon  the 
foundation  of  the  same  revenue,  that  King  Louis  XV.,  by  his 
decree  of  the  council  of  state,  of  the  14th  of  April,  1719,  and 
by  his  letters-patent,  bearing  the  same  date,  registered  in 
parliament,  and  in  the  chamber  of  accounts,  has  ordained, 
that  in  all  the  colleges  of  the  said  university  the  students 
shall  be  taught  gratis  ;  and  has  to  that  end,  for  tlie  time 
to  come,  appro])riated  to  the  university  an  eight-and-twen- 
tieth  part  of  the  revenue  arising  from  the  general  lease  or 
farm  of  the  posts  and  messengers  of  France  ;  which  eight- 
and-twentieth  part  amounted  that  year  to  the  sum  of  one 
hundred  and  eighty-four  thousand  livres,  or  thereabouts.* 

It  is  not,  therefore,  without  reason,  that  the  university,  to 
whom  this  regulation  has  restored  a  part  of  her  ancient 
lustre,  regards  Louis  XV.  as  a  kind  of  new  founder,  whose 
bounty  has  at  length  delivered  her  from  the  unhappy  and 
shameful  necessity  of  receiving  wrges  for  her  labors  ;  which 
in  some  measure  dishonored  the  dignity  of  her  profession,  as 
it  was  contrary  to  that  noble,  disinterested  spirit  which  be- 
comes it.  And,  indeed,  the  labor  of  masters  and  professors, 
who  instruct  others,  ought  not  to  be  given  for  nothing ;  but 
neither  ought  it  to  Idb  sold.  Nee  venire,  hoc  benejiciuni  opor* 
tet,  nee  j^erire.f 

SECTIOX  V. ADMIKISTRATTOX  OF  THE  KETEXUES. 

The  prince  is  the  sword  and  buckler  of  the  state  ;  by  him 
are  the  peace  and  tranquillity  thereof  secured.  But,  to  en- 
able him  to  defend  it,  he  has  occasion  for  arms,  soldiers,  ar- 
senals, fortified  towns,  and  ships ;  and  all  these  things  re- 
quire great  expenses.  It  is,  moreovei*,  just  and  reasonable, 
that  the  king  have  Avhere withal  to  support  the  dignity  of  the 
crown,  and  the  majesty  of  empire  ;  as  also  to  procure  rever- 
ence and  respect  to  his  person  and  authority.     These  are" 

•  About  ?37,740.  t  Quintil.  1.  xii.  c.  T- 


622  AxciBXT  iiisTonv. 

the  two  principal  reasons  that  h  ive  given  occasion  foi*  the 
exacting  of  tribute  an  1  the  imposition  of  taxes.  As  the  pub- 
lic advantage,  and  the  necessity  of  defraying  the  expenses 
of  the  state,  have  been  the  first  cause  of  these  burdens,  so 
ought  they  likewise  to  be  the  constant  standard  of  their 
use.  Xor  is  there  anything  in  the  world  more  just  and 
reasonable  than  such  impositions,  since  every  ])rivate  ])erson 
ought  to  think  himself  very  happy  that  he  can  purchase  his 
))eace  and  security  at  the  expense  of  so  slender  a  contri- 
bution. 

The  revenues  of  the  Persian  kings  consisted  partly  in 
moneys  imposed  upon  the  people,  and  partly  in  their  being 
furnished  with  several  of  the  products  of  the  earth  in  kind, 
as  corn  and  other  provisions,  forage,  horses,  camels,  or  what- 
ever rarities  each  jjarticular  province  afforded.*  Strabo  re-^ 
lates,  that  the  satrap  of  Armenia  sent  regularly  every  year 
to  the  king  of  Persia,  his  master,  twenty  thousand  young 
colts. t  By  this  we  may  form  an  estimate  of  the  other  levies 
in  the  several  provinces.  But  we  are  to  consider  that  tlie 
ti'ibutes  Avere  only  exacted  from  the  conquered  nations  ;  for 
the  natural  subjects,  that  is,  the  Persians,  were  exempt  from 
all  impositions.  Nor  was  the  custom  of  imposing  taxes,  and 
determining  the  sums  each  province  was  yearly  to  pay,  intro- 
duced till  the  reign  of  Darius ;  at  which  time  the  pecuniary 
impositions,  as  nearly  as  we  can  judge  from  the  computation 
made  by  Herodotus,  which  is  attended  with  great  difficul- 
ties, amounted  to  nearly  fortA'-four  millions,  French  money,  t 

The  place  in  which  the  public  treasure  was  kept  was 
called,  in  the  Persian  language,  Gaza.  §  There  were  treas- 
ures of  this  kind  at  Susa,  at  Persepolis,  at  Pasagarda,  at 
Damascus,  and  other  cities.  The  gold  and  silver  Avere  there 
kept  in  ingots,  and  coined  into  money,  according  as  the  king 
had  occasion.  The  money  chiefly  used  by  the  Persians  was 
of  gold  and  called  Daric,  from  the  name  of  Darius,  ||  Avho  first 
caused  them  to  be  coined,  Avith  his  image  on  one  side,  and  an 
archer  on  the  reverse.  The  Daric  is  sometimes  also  called 
/Stater  Aureus,  because  the  Aveight  of  it,  like  that  of  the 
Attic  Stattr,  was  tAvo  drachms  of  gold,  Avhich  Avcre  equiva- 
lent to  tAventy  drachms  of  silver,  and  consequently  were 
worth  ten  livres  of  French  money. 

*  Herod.  1.  iii.  c.  89-97.  t  Herod.  1.  xi.  p.  530. 

X  About.  S8,880,000.  §  Curf.  1.  iii.  c.  12. 

H  Darius  the  Mede,  otherwise  called  Cyaxares  ,  is  supposed  to  have  been  the 
firRt  who  caused  this  money  to  be  coined.  Value,  one  dollar  eighty-seveu  and  a 
half  cents. 


maxners  of  the  assybiaxs,  etc.  623 

Besides  these  tributes,  which  were  paid  in  money,  there 
was  another  contribution  made  in  kind,  by  furnishing  vict- 
uals and  provisions  for  the  king's  table  and  household, 
grain,  forage,  and  other  necessaries  for  the  subsistence  of  his 
armies,  and  horses  for  his  cavalry.  This  contribution  was 
imposed  upon  the  one  hundred  and  twenty  satrapies,  or 
provinces,  each  of  them  furnishing  such  a  part  as  they  were 
severally  taxed  ;it.  Herodotus  observes,  that  the  ])rovince 
of  Babylon,  the  largest  and  wealthiest  of  them  all,  alone  fur- 
nished the  whole  contribution  for  the  space  of  four  months, 
and  consequently  bore  a  third  pai't  of  the  burden  of  the 
whole  imposition,  while  the  rest  of  Asia  together  contributed 
the  other  two  thirds.* 

By  wliat  has  already  been  said  on  this  subject,  we  see 
that  the  kings  oi  Persia  did  not  exact  all  their  taxes  and  im- 
positions in  money,  but  were  content  to  levy  only  a  part  of 
them  in  money,  and  take  the  rest  in  such  products  and  com- 
modities as  the  several  provinces  afforded  ;  which  is  a  proof 
of  the  great  wisdom,  moderation,  and  humanity  of  the  Per- 
sian government.  Without  doubt,  it  htid  been  observed  how 
difficult  it  often  is  for  the  people,  especially  in  countries  at  a 
distance  from  commerce,  to  convert  their  goods  into  money, 
"without  suffering  great  losses  ;  whereas  nothing  can  tend  so 
much  to  the  rendering  of  taxes  easy,  and  to  shelter  the  peo- 
ple from  vexation,  trouble,  and  expense,  as  taking  in  pay- 
ment from  each  country,  su.ch  fruits  and  commodities  as  that 
country  produces ;  by  Avhich  means  the  contribution  becomes 
easy,  natural,  and  equitable. 

There  were  likewise  certain  cantons  assigned  and  set 
apart  for  maintaining  the  queen's  toilet  and  w^ardrobe  ;  one 
for  her  girdle,  another  for  her  veil,  and  so  on  for  the  rest  of 
her  vestments :  and  these  districts,  which  were  of  a  great 
extent,  since  one  of  them  contained  as  much  ground  as .  a 
man  could  walk  over  in  a  day,  took  their  names  from  their 
particular  use,  or  part  of  the  garments  to  which  they  Avere 
appropriated  ;  and  were  accordingly  called,  one  the  Queen's 
Girdle,  another  the  Queen's  Veil,  and  so  on.  In  Plato's 
time,  the  same  custom  continued  among  the  Persians. t 

The  way  in  which  kings  gave  pensions  in  those  days  to 
such  persons  as  they  had  a  mind  to  gratify,  was  exactly  like 
what  I  have  observed  concerning  the  queens.  We  read  that 
the  king  of  Persia  assigned  the  re'wenue  of  four  cities  to 
Themistocles ;  one  of  which  was  to  .supply  him  with  wine, 

•  Herod.  1.  iv.  c.  91-97,  et.  1.  i.  c.  192.  t  Plut.  in  Alcib.  c.  i.  p.  123. 


624  AXCIENT    HISTORY. 

a'nother  Avith  bread,  the  third  with  meats  for  liis  table, 
and  the  fourth  was  his  clothes  and  furniture.*  Before 
that  time,  Cyrus  had  acted  in  the  same  manner  with  Py- 
tharchus  of  Cyzicus,  for  whom  he  had  a  particular  con- 
sideration, and  to  Avhoni  he  gave  tlie  revenues  of  seven 
cities.f  In  following  times,  we  find  many  instances  of  a 
like  nature. 

ARTICLE  II. 

OF      THEIR     WAR. 

The  people  of  Asia  in  general  Avere  naturally  of  a  war- 
like disposition,  and  did  not  want  courage ;  but  in  time 
they  all  grew  effeminate  through  luxury  and  pleasure.  When 
I  say  all,  I  must  )»e  understood  to  except  the  Persians,  who, 
even  before  Cyrus,  as  well  as  in  his  reign,  had  the  reputation 
of  being  a  peo])le  of  a  very  military  genius.  The  situation 
of  their  country,  which  is  rugged  and  mountainous,  might  be 
one  reason  of  their  hard  and  frugal  manner  of  living  ;~  which 
is  a  thing  of  no  little  importance  for  the  forming  of  good 
soldiei's.  But  the  good  education  which  the  Persirns  gave 
their  youth,  was  the  chief  cause  of  the  courage  and  martial 
spirit  of  that  people. 

Witli  respect,  thei'cforc,  to  the  manners,  and  particularly 
to  the  article  which  I  am  now  treating  of,  we  must  make 
some  distinction  between  the  different  nations  of  Asia.  So 
that  in  the  following  account  of  military  affairs  what  perfec- 
tion and  excellence  appear  in  the  rules  and  principles  of  war, 
is  to  be  applied  only  to  the  Persians,  as  they  were  in  the 
reign  of  Cyrus  ;  the  rest  belongs  to  the  other  nations  of  Asia, 
the  Assyrians,  Babylonians,  Medes,  Lydians,  and  to  the 
Persians  likewise,  after  they  had  degener^^ted  from  their 
ancient  val  )r,  which  hapj)ened  not  long  after  Cyrus,  as  will 
be  shown  m  the  sequel. 

1.    THEIR   ENTERING    IXTO    THE    SERVICE,  OR   I^^TO    MILITARY 
DISCIPLINE. 

The  Persians  were  trained  up  to  the  service  from  their 
tender  years,  by  passing  through  different  exercises,  t  Gen- 
erally speaking,  they  served  in  the  armies  from  the  age  of 
twenty  to  fifty  years.  And  whether  they  were  in  peace  or 
war,  they  always  wore  swords  as  our  gentlemen  do,  which 
was-never  practised  among  the  Greeks  or  the  Romans.  They 

*  Plut.  in  Them.  p.  127.  1  Athen.  1.  i.  p.  30. 

t  Strab.  1.  XT.  p.  734.  Am.  Mar.  1.  .\xiii.  sub.  finem. 


MANXKRS    OF    TH]':    ASSYRIANS,  KTC.  625 

were  obliged  to  enlist  themselves  at  the  time  apijoiiited  ;  and 
it  was  esteemed  a  crime  to  desire  to  be  dispensed  within 
that  respect,  as  will  be  seen  hereafter,  by  the  cruel  treat- 
ment given  by  Darius  and  Xerxes  to  two  young  noblemen, 
whose  fathers  had  desired,  as  a  favor,  that  their  sons  might 
be  permitted  to  stay  at  home,  for  a  comfort  to  them  in  their 
old  age.* 

Herodotus  speaks  of  a  body  of  troops  appointed  to  be 
the  king's  guard,  which  were  called  Immortal,  because  this 
body,  which  consisted  of  ten  thousand,  perpetually  subsisted, 
and  was  always  complete ;  for  as  soon  as  any  of  the  men 
died,  another  was  immediately  put  into  his  placet  The 
establishment  of  this  body  probably  began  with  the  ten  thou- 
sand men  sent  for  by  Cyrus  out  of  Persia  to  be  his  guard. 
They  were  distinguished  from  all  the  other  troops  by  the  rich- 
ness of  their  armor,  and  still  more  by  their  singular  courage. 
Quintus  Curtius  also  mentions  this  body  of  men,  and  like- 
wise another  body  consisting  of  fifteen  thousand,  designed 
in  like  manner  to  be  a  guard  to  the  king's  person ;  the  latter 
were  called  doryphori,  or  lancers.  | 

II.    THEIR    ARMOR. 

The  ordinary  arms  of  the  Persians  were  a  sabre,  or 
scimitar,  acinaces,  as  it  is  called  in  Latin ;  a  kind  of  a  dag- 
ger, which  hung  in  their  belt  on  the  right  side ;  a  javelin, 
or  half-pike,  having  a  sharj)  pointed  iron  at  the  end. 

It  seems  that  they  carried  tAvo  javelins  or  lances,  one  to 
throw,  and  the  other  to  fight  with.  They  made  great  use 
of  the  bow,  and  of  the  quiver  in  which  they  carried  their 
arrows.  The  sling  was  not  unknown  among  them ;  but 
they  did  not  set  much  value  upon  it. 

It  appears  from  several  passages  in  ancient  authors,  that 
the  Persians  Avore  no  helmets,  but  only  their  common  caps, 
which  they  called  tiaras  ;  this  is  particularly  said  of  Cyrus 
the  younger,  and  his  army.  §  And  yet  the  same  authors,  in 
other  })laces,  make  mention  of  their  helmets  :  from  whence 
we  must  conclude  that  their  custom  had  changed  according 
to  the  times. 

Tlie  foot  for  the  most  part  Av^ore  cuirasses  made  of  brass, 
which  Avere  so  artfully  fitted  to  their  bodies  that  they  Avere 
no  impediment  to  the  motion  and  agility  of  their  limbs ;  no 
more  than  the  A'ambraces,  or  other  i^ieees  of  armor,  Avhich 

*  Kerod.  1.  iv.  et  vi.    Sen.  de  Ira,  1.  iii.  c.  16,  17.  t  Herod.  1.  vii.  c.  83. 

t  Herod.  1.  iii.  c  3.  §  De  Exped.  Cyr.  1.  i.  p.  262. 

40 


626  AXCIENT    HISTORY. 

covered  the  arms,  thighs,  and  legs  of  the  horsemen.  Their 
horses  themselves  for  the  most  part  had  their  faces,  Vjreasts, 
and  flanks,  covered  with  brass.  These  are  what  are  called 
equi  cataphracti,  barbed  horses. 

Authors  differ  very  mnch  about  the  form  and  fashion  of 
their  shields.  At  first  they  used  very  small  and  light  ones ; 
made  only  of  twigs  of  osier,  gerra.  But  it  aj.'pears  from 
several  passages,  that  they  had  also  shields  of  brass,  which 
were  of  a  great  length. 

We  have  already  observed,  that  in  the  first  ages  the  light- 
armed  soldiers,  that  is,  the  archers,  slingers,  etc.,  composed 
the  bulk  of  the  armies  among  the  Persians  and  Medes. 
Cyrus,  who  had  found  by  experience,  that  such  troops  were 
only  fit  for  skirmishing,  or  fighting  at  a  distance,  and  who 
thought  it  most  advantageous  to  come  directly  to  close  fight, 
made  a  change  in  his  army,  and  reduced  those  light-armed 
troops  to  a  very  few,  arming  the  far  greater  number  at  all 
points,  like  the  rest  of  the  army. 

III.    CHARIOTS    ARMED  V.'ITH    SCYTHES, 

Cyrus  introduced  a  considerable  change  likewise  with 
respect  to  the  chariots  of  war.*  These  had  been  in  use  a 
long  while  before  his  time,  as  appears  both  from  Homer  and 
the  sacred  writings.  These  chariots  had  only  two  Avheels,  and 
were  generally  drawn  by  four  horses  iibreast,  willi  two  men 
in  each;  one  of  distinguislied  birth  and  valor,  who  fought, 
and  the  other  only  for  drl\ing  t!ie  chsn-iot.  Cyrus  thought 
this  method,  which  was  very  expensive,  was  but  of  little 
service :  since,  for  the  equipping  of  three  hundred  chariots, 
were  required  twelve  hundred  horses  and  six  hundred  men, 
of  which  there  were  but  three  hundred  who  really  fought, 
the  other  three  hundred,  though  all  men  of  merit  and  dis- 
tinction, and  capable  of  doing  great  service  if  otherAvise 
employed,  serving  only  as  charioteers  or  drivers.  To  remedy 
this  inconvenience,  he  altered  the  form  of  the  chariots  and 
doubled  the  number  of  the  fighting  men  that  rode  in  them, 
by  putting  the  drivers  in  a  condition  to  fight  as  well  as  the 
others. 

He  caused  the  wheels  of  the  chariots  to  be  made 
stronger,  that  they  should  not  be  so  easily  broken ;  and  their 
axle-trees  to  be  made  longer,  to  make  them  the  more  fii-m 
and  steady.  At  each  end  of  the  axle-tree  he  caused  scythes 
to  be  fastened  that  wqtq  three  feet  long,  and  placed  horizon- 

*  Xenoph.  C; Top.  1.  vi.  p.  lo2. 


MANNEES   OF    THE    ASSYRIANS,  ETC.  627 

tally ;  and  caused  other  scythes  to  be  fixed  under  the  same 
axle-tree  with  their  edges  turned  to  the  ground,  tliat  tliey 
might  cut  in  pieces  men  or  horses,  or  whritever  the  impetu- 
ous violence  of  the  chariots  should  overturn.  It  appears 
fi'om  several  passages  in  authors,  that  in  after-times,  besides 
all  this,  they  added  two  long  iron  spikes  at  the  end  of  the 
pole,  in  order  to  pierce  whatever  came  in  the  way ;  and  that 
they  anned  the  hinder  part  of  the  chariot  Avith  several  rows 
of  sharp  knives,  to  hinder  any  one  from  mounting  behind.* 

These  chariots  were  in  use  for  many  ages  in  all  the  east- 
ern countries.  They  were  looked  upon  as  the  principal 
strength  of  the  armies,  as  the  most  certain  causes  of  victory, 
and  as  an  apparatus  the  most  capable  of  all  others  to  strike 
the  enemy  with  consternation  and  terror. 

But  in  proportion  as  the  military  art  imj^roved,  the  in- 
conveniences of  them  were  discovered,  and  at  length  they 
were  laid  aside.  For,  to  reap  any  advantage  from  them,  it 
was  necessary  to  fight  in  large  plains,  where  the  soil  was 
very  even,  and  where  there  were  no  rivulets,  gullies,  woods, 
nor  vineyards. 

In  after-times  seA*eral  methods  were  invented  to  render 
these  chariots  absolutely  useless.  It  Avas  enough  to  cut  a 
ditch  in  their  Avay,  which  immediately  stopped  their  course. 
Sometimes  an  able  and  experienced  general,  as  Eumenes  in 
the  battle  Avhich  Scipio  fought  Avith  Antiochus,  Avould  attack 
the  chariots  with  a  detachment  of  slingers,  archers,  and 
spearmen,  who,  spreading  themselves  on  all  sides,  Avould 
pour  such  a  storm  of  stones,  arroAvs,  and  lances,  upon  them, 
and  at  the  same  time  begin  shouting  so  loud  Avith  the  whole 
army,  that  they  terrified  the  horses,  and  occasioned  such 
disorder  and  confusion  as  often  made  them  turn  upon 
their  oAvn  forces. f  At  other  times  they  Avould  render  the 
chariots  ineffectual  and  inactive,  only  by  marching  over 
the  s])ace  Avhich  separated  the  tAvo  armies,  Avith  an  ex- 
traordinary SAViftness,  and  advancing  suddenly  upon  the 
enemy.  For  the  strength  and  execution  of  the  chariots  pro- 
ceeded from  the  length  of  their  course,  Avhich  Avas  Avhat 
gave  that  impetuosity  and  rapidity  to  their  motion,  without 
which  they  Avere  but  very  feeble  and  insignificant.  It  was 
after  this  manner  that  the  Romans,  under  Sylla,  at  the  battle 
of  Chaaronea,  defeated  and  put  to  flight  the  enemy's  chariots, 
by  raising  loud  peals  of  laughter,  as  if  they  had  been  at  the 
games  of  the  circus,  and  by  crying  out  to  them  to  send 
more,  t 

'  Liv.  1.  xxxvii.  n.  41.  i  Ibid.  t  Plut.  iv.  Syll.  p.  463. 


628  AXCIE^'T    HISTORY. 

IV.    THEIR    DISCIPLIXE    IN    PEACE    AS    WELL    AS    IX    WAR. 

Nothing  can  be  imagined  more  perfect  than  the  cliscij> 
line  and  good  order  of  the  troops  in  Cyi'us's  reign,  Avhether 
in  i^eace  or  war. 

The  methods  nsedby  that  great  jirince,  iis  is  fully  related 
in  Xenoplion's  Cyropsedia,  in  order  to  form  his  troo])S  by 
frequent  exercises,  to  inui'e  them  to  fatigue,  by  kee])ing  them 
continually  active  and  employed  in  laborious  works,  to  pre- 
pare them  for  real  battle  by  mock  engagements,  to  fire  them 
with  courage  and  resolution  by  exhortations,  ]iraises,  and 
rewards,  all  present  a  perfect  model  for  those  who  have  the 
command  of  troops,  to  whom,  generally  speaking,  peace  and 
tranquillity  become  extremely  pernicious  ;  for  a  relaxation 
of  disci]iline,  which  usually  ensues,  enervates  the  vigor  of 
the  soldiers  ;  and  their  inaction  blunts  that  edge  of  courage, 
which  the  motion  of  armies,  and  the  approach  of  enemies, 
greatly  sharpen  and  excite.  A  prudent  foresight  ought  to 
make  us  ]irepare  in  time  of  j^eace  whatever  will  be  needful 
in  time  of  war.* 

Whenever  the  Persian  armies  marched,  every  thing  was 
ordered  and  carried  on  with  as  much  regularity  and  exact- 
ness as  on  a  day  of  battle ;  not  a  soldier  or  officer  daring  to 
quit  his  rank,  or  remove  from  the  colors.  It  was  the  cus- 
tom among  all  Asiatics,  whenever  they  encamped,  though 
but  for  a  day  or  a  night,  to  ha\e  their  camp  surrounded  Avith 
pretty  deep  ditches.  This  they  did  to  ])revent  being  sur- 
prised by  the  enemy,  and  that  they  might  not  be  forced  to 
engage  against  their  inclinations.  They  usually  contented 
themselves  with  covering  their  camp  Avith  a  bank  of  eai-th 
dug  out  of  these  ditches  ;  though  sometimes  they  fortified 
them  Avith  strong  palisadoes,  and  long  stakes  driven  into  the 
ground,  t 

By  Avhat  has  been  said  of  their  discipline  in  time  of 
peace,  and  of  their  manner  of  marching  and  encamping 
their  armies,  we  may  judge  of  their  exactness  on  a  day  of 
battle.  Nothing  can  be  more  Avonderful  than  the  accounts 
we  have  of  it  in  scA-eral  ])arts  of  the  Cyro])a3dia.  No  single 
family  could  be  better  regulated,  or  ])ay  a  more  ready  and 
exact  obedience  to  the  first  signal,  than  the  Avhole  army  of 
Cyrus.  He  had  long  accustomed  them  to  that  prompt  obe- 
dience,  on  Avhich   the  success  of  all   enterj^rises  depends. 

-Metueiisque  futuri. 


In  pace,  ut  sapiens,  siptarit  Moiiea  bello.— Hor.  Satvr.  ii.  1,  2. 
t  Diod.  1.  I.  pp.  24,  25. 


MAXXKKS    OF    THE    ASSYEIAXS,  TiTC.  029 

For  what  avails  the  best  head  m  the  world,  if  the  arms  do 
not  act  conformably  and  follow  its  directions?  At  first  he 
had  nsed  some  severity,  which  is  necessary  in  the  beginning, 
in  order  to  establish  a  good  discipline  ;  but  this  severity 
was  always  accompanied  with  reason,  and  tempered  with 
kindness.  The  example  of  their  leader,  who  v.as  the  first 
upon  all  duty,  gave  weight  and  authority  to  his  discourse, 
and  softened  the  rigor  of  his  commands.*  The  unalterable 
rule  he  laid  down  to  himself,  of  granting  nothing  but  to 
merit  only,  and  of  refusing  every  thing  to  favor,  was  a  sure 
means  of  keeping  all  the  ofllicers  attached  to  their  duty,  and 
of  making  theiji  perpetually  vigilant  and  careful.  For  there 
is  nothing  more  discouraging  to  persons  of  that  profession, 
even  to  those  who  love  their  prince  and  their  country,  than 
to  see  the  rewards  to  which  the  dangers  they  ha^'e  under- 
gone, and  the  blood  they  have  spilt,  entitle  them,  conferred 
upon  others. t  Cyrus  had  the  art  of  ins])iring  even  his 
common  soldiers  with  a  zeal  for  discipline  and  order,  by  first 
inspiring  them  with  a  love  of  their  country,  for  their  honor, 
and  their  fellow-citizens  ;  and  above  all,  by  endearing  him- 
self to  them  by  his  bounty  and  liberality.  These  are  the 
true  methods  of  establishing  and  supporting  military  dis- 
cipline in  full  force  and  vigor. 

V.  THEIR    ORDER    OF    BATTLE. 

As  there  Avere  but  very  few  fortified  places  in  Cyrus's 
time,  all  their  v/ars  Avere  little  else  than  field  expeditions  ; 
for  which  reason  that  wise  prince  foixnd  out,  by  his  own  re- 
flection and  experience,  that  nothing  contributed  more  to 
victory  than  a  numerous  and  good  cavalry  ;  and  that  the 
gaining  of  a  single  pitched  battle  was  often  attended  with 
the  conquest  of  a  whole  kingdom.  Accoi'dingly  we  see 
that,  having  found  the  Persian  army  entirely  destitute  of 
that  important  and  necessary  succor,  he  turned  all  his 
thoughts  towards  remedying  the  defect,  and  so  far  succeed- 
ed, by  his  great  application  and  activity,  as  to  form  a  body 
of  Persian  cavalry,  Avhich  became  superior  to  that  of  his 
enemies,  in  goodness  at  least,  if  not  in  number.  There  were 
several  breeds  of  horses  in  Persia  and  Media :  but  in  the  lat- 
ter i^rovince,  those  of  a  place  called  Nisea  were  the  most 

*  Dux,  eultii  levi,  oapite  intecto,  in  agniine,  in  laboribus  frequeiis  adesse  : 
laudeni  stvenuls,  solatium  in  validis,  exeniplum  omnibus  osteiuleie. — Tacit. 
Annal.  1.  xiii.  c.  35. 

t  Oecidisse  in  irritum  labores,  si  praeinia  periculorum  soli  as.iequauuir,  qui 
perieulis  non  affuei-vmt,— Tacit.  Hist.  lib.  iii.  cap.  53- 


630  ANCIEXT    HISTOUY. 

esteemed  ;  and  it  was  from  thence  the  kinc;'s  stable  was  fur- 
nished.* We  shall  now  examine  what  nse  they  made  of 
their  cavalry  and  infantry. 

The  celebrated  battle  of  Thymbra  may  serve  to  give  us 
a  just  notion  of  the  tactics  of  the  ancients  in  the  days  of 
Cyrus,  and  to  show  how  far  their  ability  extended,  either  in 
the  use  of  arms  or  disposition  of  armies. 

They  knew  that  the  most  advantageous  order  of  battle 
was  to  place  the  infantry  in  the  centre,  and  the  cavalry, 
which  consisted  chiefly  of  the  cuirassiers,  on  the  two  Avings 
of  the  army.  By  this  disposition  the  flanks  of  the  foot  w^ere 
covered,  and  ihe  horse  were  at  liberty  to  act  and  extend 
themselves,  as  occasion  should  require. 

They  likcAvise  understood  the  necessity  of  drawing  out 
an  army  into  several  lines,  in  order  to  support  one  another ; 
because  otherwise,  as  one  single  line  might  easily  be  pierced 
through  and  broken,  it  would  not  be  able  to  rally,  and  con- 
sequently the  army  would  be  left  without  resource.  For 
which  reason,  they  formed  the  first  line  of  foot,  heavily 
armed,  twelve  men  deep,t  who,  on  the  first  onset,  made  use 
of  the  half-pike  ;  and  afterwards,  when  the  fronts  of  the  two 
armies  came  close  together,  engaged  the  enemy  hand  to 
hand  with  their  swords,  or  scimitars. 

The  second  line  consisted  of  such  men  as  were  lightly 
armed,  whose  manner  of  fighting  was  to  throw  their  javelins 
over  the  heads  of  the  first.  These  javelins  were  made  of  a 
heavy  wood,  pointed  with  iron,  and  were  thrown  with  great 
violence.  The  design  of  them  was  to  put  the  enemy  into 
disorder,  before  they  came  to  close  fight. 

The  third  line  consisted  of  archers,  whose  bows  being 
bent  with  the  utmost  force,  carried  their  arrows  OA^er  the 
heads  of  the  two  preceding  lines,  and  extremely  annoyed  the 
enemy.  These  archers  were  sometimes  mixed  Avith  slingers, 
who  slung  great  stones  with  a  terrible  force  ;  but,  in  after- 
times,  the  Rhodians,  instead  of  stones,  made  use  of  leaden 
bullets,  which  the  slings  carried  a  great  deal  farther. 

A  fourth  line,  formed  of  men  in  the  same  manner  as 
those  of  the  first,  formed  the  rear  of  the  main  body.  This 
line  Avas  intended  for  the  support  of  the  others,  and  to  keep 
them  to  their  duty,  in  case  they  gave  way.  It  served  like- 
wise for  a  rear-guard,  and  a  body  of  reserve  to  repulse  the 
enemy,  if  they  should  happen  to  penetrate  so  far. 

*  Herod.  1.  vii.  c  40.    Strab.  1.  xi.  p.  530. 

t  Before  Cyrus's  time  it  was  tweuty-four  men. 


MAXNEUS    OF    THE    ASSYRIANS,  ETC.  631 

They  had,  besides,  moving  towers,  carried  upon  huge 
wagons,  drawn  by  sixteen  oxen  each,  in  which  were  twenty 
men,  whose  business  was  to  discharge  stones  and  javelins. 
These  were  placed  in  the  rear  of  the  v/hole  army,  behind  the 
body  of  reserve,  and  were  used  to  support  their  troo])s  when 
they  were  driven  back  by  the  enemy,  and  to  favor  their  rally- 
ing when  in  disorder. 

They  made  great  use,  too,  of  their  chariots  armed  with 
scythes,  as  we  have  already  observed.  These  they  generally 
placed  in  the  front  of  the  battle,  and  some  of  them  at  certain 
times  upon  the  flanks  of  the  army,  or  when  they  had  any 
reason  to  fear  their  being  surrounded. 

Thus  far,  and  not  much  farther,  did  the  ancients  carry 
their  knowledge  in  the  military  art,  with  respect  to  their 
battles  and  engagements.  But  we  do  not  find  that  they  had 
any  skill  in  choosing  advantageous  posts,  in  seasonably  pos- 
sessing themselves  of  a  favorable  spot,  or  bringing  the  war 
into  a  close  country  ;  of  making  use  of  defiles  and  narrow 
passes,  either  to  molest  the  enemy  in  their  march,  or  to 
cover  themselves  from  their  attacks  ;  of  laying  artful  ambus- 
cades ;  of  protracting  a  campaign  to  a  great  length  by  wise 
delays  ;  of  not  suffering  a  superior  enemy  to  force  them  to 
a  decisive  action,  and  of  reducing  him  to  the  necessity  of 
preying  upon  himself  through  the  want  of  forage  and  pro- 
visions. Neither  do  we  see  that  they  had  much  regard  to 
the  defending  of  their  right  and  left  with  rivers,  marshes,  or 
mountains,  and  by  that  means  to  make  the  front  of  a  smaller 
army  equal  to  that  of  another  much  more  numerous,  and  to 
put  it  out  of  the  enemy's  power  to  surround  or  flank  them. 

Yet,  in  Cyrus's  first  campaign  against  the  Armenians, 
and  afterwards  against  the  Babylonians,  they  seemed  to 
have  made  their  first  advances  and  essays  in  this  art ;  but 
they  were  not  improved,  or  carried  to  any  degree  of  perfec- 
tion in  those  days.  Time,  reflection,  and  experience,  made 
the  great  commanders  in  after  ages  acquainted  with  these 
precautions  and  subtleties  of  war  ;  and  we  have  already 
shown,  in  the  wars  of  the  Carthaginians,  what  use  Hannibal, 
Fabius,  Scipio,  and  other  generals  of  both  nations,  made  of 
them. 

VI.    THEIR    MANNER    OF  ATTACKING  AND    DEFENDING  STRONG 

PLACES. 

The  ancients  both  devised  and  executed  all  that  could  he 
expected  from  the  nature  of  the  arms  known  in  their  days, 


632  ANCIENT    HISTORY. 

as   also  from  the  force  and  variety  of  engines  then  in  use, 
either  for  attacking  or  defending  fortified  places. 

1.    THEIIi    WAY    OF    ATTACKING    PLACES. 

The  first  method  of  attacking  a  place  was  by  blockade. 
They  invested  the  town  Avith  a  Avail  built  quite  round  it,  and 
in  which,  at  jiroper  distances,  were  made  redoubts  and  mag- 
azines ;  and  between  the  Avail  and  the  toAvn  they  dug  a  deep 
trench,  which  they  strongly  fenced  Avith  jtallisadoes,  to  hinder 
the  besieged  from  going  out,  as  well  as  to  jircAent  succors 
or  provisions  from  being  brought  in.  In  this  manner  they 
waited  till  famine  did  what  they  could  not  effect  by  foi*ce  or 
art.  From  hence  proceeded  the  length  of  the  sieges  related 
by  the  ancients  ;  as  that  of  Troy,*  Avhich  lasted  ten  years  ; 
that  of  Azoth  by  Psammeticus,  Avhich  lasted  tAventy;  that 
of  KineA'eh,  Avhere  we  find  Sardanapalus  defended  himself 
for  the  s]>acc  of  scA'en.  And  Cyrus  might  liaA-e  lain  a  long 
time  before  Babylon,  Avherc  a  stock  of  provisions  for  tAventy 
years  had  been  laid  in,  if  he  had  not  devised  a  different 
method  of  taking  it. 

As  they  found  blockades  extremely  tedious  from  their 
duration,  they  invented  the  method  of  scaling,  Avhich  was 
done  by  raising  a  great  number  of  ladders  against  the  AA'alls, 
by  means  of  Avhich  a  great  many  files  of  soldiers  might  climb 
up  together,  and  force  their  way  in. 

To  render  this  method  of  scaling  impracticable,  or  at 
least  ineffectual,  they  made  the  Avails  of  their  cities  extreme- 
ly high,  and  the  toAvers,  AvhercAvith  they  Avere  flanked,  still 
considerably  higher,  that  the  ladders  of  the  besiegers  might 
not  be  able  to  reach  the  top  of  them.  This  obliged  them  to 
find  out  some  other  way  of  getting  to  the  top  of  the  ram- 
parts ;  and  this  was,  building  movable  towers  of  Avood  still 
higher  than  the  Avails,  and  by  approaching  them  Avith  these 
wooden  tOAvers.  On  the  top  of  these  towers,  Avhich  formed 
a  kind  of  platform,  Avas  placed  a  competent  number  of  sol- 
diers, Avho  Avith  darts  and  arroAvs,  and  the  assistance  of  their 
balistae  and  catapultae,  scoured  the  ramparts,  and  cleai'ed 
them  of  the  defenders  ;  and  then,  from  a  loAver  stage  of  the 
tOAver,  they  let  doAvn  a  kind  of  draAv-bridge,  which  rested 
upon  the  Avail,  and  gaA'e  the  soldiers  admittance. 

A  third  method,  Avhich  extremely  shortened  the  length 
of  their  sieges,  Avas  that  of  the  battering-ram,  by  Avhich 
they  made  breaches  in  the  walls,  and  opened  themselves  a 

*  Homer  makes  no  mjiitioii  of  the  battering-ram,  or  any  warlike  engine 


MANNEIiS    OF    THE    ASSYRIAXS,  ETC.  G33 

passage  into  the  places  besieged.  This  batteriug-ram  was  a 
vast  thick  beam  of  timber,  with  a  strong  head  of  iron  or 
brass  at  the  end  of  it,  which  was  pushed  with  the  utmost 
force  against  the  walls.  There  were  several  kinds  of  them  ; 
but  I  shall  give  a  more  ample  and  jJJ^rticular  account  of 
these,  as  well  as  the  other  warlike  engines,  in  another  place. 
They  had  still  a  fourth  method  of  attacking  places,  which 
was  that  of  sapping  and  undermining ;  and  this  v/as  done 
two  different  ways,  that  is,  either  to  carry  a  subterranean 
jjath  quite  under  the  Avails,  into  the  heart  of  the  city,  and  so 
open  themselves  a  passage  and  entrance  into  it ;  or  else, 
after  they  had  sapped  the  foundation  of  the  wall,  and  put 
suppoi'ters  under  it,  to  fill  the  space  with  all  sorts  of  com- 
bustible matter,  and  then  to  set  that  matter  on  fire,  in  order 
to  burn  down  the  supporters,  calcine  the  materials  of  the 
wall,  and  throw  down  part  of  it. 

2.    THEIR     MANNER    OF     DEFEISTDING    PLACES. 

With  respect  to  tlie  fortifying  and  defending  of  towns, 
the  ancients  made  use  of  all  the  fundamental  principles  and 
essential  rules  now  practised  in  the  art  of  fortification. 
They  had  the  method  of  overflowing  the  country  round 
about,  to  hinder  the  enemy's  approaching  the  town  ;  they 
made  their  ditches  deep,  and  of  a  steep  ascent,  and  fenced 
them  round  with  pallisadoes,  to  make  the  enemy's  ascent  or 
descent  the  more  difficult ;  they  made  their  ramparts  very 
thick,  and  fenced  them  Avith  stone  or  brick-work,  that  the 
battering-ram  should  not  be  able  to  demolish  them  ;  and 
very  high,  that  the  scaling  of  them  should  be  equally  im- 
practicable ;  they  had  their  projecting  towers,  from  whence 
our  modern  bastions  derive  their  origin,  for  the  flanking  of 
the  curtains  ;  they  ingeniously  invented  different  machines 
for  shooting  arrows,  throwing  darts  and  lances,  and  hurling 
gieat  stones  with  vast  force  and  violence ;  they  had 
parajDets  and  battlements  in  the  walls  for  the  security  of 
the  soldiers,  and  covered  galleries,  which,  going  quite  round 
the  Avails,  serA^ed  as  subterraneous  passages  ;  they  had  in- 
trenchments  behind  the  breaches  and  necks  of  the  toAvers ; 
they  made  their  sallies,  too,  in  order  to  destroy  the  works  of 
the  besiegers,  and  to  set  their  engines  on  fire ;  as  also 
counter-mines  to  defeat  the  mines  of  the  enemy  ;  and  lastly, 
they  built  citadels,  as  places  of  retreat  in  case  of  extremity, 
to  serve  as  the  last  recourse  to  a  garrison  upon  the  point  of 


634  A>'CIENr    HlSTOliY. 

being  forced,  and  to  make  the  taking  of  the  town  of  no 
effect,  or  at  least  to  obtain  a  more  advantageous  capitula- 
tion. All  these  methods  of  defending  places  against  those 
that  besieged  them,  were  known  in  the  art  of  fortilication, 
as  it  was  practised  among  the  ancients  ;  and  they  are  the 
very  same  as  are  now  in  use  among  the  moderns,  allowing 
for  such  alteration  as  the  difference  of  arms  has  occasioned. 
I  thought  it  necessary  to  enter  into  this  detail,  in  order 
to  give  the  reader  an  idea  of  the  ancient  manner  of  defend- 
ing fortified  towns,  as  also  to  remove  a  ])rejudice  which 
prevails  among  many  of  the  moderns,  who  imagine  that, 
because  new  names  are  now  given  to  the  same  things,  the 
things  themselves  are  therefore  different  in  nature  and  prin- 
ciple. Since  the  invention  of  gun-powdei-,  cannon  indeed 
have  been  substituted  in  the  place  of  the  l>atlering-ram,  and 
musket-shot  instead  of  balistie,  catapult*,  scorpions,  javelins, 
slings,  and  arrows.  But  does  it  thei'efore  follow,  that  any 
of  the  fundamental  rules  of  fortification  are  changed  '?  By 
no  means.  The  ancients  made  as  much  use  of  the  solidity 
of  bodies,  and  the  mechanic  powers  of  motion,  as  art  and 
ingenuity  would  admit. 

VII.  THE  CONDITION  OF  THE  PERSIAN  FORCES  AFTER  TUB 
TIME  OF  CYRUS. 

I  have  already  observed,  more  than  once,  that  we  must 
not  judge  of  the  merit  and  courage  of  the  Persian  troops  at 
all  times,  by  what  we  see  of  them  in  Cyrus's  reign.  I  shall 
conclude  this  article  of  war  with  a  judicious  reflection  made 
by  Monsieur  Bossuet,  bishop  of  Meaux,  on  that  subject.  lie 
observes  that,  after  the  death  of  that  prince,  the  Persian.s, 
generally  speaking,  were  igjorant  of  the  great  advantages 
which  result  from  severity,  order,  and  discipline ;  from  skill 
in  drawing  up  an  army,  order  in  marching  and  encamping, 
and  that  happiness  of  conduct  which  moves  those  great 
bodies  without  disorder  or  confusion.  Full  of  a  vain  osten- 
tation of  their  power  and  greatness,  and  relying  more  upon 
strength  than  prudence,  upon  the  number  rather  than  the 
choice  of  their  troops,  they  thought  they  had  done  all  that 
was  necessary,  Avhen  they  had  drawn  together  immense 
numbers  of  j)eople,  who  fought  indeed  with  resolution  but 
without  order,  and  who  found  themselves  encumbered  with 
the  vast  multitudes  useless  persons  in  the  retinue  of  the 
king  and  his  chief  officers.  For  to  such  a  height  was  their 
luxury  grown,  that  they  would  have  the  same  magnificence, 


MAXN^EIiS    OF    THE    ASSYRIANS,  ETC.  G35 

and  enjoy  the  same  pleasures  and  deliglits,  in  the  array,  as 
in  the  king's  court ;  so  that  in  their  wars,  the  kings  marched 
accompanied  with  their  wives,  their  concubines,  and  all  their 
eunuchs.  Their  silver  and  gold  plate,  and  all  their  rich 
furniture,  were  carried  after  them  in  prodigious  quantities ; 
and,  in  short,  all  the  equipage  and  utensils  required  in  so 
voluptuous  a  life.  An  army  composed  in  this  manner,  and 
already  clogged  witli  the  excessive  number  of  troops,  had 
the  additional  load  of  vast  multitudes  of  such  as  did  not 
fight.  In  this  confusion,  the  troops  could  not  act  in  con- 
cert ;  their  orders  never  reached  them  in  time  ;  ami  in 
action,  every  thing  went  on  at  random  as  it  were,  witliout 
the  possibility  of  any  commander's  preventing  disorder. 
Add  to  this,  the  necessity  they  were  under  of  finishing  an 
expedition  quickly,  and  of  passing  into  an  enemy's  country 
with  great  rapidity  :  because  such  a  vast  body  of  people, 
greedy  not  only  of  the  necessaries  of  life,  but  of  such  things 
also  as  were  requisite  for  luxury  and  pleasure,  consumed  all 
that  could  be  met  with  in  a  very  short  time  ;  nor  indeed  is 
it  easy  to  comprehend  from  whence  they  could  procure  sub- 
sistence. 

With  all  this  vast  train,  however,  the  Persians  astonished 
those  nations  that  were  not  more  expert  in  military  affairs 
than  themselves ;  and  many  of  those  that  even  excelled 
them,  were  yet  overcome,  being  either  weakened  or  dis- 
tressed by  their  own  divisions,  or  overpowered  by  the  ene- 
my's numbers.  By  this  means  Egypt,  as  proud  as  she  was  of 
her  antiquity,  her  Avise  institutions,  and  the  conquests  of  her 
Sesostris,  became  subject  to  the  Persians.  Nor  Avas  it  diffi- 
cult for  them  to  conquer  Lessor  Asia,  and  such  Greek 
colonies  as  the  luxury  of  Egypt  had  corrupted.  But  when 
they  came  to  engage  with  Greece  itself,  they  found  what 
tliey  had  nevei-  met  with  before,  regular  and  well-disciplined 
troops,  skilful  and  experienced  commanders,  soldiers  accus- 
tomed to  tem])erance,  whose  bodies  were  inured  to  toil  and 
labor,  and  rendered  both  robust  and  active  by  wrestling  and 
other  exercises  practised  in  that  country.  The  Grecian 
armies,  indeed,  Avere  but  small ;  but  they  were  like  those 
strong,  vigorous  bodies,  that  seem  to  be  all  nerves  and 
sinews,  and  full  of  spirits  in  every  part ;  at  the  same  time 
they  Avere  so  avcU  commanded,  and  so  prompt  in  obeying 
the  orders  of  their  generals,  that  it  seemed  as  if  all  the 
soldiers  had  been  actuated  by  one  soul,  so  perfect  a  harmony 
was  there  in  all  their  motions. 


636  ANCIENT    HISTOliY. 

ARTICLE   III. 

ARTS     AXD     SCIEXCES. 

I  do  not  pretend  to  give  an  account  of  the  eastern  poetry, 
of  which  we  know  little  more  than  what  we  find  in  the 
books  of  the  old  Testament.  Those  precious  fragments  are 
sufficient  to  let  us  know  the  origin  of  poesy,  its  true  design, 
the  use  thit  was  made  of  it  by  those  insi)ired  writers,  name- 
ly, to  celebrate  the  perfection,  and  sing  the  wonderful  works 
of  God,  as  also  the  dignity  and  sublimity  of  style  which 
ought  to  accompany  it,  adapted  to  the  majesty  of  the  sub- 
ject it  treats.  The  discourses  of  Job's  friends,  who  lived  in 
the  east,  as  he  himself  did,  and  who  were  distinguished 
among  the  Gentiles  as  much  by  their  learning  as  their  birth, 
may  likewise  give  us  some  notion  of  eastern  eloquence  in 
those  early  ages. 

"What  the  Egyptian  priests  said  of  the  Greeks  in  general, 
and  of  the  Athenians  in  i^articular,  according  to  Plato,* 
that  they  were  but  children  in  antiquity,  is  very  true  Avith 
respect  to  arts  and  sciences,  of  wliich  they  have  falsely  as- 
cribed the  invention  to  chimerical  persons,  long  posterior  to 
the  deluge.  The  Holy  Scriptures  inform  us  that,  before  that 
epoch,  God  had  discovered  to  mankind  the  art  of  tilling  and 
cultivating  the  ground ;  of  feeding  their  flocks  and  cattle, 
when  their  habitation  Avas  in  tents  ;  of  spinning  wool  and 
flax,  and  weaving  it  into  stuffs  and  linen  ;  of  forging  and 
polishing  iron  and  brass,  and  putting  them  to  numberless 
uses,  that  are  necessary  and  convenient  for  life  and  society.f 

We  learn  from  the  same  Scriptures,  that,  very  soon  after 
the  deluge,  human  industry  had  made  several  discoveries 
very  worthy  of  admiration  ;  as,  1.  The  art  of  spinning  gold 
thread,  and  of  interweaving  it  with  stuffs.  2.  That  of 
beating  gold,  and  Avith  light  thin  leaves  of  it,  to  gild  Avood 
and  other  materials.  3.  The  secret  of  casting  metals,  as 
brass,  silver,  or  gold,  and  of  making  all  sorts  of  figures  with 
them  in  imitation  of  nature  :  of  representing  different  kinds 
of  objects,  and  of  making  an  infinite  A'ariety  of  A'essels  of 
those  metals,  for  use  and  ornament.  4.  The  art  of  paint- 
ing, or  carving  upon  wood,  stone,  or  marble  ;  and,  5.  To 
name  no  more,  that  of  dying  their  silks  and  stuffs,  and 
giving  them  the  most  exquisite  and  beautiful  colors. 

•  III  TiraflBO,  p.  22.  t  Gen.  vi. 


MAXNEKS    OF    THE    ASSYBIAXS,  ETC.  637 

As  it  was  in  Asia  tliat  men  first  settled  after  the  deluge, 
it  is  easy  to  conceive  that  Asia  must  have  been  the  nurse,  as 
it  were,  of  arts  and  sciences,  the  remembrance  of  which  had 
been  preserved  by  tradition,  and  which  were  afterwards  re- 
vived and  restored,  by  means  of  men's  wants  and  necessi- 
ties, which  put  them  ujjon  all  methods  of  industry  and  ap- 
plication. 

SE(rriO]Sr  I. AKCHITECTUEE. 

Tlie  building  of  the  tower  of  Babel,  and  shortly  after,  of 
those  famous  cities,  Babylon  and  Nineveh,  which  have  been 
looked  upon  as  prodigies  ;  the  grandeur  and  magnificence  of 
royal  and  other  palaces,  divided  into  numerous  halls  and 
apartments,  and  adorned  with  every  thing  that  either  de- 
cency or  conveniency  could  require;  the  regularity  and 
symmetry  of  the  pillars  and  vaulted  roofs,  raised  and  multi- 
plied one  upon  another  ;  the  noble  gates  of  their  cities  ;  the 
breadth  and  thickness  of  their  ramparts  ;  the  height  and 
strength  of  their  towers,  their  large  and  commodious  quays 
on  the  banks  of  their  great  rivers;  hnd  their  curious  bold 
bridges  built  over  them  ;  all  these  things,  I  say,  with  many 
other  works  of  the  like  nature,  show  to  what  a  degi-ee  of  per- 
fection architecture   was  carried  in  those  ancient  times. 

Yet  I  cannot  say,  Avhethcr,  in  those  ages,  this  art  arose  to 
that  degree  of  perfection  which  it  afterwards  attained  in 
Greece  and  Italy  ;  or  whether  those  vast  structures  in  Asia 
and  Egypt,  so  much  boasted  of  by  the  ancients,  were  as  re- 
markable for  their  beauty  and  regularity,  as  they  were  for 
their  magnitude  and  s))aciousness.  Vie  hear  of  five  oi'ders 
in  architecture,  the  Tuscan,  Doric,  Ionic,  Corinthian,  and 
Composite  :  but  we  never  hear  of  an  Asiatic  or  Egyptian 
order,  which  gives  us  reason  to  doubt  Avhether  symmetry, 
measures,  and  proportion  of  pillars,  pilasters,  and  other  or- 
naments in  architecture,  were  exactly  observed  in  those  an- 
cient structures. 

SECTION  II. MUSIC. 

It  is  no  wonder,  if  in  a  country  like  Asia,  addicted  to 
voluptuous  and  luxurious  living,  music,  which  is  in  a  manner 
the  soul  of  such  enjoyments,  was  in  high  esteem,  and  culti- 
vated Avith  great  application.  The  very  names  of  the  prin- 
cipal styles  of  ancient  music,  which  the  modern  has  still  pre- 
served, namely,  the  Doric,  Phrygian,  Lydian,  Ionian,  and 
^olian,  sufficiently  indicate  the  place  where  it  had  its  origin, 


638  AiTCIKNT   HISTORY. 

or  at  least,  where  it  was  improved  and  brought  to  perfec- 
tion. We  learn  from  Holy  Scripture,  that  in  Laban's  time, 
instrumental  music  was  much  in  use  in  the  country  where 
he  dwelt,  that  is,  in  Mesopotamia;  since,  among  the  other 
reproaches  he  makes  to  his  son-in-law  Jacob,  he  complains, 
that  by  his  precipitate  flight,  he  had  put  it  out  of  his  power 
to  conduct  him  and  his  family,  "  with  mirth  and  Avith  song, 
with  tabret,  and  with  harp."  *  Among  the  booty  that  Cyrus 
had  ordered  to  be  set  apart  for  his  uncle  Cyaxares,  mention 
is  made  of  two  famous  female  musicians,!  Aery  skilful  in 
their  profession,  Avho  accompanied  a  lady  of  Susa,  and  were 
taken  prisonei-s  Avith  her.  t 

To  determine  Avhat  degree  of  perfection  music  A\'as  car- 
ried  to  by  the  ancients,  is  a  question  AAhich  Aery  much  puz- 
zles the  learned.  It  is  the  more  difficult  to  be  decided,  because 
to  determine  justly  upon  it,  it  seems  necessary  we  should 
haA'e  scA'-eral  pieces  of  music  composed  by  the  ancients,  Avith 
their  notes,  that  aa'C  might  examine  both  Avith  our  eyes  and 
our  ears.  But  unhappily,  it  is  not  Avith  music,  in  this  re- 
spect, asAA'ith  ancient  sculpture  and  poetry,  of  Avhich  AA-ehave 
80  many  noble  monuments  remaining;  AAdiereas,  on  the  con- 
trary, Ave  have  not  any  one  piece  of  their  composition  in  the 
other  science,  by  Avhich  we  can  form  a  certain  judgment  of 
it,  and  determine  Avhether  the  music  of  the  ancients  Avas  as 
perfect  as  ours. 

It  is  generally  alloAved,  that  the  ancients  Avere  acquainted 
Avith  the  triple  symphony,  that  is,  the  harmony  of  voices, 
that  of  instruments,  and  that  of  A'oices  and  instruments  in 
concert. 

It  is  also  agreed,  that  they  excelled  in  Avhat  relates  to 
rhythmus.  What  is  meant  by  rhythmus,  is  the  assemblage 
or  union  of  various  times  in  music,  AA^hich  are  joined  together 
with  a  certain  order,  and  in  certain  proportions.  To  under- 
stand this  definition,  it  is  to  be  observed,  that  the  music  Ave 
are  speaking  of,  was  ahvays  set  and  sung  to  the  Avords  of 
certain  Acrses,  in  Avhich  every  sylliible  was  distinguished  into 
long  and  short ;  that  the  short  syllable  Avas  i)ronounced  as 
quick  again  as  the  long;  that  therefore  the  former  Avas  reck- 
oned to  make  iip  but  one  time,  Avliile  the  latter  made  up  tAvo ; 
and  consequently,  the  sound  Avhich  ansAvered  to  this  Avas  to 
continue  tAvice  as  long  as  the  sound  Avhich  ansAvered  to  the 
other ;  or,  AA'hich  is  the  same  thing,  it  Avas  to  consist  of  tAVO 
times  or  measures,  Avhile  the  other  comprehended  but  one  ; 

•  Geil.  XXX'i.  'Si,  t  Mouo-oi'pvoirS  Mio  7a«  (cpona-xas.  X  Cyrop.  1.  iv.  p.  113. 


MANNERS    OF    THE    ASSYRIANS,  ETC.  639 

that  the  verses  which  were  sung  consisted  of  a  certain  num- 
ber of  feet,  formed  by  the  different  combinations  of  these 
long  and  short  syllables ;  and  that  the  ]-hythmvis  of  the  son^ 
regularly  followed  the  march  of  these  feet.  As  these  feet,  of 
whatever  nature  or  extent,  were  always  divided  into  two 
equal  or  unequal  parts,  of  which  the  former  was  called  oprrcc, 
elevation  or  rising,  and  the  latter  ■'-'sV!?,  depres'sing  or  falling ; 
so  the  rhythmus  of  the  song,  which  answered  to  every  one 
of  these  feet,  was  divided  into  two  parts  equally  or  unequally 
by  what  we  now  call  a  beat,  and  rest  or  intermission.  The 
scrupulous  regard  the  ancients  had  to  the  quantity  of  their 
syllables  in  their  vocal  music,  made  their  rhythmus  much 
more  perfect  and  regular  than  ours:  for  our  poetry  is  not 
formed  upon  the  measure  of  long  and  short  syllables  ;  but, 
nevertheless,  a  skilful  musician  among  us  may  in  some  man- 
ner express,  by  the  length  of  the  soiinds,  the  quantity  of 
every  syllable.  This  account  of  the  rhythmus  of  the  an- 
cients I  have  copied  from  one  of  the  dissertations  of  Monsieur 
Burette ;  which  I  have  done  out  of  regard  for  young  stu- 
dents, to  whom  this  little  explanation  may  be  of  great  use 
for  the  understanding  of  several  passages  in  ancient  authors. 
1  now  return  to  my  subject. 

The  principal  point  in  dispute  among  the  learned,  con- 
cerning the  music  of  the  ancients,  is,  to  know  whether  they 
understood  music  in  several  parts  ;  that  is,  a  comp^osition 
consisting  of  several  parts,  and  in  which  all  those  cliff ej-ent 
parts  form  each  by  itself  a  complete  piece,  and  at  the  same 
time  have  a  harmonious  connection,  as  it  is  in  our  counter- 
point or  concert,  Avhether  simple  or  compounded. 

If  the  reader  be  curious  to  knoAv  more  concerning  this 
matter,  and  Avhatever  else  relates  to  the  music  of  the  ancients, 
I  refer  him  to  the  learned  dissertations  of  the  above-men- 
tioned M.  Burette,  inserted  in  the  3d,  4th,  and  5th  volumes 
of  the  memoirs  of  the  Royal  Academy  des  JBelles  Lettres, 
Avhich  show  the  profound  erudition  and  exquisite  taste  of  that 
writer. 

SECTION  in. PHYSIC. 

"We  likewise  discover,  in  those  early  times,  the  origin  of 
physic,  the  beginnings  of  which,  as  of  all  other  arts  and 
sciences,  Avere  very  rude  and  imperfect.  Herodotus,  and 
after  him  Strabo,  observe,  that  it  was  a  general  custom 
among  the  Babylonians,  to  expose  their  sick  persons  to  the 
view  of  passengers,  in  order  to  learn  from  them  whether 
they  had  been  afflicted  with  the  like  distemper,  and  by  what 


640  AXCIENT    HISTORY. 

remedies  tliey  liad  been  cured.*  From  hence  severed  people 
have  pretended,  that  physic  is  nothing  else  than  a  conjec- 
tural and  experimental  science,  entirely  resulting  from  ob- 
servations made  upon  the  nature  of  different  diseases,  and 
upon  such  things  as  are  conducive  or  ])rejudicial  to  health. 
It  must  be  confessed,  that  exjjerience  will  go  a  great  way ; 
but  that  alone* is  not  sufficient.  The  famous  Hippocrates 
made  great  use  of  it  in  his  practice  ;  but  he  did  not  entirely 
rely  upon  it.  The  custom  was,  in  those  days,  for  all  persons 
that  had  been  sick,  and  Avere  cured,  to  put  up  a  tablet  dedi- 
cated to  iEsculapius,  wherein  tliey  gave  an  account  of  tlie 
remedies  that  had  restored  them  to  health. t  That  cele- 
brated physician  caused  all  these  inscriptions  and  memorials 
to  be  copied  out,  which  were  of  great  advantage  to  him. 

Physic,  was,  even  in  the  time  of  the  Trojan  war,  in  great 
use  and  esteem,  t  vEsculaj)ius,  who  flourished  at  that  time, 
is  looked  upon  as  the  inventor  of  that  art,  and  had  even 
then  brought  it  to  great  perfection  by  his  profound  knowl^ 
edge  in  botany,  by  his  great  skill  in  medicinal  preparations 
and  chirurgical  operations  ;  for  in  those  days  these  several 
branches  were  not  separated  from  one  another,  but  were  all 
included  under  the  denomination  of  Physic. 

The  two  sons  of  JEsculapius,  Podalirius  and  Machaon, 
who  commanded  a  certain  number  of  troops  at  the  siege  of 
Troy,  were  botli  most  excellent  ph3^sicians  and  brave  officers, 
and  rendered  as  much  service  to  the  Greci.m  army  by  their 
skill  in  their  medical,  as  they  did  by  their  courage  and  con- 
duct in  their  military  capacity.  §  Nor  did  Achilles  himself, 
or  even  Alexander  the  Great,  in  after-times,  think  the  knowl- 
edge of  this  science  improper  for  a  general,  or  beneath  his 
dignity.  II  On  the  contrary,  he  learned  it  himself  of  Chiron, 
the  centaur,  and  afterwards  instructed  his  friend  Patroclus 
in  it,  who  did  not  disdain  to  exercise  tlie  art,  in  healing  the 
wound  of  Eurypilus.  This  wound  he  healed  by  the  applica- 
tion of  a  certain  root,  which  immediately  assuaged  the  ])ain, 
and  stopped  the  bleeding.  Botany,  or  that  part  of  pliysic 
which  treats  of  herbs  and  plants,  was  very  much  known,  and 
almost  the  only  branch  of  the  science  used  in.  those  early 
times.  Virgil,  speaking  of  a  celebrated  physician,  who  was 
instructed  in  his  art  by  Apollo  himself,  seems  to  confine  that 
profession  to  the  knowledge  of  simples  :  Scire potestates  her- 
oarum,  ttsumque  medendi  maluit.^   It  was  nature  itself  that 

*  Herod.  1. 1.  c.  197.    Strab.  1.  16,  p.  74f.. 

t  Pliii.  1.  xxix.  c.  1.     Stmh.  1.  viii.  p.  374.  t  Oio-l.  1.  v.  p.  .341. 

§  Horn.  Iliad,  1.  x.  v.  821-&47.        H  I'lut.  in  Alex.  j>.  608.        t  ^Eii.  1.  xii.  v.  ajfi. 


MAXXEKS    OF    THE    ASSYRIANS,  ETC.  641 

offered  those  innocent  and  salutary  remedies,  and  seemed  to 
invite  mankind  to  make  use  of  them.  Tlieir  gardens,  fields, 
and  woods  supplied  them  with  an  infinite  plenty  and  va- 
riety.* As  yet  no  use  was  made  of  minerals,  treacles,  and 
other  compositions,  since  discovered  by  closer  and  moi'e  in- 
quisitive rese;irches  into  nature.! 

Pliny  says,  th.it  ])hysic,  brought  by  ^sculajiius  into 
great  reputation  about  the  time  of  the  Trojan  war,  was  soon 
after  neglected  and  K)st,  and  lay  in  a  manner  buried  in 
darkness  till  tlic  time  of  the  Poloponnesian  war,  when  it  was 
revived  by  Hippocrates,  and  restored  to  its  ancient  honor 
and  credit,  t  This  may  be  true  with  respect  to  Greece ; 
but  in  Persia  Ave  find  it  always  cultivated,  and  constantly 
held  in  great  reputation.  The  great  Cyrus,  as  is  observed 
by  Xenophon,  never  failed  to  take  a  certain  number  oi  ex- 
cellent physicians  along  with  liini  in  the  army,  rewarding 
them  very  liberally,  and  treating  them  with  particular  re- 
gard. §  He  farther  remarks,  that  in  this,  Cyrus  only  fol- 
lowed a  custom  that  had  been  anciently  established  among 
their  generals  ;  and  that  the  younger  Cyrus  acted  in  the 
same  manner.  || 

It  must  nevertheless  be  acknowledged,  that  it  was  Hip- 
pocrates who  carried  this  science  to  its  highest  perfection  : 
and  though  it  is  certain,  that  several  improvements  and  new 
discoveries  have  been  made  in  that  art  since  his  time,  yet  he 
is  still  looked  upon,  by  the  ablest  physicians,  as  the  first  and 
chief  master  of  the  faculty,  and  as  the  person  whose  writings 
ought  to  be  the  chief  study  of  those  who  would  distinguish 
themselves  in  that  profession. 

Men  thus  qualified,  who,  besides  their  having  studied 
the  most  celebrated  physicians,  as  well  ancient  as  modern, 
besides  the  knowledge  they  have  acquired  of  the  virtues  of 
simples,  the  principles  of  natural  philosophy,  and  the  con- 
stitution and  contexture  of  human  bodies,  have  had  a  long 
practice  and  experience,  and  to  that  have  added  their  own 
serious  reflections  ;  such  men  as  these,  in  a  well-ordered 
state,  deserve  to  be  highly  rewarded  and  distinguished,  as 
the  Holy  Spirit  itself  signifies  to  us  in  the  sacred  writings  : 
"  The  skill  of  the  physician  shall  lift  up  his  head ;  and  in  the 
sight  of  great  men  he  shall  be  in  admiration  ; "  IF  since 
all  their  labors,  lucubrations,  and  Avatchings,  are  devoted 
to   the  people's  health,  which  of  all  human  blessings  is  the 

*  Plin.  1.  xxvi.  c.  1.  t  Plin.  1.  xxiv.  c.  7.  t  Uh.  xxix.  c.  9. 

§  Cyrop.  1.  i,  p.  20,  et  1.  viii.  p.  2i2.  ||  De  Exped.  Cyr.  1.  ii.  p.  311. 

Tf  Eccles.  XXX  viii.  3. 

41 


642  AXCIEXT    HISTORY. 

dearest  and  most  valuable.  And  yet  this  blessing  is  what 
mankind  are  the  least  careful  to  preserve.  They  do  not  onlv 
destroy  it  by  riot  and  excess,  but,  through  a  blind  credulity, 
they  foolishly  intrust  it  with  persons  of  no  skill  or  experi- 
ence, who  impose  upon  them  by  their  imprudence  and  pre- 
sumption, or  seduce  them  by  their  flattering  assurances  of 
infallible  recovery.* 

SECTIOX    IV. ASTRONOMY. 

As  much  as  the  Grecians  desired  to  be  esteemed  the 
authors  and  inventors  of  all  arts  and  sciences,  they  could 
never  ;  bsolutely  deny  the  Babylonians  the  honor  of  having 
laid  the  foundations  of  astronomy.  The  advantageous  situ;<- 
tion  of  Babylon,  which  was  built  upon  a  wide  extended  flat 
v^ountry,  where  no  mountains  bounded  the  prospect ;  the 
constant  clearness  and  serenity  of  the  air  in  that  country,  so 
favorable  to  the  free  contemplation  of  the  heavens  ;  per- 
haps also  the  extraordinary  height  of  the  tower  of  Babel, 
Avhich  seemed  to  be  intended  for  an  observatory  ;  all  these 
circumstances  were  strong  motives  to  engage  these  people 
in  a  more  nice  observation  of  the  various  motions  of  the 
heavenly  bodies  and  the  regular  course  of  the  stars. f  The 
abbe  Renaudot,  in  his  Dissertation  upon  the  Sphere,  ob- 
serves, that  the  plain  which  in  Scripture  is  called  Shinar, 
and  in  which  Babylon  stood,  is  the  same  that  is  called  by 
the  Arabians  Sinjar,  where  the  caliph  Almamon,  the  seventh 
of  the  Habbassides,  in  whose  reign  the  sciences  began  to 
flourish  among  the  Arabians,  caused  tlie  astronomical  ob- 
servations to  be  made,  which  for  several  ages  directed  all 
the  astronomers  of  Europe  ;  and  that  the  sultan  Gelaleddin 
Melikschah,  the  third  of  the  Seljukides,  caused  a  course  of 
the  like  observations  to  be  made,  near  three  hundred  years 
afterwards,  in  the  same  place :  from  whence  it  a])pears,  that 
this  place  was  always  reckoned  one  of  the  most  suitable  in 
the  world  for  astronomical  observations,  i 

The  ancient  Babylonians  could  not  have  carried  theirs 
to  any  great  perfection,  for  want  of  the  help  of  telescopes, 
which  are  of  modern  invention,  and  have  greatly  contributed 
of  late  years  to  render  our  astronomical  inquiries  more  per- 

*  Palam  est,  ctquisque  inter  istos  loquenJo  poUeat,  Iniperatorem  illico  vit«B 
nostr£e  jietisque  tieii. — Ad  eo  blaiida  estsperandi  pro  se  cuique  dulcedo. — Plin.  1. 
xxix.  c.  1. 

1  A  principio  Assyrii  propter  plauitiem  magnitudiiiemque  regionumquas  iii- 
colebant,  cum  coBlum  ex  omne  parte  patens  et  apertum  intuerentur,  trajeetiones 
motiisque  stellarum  observavernnt. — Cic.  lib.  i.  de  Divin.  n.  2- 

t  Memoirs  of  the  Academy  des  Belles  Lettres,  Vol.  I.  Part.  ii.  p.  2 


MANNERS    OF    THE    ASSYRIANS,  ETC.  643 

feet  and  exact.  Whatever  they  wei-e,  they  have  not  come 
down  to  us.  Epigenes,  a  great  and  credible  author,  accord- 
ing to  Pliny,  speaks  of  observations  made  for  the  space 
of  seven  hundred  and  twenty  years,  and  imprinted  upon 
squares  of  brick :  which  if  it  be  true,  must  reach  back  to  a 
very  early  antiquity.*  Those  of  which  Calisthenes,  a  phi- 
losopher in  Alexander's  court,  makes  mention,  and  of  which 
he  give  Aristotle  an  account,  include  1903  years,  and  con- 
sequently must  commence  very  near  the  deluge,  and  the 
time  of  Nimrod's  building  the  city  of  Babylon. f 

We  are  cei'tainly  under  great  obligations,  for  which  our 
acknowledgments  are  due,  to  the  labors  and  curious  inquiries 
of  those  Avho  have  contributed  to  the  discovery  or  improve- 
ment of  so  useful  a  science  ;  a  science  not  only  of  great  service 
to  agriculture  and  navigation,  by  the  knowledge  it  gives  us  of 
the  regular  course  of  the  stars,  and  of  the  wonderful,  constant, 
and  uniform  ])roportion  of  days,  months,  seasons,  and  years, 
but  even  to  religion  itself ;  with  which,  as  Plato  shows,  the 
study  of  that  science  has  a  very  close  and  necessary  connec- 
tion ;  as  it  directly  tends  to  inspire  us  with  great  reverence 
for  the  Deity,  who,  with  an  infinite  wisdom,  presides  over 
the  government  of  the  uniA^erse,  and  is  present  and  attentive 
to  all  our  actions.  |  But,  at  the  same  time,  we  cannot  suf- 
ficiently deplore  the  misfortune  of  those  very  philosophers, 
who,  by  their  successful  application  and  astronomical  in- 
quiries, came  very  near  the  Creator,  and  were  yet  so  un- 
happy as  not  to  find  him,  because  they  did  not  serve  and 
adore  him  as  they  ought  to  do,  nor  govern  their  actions  by 
the  rules  and  directions  of  the  divine  model.  § 

SECTION    V. JUDICIAL    ASTROLOGY. 

As  to  the  Babylonian  and  other  eastern  ])hilosophers,  the 
study  of  the  heavenly  bodies  was  so  far  from  leading  th-em,  as 
it  ought  to  have  done,  to  the  knowledge  of  Him  who  is  both 
their  Creator  and  Governor,  that  for  the  most  jjart  it  carried 
them  into  impious  practices,  and  the  extravagances  of  judi- 
cial astrology.  So  we  term  that  deceitful  and  presumptu- 
ous science,  which  pretends  to  judge  of  things  to  come  by 
the  knowledge  of  the  stars,  and  to  foretell  events  by  the 
situation  of  the  planets,  and  by  their  different   aspects.     A 

*  Plin.  Hist.  Nat,  1.  vii.  c.  56.        t  Porphyr.  apud.  Simplic.  in  1.  ii.  de  coelo. 

t  III  Epinoin.  pp.  989-992. 

§  Ma  ;na  industria,  magna  solertia  :  sed  ibi  Oreatorem  scrutatl  sunt  positum 
non  longe  <'i  se,  et  iion  iVivenerunt— quia  quaarere  neglexerunt. — August.  d« 
Verb.  Evang.  Matth.  Serm.  Ixviii.  c  1. 


644  ANCIENT    HISTORY. 

science  justly  looked  upon  as  a  madness  and  folly  by  all  the 
most  sensible  writers  among  the  pagans  themselves.  O  de- 
lirationem  incredlbilem  !  cries  Cicero,  in  refuting  the  extrav- 
agant opinions  of  those  astrologers,  frequently  called  Chah 
deans,  from  the  country  that  first  ])roduced  them  ;  who,  in 
consequence  of  the  observations  made,  as  they  affirmed,  by 
their  |)redecessors  upon  all  past  events  for  the  si)ace  only  of 
four  hundred  and  seventy  thousand  years,  pretend  to  know 
assuredly,  by  the  as])ect  and  combination  of  the  stars  and 
planets,  at  the  instant  of  a  child's  birth,  what  would  be  his 
genius,  temper,  manners,  the  constitution  of  his  body,  his 
actions,  and,  in  a  word,  all  the  events,  with  the  duration  of 
his  life.  He  details  a  tliousand  absurdities  of  this  opinion, 
which  are  sufficient  to  expose  it  to  ridicule  and  contempt ; 
and  asks,  why  of  all  that  vast  number  of  children  that  are 
born  in  the  same  momejit,  and  without  doubt  exactly  under 
the  aspect  of  the  same  stars,  there  are  not  two  of  them 
whose  lives  and  fortunes  resemble  each  other  ?  He  puts 
this  farther  question,  whether  that  great  number  of  men  that 
perished  at  the  battle  of  Canna3,  and  died  of  one  and  the 
same  death,  wei'e  all  born  under  the  same  constellations?* 

It  is  hardly  credible,  that  so  absurd  an  art,  founded  en- 
tirely upon  fraud  and  impoaturCi/rauduIeMtissima  artium,  as 
Pliny  calls  it,  should  ever  acquire  so  much  credit  as  this  has 
done,  throughout  the  Avhole  world  and  in  all  ages.  What 
has  supported  and  brought  it  into  such  repute,  continues 
that  author,  is  the  natural  cui'iosity  men  have  to  penetrate 
into  futurity,  and  to  know  beforehand  the  things  that  are  to 
befall  them:  Nidlo  non  avido  futura  dese  sciendi ;  attend- 
ed with  a  superstitious  credulity,  which  is  agreeably  flattered 
with  the  grateful  and  magnificent  ])romises  of  which  those 
fortune-tellers  are  never  sparing.  Ita  blandissimis  desidera- 
tissimisque  j)romissis  addidit  vires  religionis^  ad  quas  max- 
ime  etiamnuin  caligat  humanimi  ffemis.'f 

Modern  writers,  and  among  others,  two  of  our  greatest 
philosophers,  Gassendi  and  Rohault,  liave  inveighed  against 
the  folly  of  that  j)retended  science,  with  the  same  energy, 
and  have  demonstrated  it  to  be  equally  void  of  principle 
and  experience,  t 

As  for  its  principles.  Tlie  heavens,  according  to  the  sys- 
tem of  the  astrologers,  are  divided  into  tAvelve  equal  parts  ; 
which  parts  are  taken,  not  according  to  the  poles   of   the 

•  Lib.  ii.  de  Div.  n.  87,  99.  1  Plin.  Prooem.  1.  xxx. 

t  Gaeseiidi  Pbys.  sect.  ii.  1.  6.    Rohault's  Phys.  part  ii-  ch.  27. 


MAXJiTERS    OF    THE    ASSYEIAXS,  ETC.  G45 

world,  but  according  to  those  of  the  zodiac  :  these  twelve 
parts  or  proportions  of  heaven,  have  each  of  them  its  attril)- 
ute,  as  riches,  knowledge,  parentage,  etc.  The  most  impor- 
tant and  decisive  portion  is  that  whicli  is  next  imder  the 
horizon,  and  which  is  called  the  ascendant,  because  it  is 
ready  to  ascend  and  appear  above  the  horizon  when  a  man 
6omes  into  the  world.  The  planets  are  divided  into  the 
propitious,  the  malignant,  and  the  mixed  :  the  aspects  of 
these  planets,  which  are  only  certain  distances  from  one  an- 
other, are  likcAvise  either  happy  or  unhappy.  I  say  nothing  of 
several  other  hypotheses,  v/hich  are  all  equally  arbitrary  ; 
and  I  ask,  whether  any  man  of  common  sense  can  believe 
them  u])on  the  bare  words  of  these  impostures,  without  any 
proofs,  or  even  without  the  least  shadow  of  probability? 
Tlie  critical  moment,  and  that  on  which  all  their  2)redictions 
depend,  is  that  of  the  birth.  And  why  not  as  Avell  the  mo- 
ment of  conception  ?  Why  have  the  stars  no  influence  dur- 
ing the  nine  months  of  pregnancy  ?  Or  is  it  2:)OSsible,  con- 
sidering the  incredible  rapidity  of  the  heavenly  bodies,  ahvays 
to  be  sxn-e  of  hitting  the  ]>recise  determinate  moment,  with- 
out the  least  variation,  more  or  less,  which  is  sufficient  to 
overthrow  all?  A  thousand  other  objections  of  the  same 
kind  might  be  made,  which  are  altogetlier  unanswerable. 

As  for  experience,  they  have  still  less  reason  to  flattei* 
themselves  on  tliat  side.  Whatever  they  have  of  that,  nmst 
consist  in  observations  founded  ujion  events  that  have  always 
come  to  ]3ass  in  the  same  manner,  whenever  the  planets 
were  found  in  the  same  situation.  JSTo^r,  it  is  unanimously 
agreed  by  astronomers,  that  several  thousand  years  must 
pass  before  any  such  situation  of  the  stars  as  they  would 
imagine,  can  twice  happen  ;  and  it  is  very  certain,  that  the 
state  in  which  tlie  lieavens  will  be  to-morrow,  has  never  yet 
been  since  the  creation  of  the  world.  The  reader  may  consult 
the  two  philosophers  above  mentioned,  particularly  Gassen- 
di,  who  has  more  copiously  treated  this  subject.  But  such, 
and  no  better,  are  the  foundations  upon  which  the  whole 
structure  of  judicial  astrology  is  built. 

But  what  is  astonishbig,  and  argues  an  absolute  want 
of  reason,  is,  that  certain  pretended  wits,  Avho  obstinately 
harden  themselves  against  the  most  convicting  proofs  of  re- 
ligion, and  who  refuse  to  believe  even  the  clearest  and  most 
certain  prophecies  ujion  the  word  of  God,  do  sometimes 
give  entire  credit  to  the  vain  predictions  of  those  astrologers 
and  imjjostors. 


646  AKCIEXT    HISTORY. 

St.  Austin,  in  several  passages  of  his  writings,  informs 
us,  that  this  stuj^id  and  sacrilegious  credulity  is  a  just  chas- 
tisement from  God,  Avho  frequently  punishes  the  voluntary 
blindness  of  men,  by  inflicting  a  still  greater  blindness  ;  and 
who  suffers  ca^I  spirits,  that  they  may  keep  tlieir  servants 
still  more  in  their  nets,  sometimes  to  foretell  things  which 
do  really  come  to  pass,  and  of  which  the  expectation  very 
often  serves  only  to  torment  them.* 

God,  who  alone  foresees  futui-e  contingencies  and  events, 
because  he  alone  is  the  soA'ereign  disposer  and  director  of 
them,  does  often  in  Scripture  revile  the  ignorance  of  the 
Bibylonian  astrologers,  so  much  boasted  of,  calling  them 
foi-gers  of  lies  and  falsehood  :  he  moreover  defies  all  tlie 
false  gods  to  foretell  any  thing  whatever  ;  consents,  if  they 
do,  that  they  should  be  worshipped  as  gods.  Tlien  address- 
ing himself  to  the  city  of  Babylon,  he  particuku-ly  declak's 
all  the  circumstances  of  the  miseries  Avith  which  she  shall 
be  overwhelmed,  above  tAvo  hundred  years  after  that  pre- 
diction"; and  that  none  of  her  prognosticators,  Avho  had 
flattered  her  Aviththe  assurances  of  a  perpetual  grandeur  they 
pretended  to  have  read  in  the  stars,  should  be  able  to  aA^ert 
the  judgment,  or  even  to  foresee  the  time  of  its  accomplish- 
ment.f  Indeed,  how  should  they  ?  since  at  the  A'cry  time 
of  its  execution,  AA^hen  Belshazzar,  the  last  king  of  Babylon, 
saw  a  hand  come  out  of  the  Avail,  and  AArite  unknoAvn  char- 
actei'S  thereon,  tlie  Magi,  Chaldeans,  and,  in  a  Avord,  all  the 
pretended  sages  of  the  country,  were  not  able  so  much  as  to 
read  the  Avriting.  %  Here,  then,  we  see  astrology  and 
magic  conA-icted  of  ignorance  and  impotence,  in  the  very 
place  Avhere  they  AAcre  most  in  practice,  and  on  an  occa- 
sion when  it  was  certainly  their  interest  to  display  their 
science  and  whole  poAver. 

*  His  omnibus  consideratis,  jion  immerito  creditur,  cum  astrologi  mirabiliter 
multa  vera  respondent,  oceulio  instinetu  fieri  spirituum  ^wn  bonoruni,  quorum 
cura  est  lias  falsas  et  noxias  opiniones  de  astralibus  fatis  inserere  ]iumaids  nion- 
tibas  atque  firmare,  iion  boroscopi  notati  etinspecti  aliqua  arte,  qua)  nulla  est.-- 
De.  C  V.  Dei,  1.  v.  c.  7. 

t  "  Therefore  shall  evil  come  uiwn  thee,  thou  shalt  not  know  from  whence 
Itriseth  :  and  mischief  hhall  tall  upon  thee.tliou  shalt  not  be  able  to  put  it  off: 
and  desolation  shall  come  upon  thee  suddenly,  which  thou  slialt  not  know. 
Stand  now  with  thine  enchantments,  and  witii  the  multitude  of  thy  sorceries, 
wherein  thou  hast  labored  from  thy  youth  :  if  so  be.  thou  shalt  be  able  to  profit, 
if  so  be.  thou  mayest  prevail.  Thou  a -t  wearied  in  the  multitude  of  thy  coun- 
sels ;  let  now  the  astrologers,  the  star-gazers,  the  prognosticators,  stand  up,  and 
savg  tlxee  from  these  things  that  shall  come  upon  iliee.  Behold,  they  shall  be  aa 
stubble  :  the  lire  shall  burn  iliem  :  they  shall  not  deliver  theius(dve-i  from  the 
power  of  the  flame."— Isa.  xlvii.  11-14.  t  Dan.  v.  2. 


MANNERS    OP    THE    ASSYRIANS,  ETC.  647 

ARTICLE  IV. 

RELIGION. 

The  most  authentic  and  general  idolatry  in  the  world,  is 
that  wherein  the  sun  and  moon  were  the  objects  of  divine 
worship.  This  idolatry  was  founded  upon  a  mistaken  grat- 
itude ;  which,  instead  of  ascending  up  to  the  Deity,  stopped 
short  at  the  veil,  which  both  covered  and  discovered  him. 
With  the  least  reflection  or  penetration,  they  might  have  dis- 
cerned the  Sovereign  who  commanded,  from  the  minister 
who  did  but  obey.* 

In  all  ages,  mankind  have  been  sensibly  convinced  of  the 
necessity  of  an  intercourse  between  God  and  man  ;  and 
adoration  supposes  God  to  be  both  attentive  to  man's  de- 
sires, and  capable  of  fulfilling  them.  But  the  distance  of 
the  sun  and  of  the  moon  is  an  obstacle  to  this  intercourse. 
Therefore,  foolish  men  endeavor  to  remedy  this  inconve- 
nience, by  laying  their  hands  upon  their  mouths,  and  then 
lifting  them  up  in  order  to  testify  that  they  would  be  glad 
to  unite  themselves  to  those  false  gods,  but  that  they  could 
not.t  This  was  that  impious  custom  so  prevalent  through- 
out all  the  East,  from  which  Job  esteemed  himself  happy  to 
have  been  preserved  :  "  If  I  beheld  the  sun  Avhen  it  shined, 
or  the  moon  walking  in  brightness,  and  my  heart  hath  been 
secretly  enticed,  or  my  mouth  hath  kissed  my  hand."  t 

The  Persians  adored  the  sun,  and  particularly  the  rising 
sun,  with  the  most  profound  veneration,  to  whom  they  ded- 
icated a  magnificent  chariot,  with  horses  of  the  greatest 
beauty  and  value,  as  we  have  seen  in  Cyrus's  stately  caval- 
cade. §  (This  same  ceremony  was  practised  by  the  Babyloni- 
ans ;  of  whom  some  impious  kings  of  Judah  borrowed  it,  and 
brought  it  into  Palestine.)  Sometimes  they  likewise  sacri- 
ficed oxen  to  this  god,  who  was  very  much  known  among 
them  by  the  name  of  Mithra.  || 

By  a  natural  consequence  of  the  worship  they  paid  to 
the  sun,  they  likewise  paid  a  particular  veneration  to  fire, 
always  invoked  it  first  in  the  sacrifices, IT  carried  it  with 

*  Among  the  Hebrews,  the  ordinary  iiiime  for  the  sun  signifies  a  minister. 

t  SuperstitioHus  vulgus  manum  oil  adinoveiis,  osculum  labiis  pressit. — Miuuc. 
p.  2.  From  thence  coinea  the  word  adorare ;  that  is  to  say,  ad  os  manum  ad- 
mover  <■. 

t  The  text  is  a  kind  of  oath,  Job.  xxxi.  26,  27  §  Her.  1.  i.  c.  131. 

U  II.  Kings  xxiii.  11.    Strab.  1.  xv.  p.  732.  t  Ibid. 


648  ANCIENT    HISTORY. 

gi-eat  respect  before  the  king  in  all  his  marches  ;  intrusted 
the  keeping  of  their  sacred  fire,  which  came  down  from 
heaven,  as  they  pretended,  to  none  but  the  Magi  ;  and 
would  have  looked  upon  it  as  the  greatest  of  misfortunes,  if 
it  had  been  suffered  to  go  out.*  History  informs  us,  that 
the  emperor  Ileraclius,  when  he  was  at  war  with  the  Per- 
sians, demolished  several  of  their  temples,  and  particularly 
the  chapel  in  which  the  sacred  fire  had  been  preserved  till 
that  time,  which  occasioned  great  mourning  and  lamenta- 
tion throughout  the  whole  country. f  The  Persians  like- 
wise honored  water,  the  earth,  and  the  winds,  as  so  many 
deities.  :J: 

The  cruel  ceremony  of  causing  children  to  pass  through 
the  fire,  was  undoubtedly  a  consequence  of  the  worship  jiaid 
to  that  element ;  for  this  fire-worship  was  common  to  the 
Babylonians  and  Persians.  The  Scripture  positively  says  of 
the  people  of  Mesopotamia,  who  were  sent  as  a  colony  into 
the  country  of  the  Samaritans,  that  "  they  caused  their 
children  to  pass  through  the  fire."  It  is  well  known  how 
common  this  barbarous  custom  became,  in  many  provinces 
of  Asia. 

Besides  these,  the  Persians  had  two  gods  of  a  more 
extraordinary  nature,  namel}',  Oromasdes  and  Arimanius.  § 
The  former  they  looked  upon  as  the  author  of  all  the  bless- 
ings and  good  things  that  happened  to  them  ;  and  the  latter 
as  the  author  of  all  the  evils  wherewith  they  were  aflflicted. 
I  shall  give  a  large  account  of  these  deities  hereafter. 

The  Persians  erected  neither  statues  nor  temples,  nor 
altars  to  their  gods,  but  offered  their  sacrifices  in  the  open 
air,  and  generally  on  the  tops  of  hills,  or  on  high  places.  || 
It  was  in  the  open  fields  that  Cyrus  acquitted  himself  of 
that  religious  duty,  when  he  made  the  pompous  and  solemn 
procession  already  spoken  of.H  It  is  supposed  to  have  been 
through  the  advice  and  instigation  of  the  Magi,  that  Xerxes, 
the  Persian  khig,  burnt  all  the  Grecian  temples,  esteeming 
it  injurious  to  the  majesty  of  God,  to  shut  him  iip  within 
walls,  to  whom  all  things  are  open  and  to  whom  the  whole 
world  should  be  reckoned  as  a  house  or  a  temi)le.** 

Cicero  thinks,  that  in  this  the  Greeks  and  Romans  acted 
more  wisely  than  the  Persians,  in  that  they  erected  temples 

*  Xen.  Cyrop.  1.  v'.ii.  215.    Am.  Mar.  1.  xxlii.  t  Zouar.  Aiinal.  Vol.  II. 

t  Her.  1.  i.  c.  131.  §Plut.  in  lib.  <le  Irfd.  et  Osiiid.  p.  S69. 

II  Herod.  1.  i.  c.  ir.l.  t  Cyrop.  1.  viil.  p.  2:!3. 

*»  Auctoribns  Jlar'is  Xcrxc  ••  i.ifl;inima;;seteinpla  Gra  cijB  diciuiv.  qnod  parie* 
tibus  incltiileruHt  ileos.  quibus  omnia  dei  ereiit  esse  pater.tia  ac  libera,  quorum- 
que  hio  muudus  omnis  t«mpluia  esset  et  I'-omus. — Cic.  lib.  ii.  de  Leylb. 


MANNERS    OF    THE    ASSYRIANS,  ETC.  649 

within  their  cities,  and  thereby  supposed  their  gods  to  reside 
among  them,  which  was  a  proper  way  to  inspire  the  people 
with  sentiments  of  religion  and  piety.*  Varro  was  not  of 
the  same  opinion  :  St.  Austin  has  preserved  that  passage  of 
his  works. t  After  having  observed,  that  the  Romans  had 
worshipped  their  gods  without  statues  or  images  for  above 
a  hundred  and  seventy  years,  he  adds,  that,  if  they  had  still 
preserved  that  ancient  custom,  their  religion  would  have 
been  the  more  pure  and  free  from  corruption ;  Quod  si 
adhuc  mansisset,  castius  dii  ohservarentur  ;  and  to  confirm 
his  sentiment,  he  cites  the  example  of  the  Jewish  nation. 

The  laws  of  Persia  suffered  no  man  to  confine  the  motive 
of  his  sacrifices  to  any  private  or  domestic  interest.  This 
was  a  fine  way  of  attaching  all  particular  persons  to  the 
public  good,  by  teaching  them  that  they  ought  never  to 
sacrifice  for  themselves  only,  but  for  the  king  and  the  whole 
state,  wherein  every  man  was  comprehended  with  the  rest 
of  his  fellow-citizens. 

The  Magi  were  the  guardians  of  all  the  ceremonies  re- 
lating to  their  worship;  and  it  was  to  them  the  people  had 
recourse,  in  order  to  be  instructed  therein,  and  to  know  on 
what  days,  to  what  gods,  and  after  what  manner,  they  were 
to  offer  their  sacrifices.  As  these  Magi  were  all  of  one 
tribe,  and  as  none  but  the  son  of  a  priest  could  pretend  to 
the  honor  of  the  j^riesthood,  they  kept  all  their  learniiig  and 
knowledge,  whether  in  religious  or  political  concerns,  to 
themselves  and  their  families  ;  nor  was  it  lawful  for  them  to 
instruct  any  strangers  in  these  matters,  without  the  king's 
permission.  It  was  granted  in  favor  of  Themistocles,  and 
was,  according  to  Plutarch,  a  particular  effect  of  the  prince's 
great  consideration  for  that  distinguished  person.  X 

This  knowledge  and  skill  in  religious  matters,  which 
made  Plato  define  magic,  or  the  learning  of  the  Magi,  the 
art  of  worshipping  the  gods  in  a  becoming  manner,  dzvyj 
Uinar.iiav  give  the  Magi  great  authority,  both  with  the 
prince  and  the  people,  who  could  offer  no  sacrifice  without 
their  presence  and  ministration. 

Aiid  before  a  prince  in  Persia  could  come  to  the  crown, 
he  was  obliged  to  receive  instruction  for  a  certain  time 
from  some  of  the  Magi,  and  to  learn  of  them  both  the  art  of 
reigning,  and  that   of  worshipping  the  gods  after  a  proper 

*  Melius  OrsBcl  atque  iiostri.  qui,  ut  Miigereiit  pietntem  in  deos,  easdem  illos 
urbes,  quas  iios  iii<  cilere  votiierimt.  Adfeit  eiiim  hsec  opinio  religioiiem  utilem 
civitatibus. — Cic.  lib.  11.  de  Legib. 

t  Lib.  iv.  de  Civ.  Dei,  ii.  31.  %  In  Theni.  p.  126. 


650  ANCIENT    HISTORY. 

manner.*  Nor  did  he  determine  any  important  affair  of 
state,  when  he  was  upon  the  tlirone,  without  first  taking 
their  advice  and  opinion  ;  for  which  reason  Pliny  says,  tliat 
«ven  in  his  time  they  were  looked  ui)on,  in  all  the  eastern 
countries,  as  the  masters  and  directors  of  princes,  and  of 
those  who  styled  themselves  kings  of  kings.! 

They  were  the  sages,  the  philosophers,  and  men  of  learn- 
ing in  Persia ;  as  the  Gymnosophists  and  Brachmans  were 
among  the  Indians,  and  the  Di'uids  among  the  Gauls.  Their 
great  reputation  invited  people  from  the  most  distant  coun- 
tries to  be  instructed  by  them  in  philosophy  and  religion  ; 
and  we  are  assured  it  was  from  them  that  Pythagoras  bor- 
rowed tlie  principles  of  that  learning,  by  whicli  he  acquired 
so  much  veneration  and  respect  among  the  Greeks,  excejjt- 
ing  only  his  doctrine  of  transmigration,  which  he  learned  of 
the  Egyptians,  and  by  Avhich  he  corrui)ted  and  debased  the 
ancient  doctrine  of  the  Magi  concerning  the  immortality  of 
the  soul. 

It  is  generally  agreed  that  Zoroaster  was  the  original 
author  and  founder  of  this  sect  ;  but  authors  are  considerably 
divided  in  their  opinions  about  the  time  in  which  he  lived. 
What  Pliny  says  upon  this  head,  may  reasonably  serve  to 
reconcile  that  variety  of  opinions,  as  is  very  judiciously 
observed  by  Dr  Prideaux.  t  We  read  in  that  author,  that 
there  were  two  persons  named  Zoroaster,  between  whose 
lives  there  might  be  the  distance  of  600  years.  The  first  of 
them  was  the  founder  of  the  Magian  sect  about  the  year  of 
the  world  2900,  and  the  latter,  who  certainly  flourished  be- 
tween the  beginning  of  Cyrus's  reign  in  the  East,  and  the 
end  of  Darius's,  son  of  Hystasjies,  was  the  restorer  and  re- 
former of  i  . 

Thi-ouguuut  all  the  eastern  countries,  idolatry  was  divid- 
ed into  two  principal  sects  ;  that  of  the  Sabeans,  who  adored 
images  ;  and  that  of  the  Magi,  who  worshij)ped  fire.  The 
former  of  these  sects  had  its  rise  among  the  Chaldeans,  who, 
from  their  knowledge  of  astronomy,  and  their  particular 
application  to  the  study  of  the  several  planets,  which  they 
believed  to  be  inhabited  by  so  many  intelligences,  who  were 
to  those  orbs  what  the  soul  of  man  is  to  his  body,  were 
induced  to  represent  Saturn,  Jupiter,  Mars,  Apollo,  Mer- 

*  Nee  quisquam  rex  Persarum  potest  etsse,  qui  noii  ante  Magonim  discipli- 
nam  Sfif.ntiamque  perceperit.— Cic.  <le  Divin.  1.  i.  u.  91. 

f  In  tantutn  fa-;tjgii  ailolevit  (auciorlras  Magoruni)  ut  hodieque  etiain  in 
magna  parte  gentium  praevaleut  et  iu  orieuti  legum  regil'us  imperet. — Plin.  1. 
XXX.  c.  1.  t  Hist.  Nat- 1.  xxx.  c.  1. 


MANNERS    OF    THE    ASSYRIAXS,  ETC.  651 

cury,  Venus,  and  Diana,  or  the  Moon,  by  so  many  images 
or  statues,  in  which  they  imagined  those  pretended  intel- 
ligences or  deities,  were  as  really  present  as  in  the  planets 
themselves.  In  time,  the  number  of  their  gods  increased  ; 
this  image-worship,  from  Chaldea,  spread  itself  throughout 
all  the  East ;  from  thence  passed  to  Egypt ;  and  at  length 
came  among  the  Greeks,  who  propagated  it  through  all  the 
western  nations. 

To  this  sect  of  the  Sabeans,  that  of  the  Magi,  which  also 
took  its  rise  in  the  same  eastern  countries,  was  diametrically 
opposite.  The  Magi  utterly  abhorred  images,  and  worship- 
ped God  only  under  the  form  of  fire  ;  looking  upon  that, 
on  account  of  its  purity,  brightness,  activity,  subtlety,  fe- 
cundity, and  incorruptibility,  as  the  most  pei'fect  symbol  or 
representation  of  the  Deity.  They  began  first  in  Persia, 
and  there  and  in  India  were  the  only  places  where  this  sect 
w^as  propagated,  where  they  remain  even  to  this  day.  The 
chief  doctrine  was  that  there  were  two  princi})les ;  one  the 
cause  of  all  good,  and  the  other  the  cause  of  all  evil.  The 
former  is  represented  by  light,  and  the  other  by  darkness, 
as  their  truest  symbols.  The  good  god  they  named  Yazdan 
and  Ormuzd,  and  the  evil  god  Ahraman.  The  former  is  by 
the  Greeks  called  Oromasdes,  and  the  latter  Arimanius. 
And  therefore,  when  Xerxes  prayed  that  his  enemies  might 
always  resolve  to  banish  their  best  and  bravest  citizens  as 
the  Athenians  had  Themistocles,  he  addressed  his  ])rayer  to 
Arimanius,  the  evil  god  of  the  Persians,  and  not  to  Oromas- 
des, their  good  god.* 

Concerning  these  two  gods,  they  had  this  difference  of 
opinion,  that  whereas  some  lield  both  of  them  to  have  been 
from  all  eternity,  others  contended  that  the  good  god  only 
was  eternal,  and  the  other  was  created.  But  they  both 
agreed  in  tliis,  that  there  will  be  a  contiimal  opposition  be- 
tween these  two,  till  the  end  of  the  world  :  that  then  the 
good  god  shall  overcome  the  evil  god,  and  that  from  thence- 
forward each  of  them  shall  have  a  world  to  himself ;  that  is, 
the  good  god,  his  w^orld  with  all  the  good  ;  and  the  evil  god, 
his  world  with  the  wicked. 

The  second  Zoroaster,  who  lived  in  the  time  of  Darius, 
undertook  to  reform  some  articles  in  the  religion  of  the 
Magian  sect,  which  for  several  ages  had  been  the  predomi- 
nant religion  of  the  Medes  and  Persians  ;  but,  since  the  death 
of  Sraerdis  and  his  chief  confederates,  and  the  massacre  of 
•  Plut.  iu  Tliemist.  p.  126. 


652  aitcie^Tt  history. 

tlieir  adherents  and  followers,  was  fallen  into  great  con- 
tempt.  It  is  thought  this  reformer  made  his  first  appear- 
ance in  Ecbatana. 

The  chief  reformation  he  made  in  the  Magian  religion, 
was  in  the  first  principle  of  it.  For  Avhereas  before,  they 
had  held  as  a  fundamental  principle  the  being  of  the  two 
supreme  first  causes  ;  the  first  light,  which  was  the  author  of 
all  good,  and  the  other  darkness,  the  author  of  all  evil : 
and  that  of  the  mixture  of  these  two,  as  they  were  in 
a  continual  struggle  with  each  other,  all  things  were  made ; 
he  introduced  a  principle,  superior  to  them  both,  one  supreme 
God,  who  created  both  light  and  darkness  ;  and  Avho,  out  of 
these  two  principles,  made  all  other  things  according  to  his 
own  will  and  pleasure. 

But,  to  avoid  making  God  the  author  of  evil,  his  doctrine 
was,  that  there  was  one  Supreme  Being,  independent  and 
Self-existing  from  all  eternity:  that  under  him  there  were  two 
angels  ;  one  the  angel  of  light,  who  is  the  author  of  all  good ; 
and  the  other  the  angel  of  darkness,  who  is  the  author  of  all 
evil ;  that  these  tAvo,  out  of  the  mixture  of  light  and  darkness, 
Inade  all  things  that  exist ;  that  they  are  in  a  perpetual 
struggle  with  each  other ;  that  Mhere  the  angel  of  light  fire- 
vails,  there  good  reigns  ;  and  that  where  tlie  angel  of  dark- 
ness ])revails,  there  evil  takes  ])lace  ;  that  this  struggle  shall 
continue  to  the  end  of  the  world  ;  that  then  there  shall  be  a 
general  resurrection  and  a  day  of  judgment,  wherein  all  shall 
receive  a  jtist  retribution  according  to  their  works.  After 
which  the  angel  of  darkness  and  his  disciples  shall  go  into  a 
Woi'ld  of  their  own,  where  they  shall  suffer,  in  everlasthig 
darkness,  the  punishment  of  their  evil  deeds ;  and  the  angel 
of  light  and  his  disciples  shall  also  go  into  a  world  of  their 
own,  where  they  shall  receive,  in  everlasting  light,  the  re- 
wai'd  due  to  their  good  deeds  ;  that  after  this,  they  sliall  re- 
main separated  for  ever  and  light  and  darkness  be  no  more 
mixed  together  to  all  eternity.  All  this  the  remainder  of 
that  sect,  which  is  now  in  Persia  and  India,  do,  witliout  any 
variation,  after  so  many  ages,  still  hold  even  to  this  day. 

It  is  needless  to  inform  the  reader,  that  almost  all  these 
tenets,  though  altered  in  many  circumstances,  do  in  general 
agree  with  the  doctrine  of  the  Holy  Scriptures ;  with  which 
it  plainly  appears  the  two  Zoroastcrs  were  well  acquainted, 
it  being  easy  for  both  of  them  to  have  had  an  intercourse 
or  personal  acquaintance  with  the  people  of  God  ;  the  first 
of  them  in  Syria,  where  the  Israelites  had  been  long  settled  j 


MANXERS    OF    THE    ASSYRIAXS,  ETC.  653 

the  latter  at  Babylon,  to  Avhich  place  the  same  people  were 
carried  captive,  and  where  Zoroaster  might  confer  with 
Daniel  himself,  who  was  in  very  great  power  and  credit  in 
the  Persian  court. 

Another  reformation  made  by  Zoroaster  in  the  ancient 
Magian  religion,  was,  that  he  caused  temples  to  be  built, 
wherein  their  sacred  fires  were  carefully  and  constantly 
preserved ;  and  especially  that  which  he  pretended  himself 
to  have  brought  down  from  heaven.  Over  this  the  priest 
kept  a  perpetual  watch  night  and  day,  to  prevent  its  being 
extinguished. 

Whatever  relates  to  the  sect  or  religion  of  the  M;igians, 
the  reader  will  find  very  largely  and  learnedly  treated  in 
Dean  Prideaux's  Connections  of  the  Old  and  New  Testament, 
etc.,  from  whence  I  have  taken  this  short  extract. 

THEIR    MARRIAGES,    AXD    MAXXER    OF    BURYING    THE    DEAD. 

Plaving  said  so  much  of  the  religion  of  the  eastern  na- 
tions, which  is  an  article  I  thought  myself  obliged  to  enlarge 
upon,  because  I  look  upon  it  as  an  essential  part  of  their 
history,  I  shall  be  forced  to  treat  of  their  other  customs 
with  the  greater  brevity  :  among  which  their  marriages  and 
burials  are  too  material  to  be  omitted. 

There  is  nothing  more  horrible,  or  that  gives  us  a  greater 
idea  of  the  profound  darkness  into  which  idolatry  had 
plunged  mankind,  than  the  public  prostitution  of  women  at 
Babylon,  which  was  not  (inly  authorized  by  law,  but  even 
commanded  by  the  religion  of  their  country,  upon  a  certain 
festival  of  the  year,  celebrated  in  honor  of  the  goddess 
Venus,  under  the  name  of  Mylitta,  whose  temple,  by  means 
of  this  infamous  ceremony,  became  a  brothel  or  place  of  de- 
bauchery.* This  wicked  custom  was  still  existing  when  the 
Israelites  were  carried  cajitive  to  that  criminal  city  ;  for 
which  reason  the  prophet  Jeremiah  thought  fit  to  caution 
and  admonish  tliem  against  so  abominable  a  scandal. t 

Nor  had  the  Persians  any  better  notion  of  the  dignity 
and  sanctity  of  the  matrimonial  institution,  than  the  Baby- 
lonhms.  I  do  not  mean  only  with  regard  to  that  incredible 
multitude  of  wives  and  concubines,  with  which  their  kings 
filled  their  seraglios,  and  of  whom  they  were  as  jealous  as  if 
they  had  but.  one  wife,  keeping  them  shut  up  in  separate 
apartments,  under  a  strict  guard  of  eimuchs,  without  suf- 
fering them  to  have  any  communication  with  one  anotherj 

•  Herod.  1.  i.  c.  109.  t  Baruch  vi.  42,  43- 


654  ANCIENT    HISTORY. 

much  less  with  persons  without  doors.*  It  strikes  one  with 
horror  to  read  how  far  they  neglected  the  most  common 
laws  of  nature.  Even  incest  with  a  sister  was  allowed 
among  them  by  their  laws,  or  at  least  authorized  by  their 
Magi,  those  pretended  sages  of  Persia,  as  we  have  seen  in 
the  history  of  Cambyses.f  Nor  did  even  a  father  respect 
his  own  daughter,  or  a  mother  the  son  of  her  own  body. 
We  read  in  Plutarch,  that  Parysatis,  the  motlier  of  Artax- 
erxes  Muemon,  who  strove  in  all  things  to  j^lease  the  king 
her  son,  perceiving  that  he  had  conceived  a  violent  passion 
for  one  of  his  own  daughters,  called  Atossa,  was  so  far  from 
opposing  his  unlawful  desire,  that  she  herself  advised  him  to 
marry  her,  and  make  lier  his  wife,  and  laughed  at  the  max- 
ims and  laws  of  the  Grecians,  which  declared  such  marriage 
to  be  unlawful.  "  For,"  says  she  to  him,  carrying  her  flat- 
tery to  a  monstrous  excess,  "  are  not  you  yourself  set  by 
God  over  the  Persians,  as  the  only  law  and  rule  of  what  is 
becoming  or  unbecoming,  virtuous  or  vicious  ?  "  t 

This  detestable  custom  continued  till  the  time  of  Alex- 
ander the  Great,  who,  having  become  master  of  Persia  by 
the  overthrow  and  death  of  Darius,  made  an  express  law  to 
suppress  it.  These  enormities  may  serve  to  teach  us  from 
what  an  abyss  the  Gospel  has  delivered  us  ;  and  how  weak 
a  barrier  human  wisdom  is  of  itself  against  the  most  extrav- 
agant and  abominable  crimes. 

I  shall  finish  this  article  by  saying  a  word  or  two  upon 
their  manner  of  burying  the  dead.  It  was  not  the  custom 
of  the  eastern  nations,  and  especially  of  the  Persians,  to 
erect  funeral  piles  for  the  dead,  and  to  consume  their  bodies 
in  the  flames.  §  Accordingly  we  find  that  Cyrus,  |j  when 
he  was  at  the  point  of  death,  took  care  to  charge  his  chil- 
dren to  inter  his  body,  and  to  restore  it  to  the  earth  ;  that  is 
the  expression  he  makes  use  of  ;  by  which  he  seems  to  declare 
that  he  looked  upon  the  earth  as  the  original  parent  from 
Avhence  he  sprung,  and  to  which  he  ought  to  return. If  And 
when  Cambyses  had  offered  a  thousand  indignities  to  the 
dead  body  of  Amasis,  king  of  Egypt,  he  thought  he  crowned 
all  by  causing  it  to  be  burnt,  Avhich  was  equally  contrary  to 
the  Egyptian  and  Persian  manner  of  treating  the  dead.     It 

•  Herod.  1.  i.  c.  1Z5. 

t  Philo.  ]i\>.  de  Special.  Leg.  p.  778.    Diog.  Laert.  in  PronpiT).  p.  fi. 

tliiArtax.  p   1023.  §  Herofl.  1.  iii.  c.  19. 

II  Ac  milii  qiiidem  aiitiquissimuin  sepulturse  genus  id  fuisse  videtur.  quo 
apnd  Xenophontem  Cyrus  utitur.  nedditnr  enim  terrae  corpus,  et  ita  locatum 
•c  sii  uin  quasi  operimento  matris  obducitur. — Clc.  lib.  ii.  d.  Leg.  n.  56. 

H  Cyrop.  1.  viii.  p.  238. 


MAXXEES    OF    THE    ASSYUT  VXS,  ETC.  655 

was  the  custom  of  the  latter  to  wrap  up  their  dead  in  wax,* 
in  order  to  keep  them  the  longer  from  corruption.! 

I  thought  proper  to  give  a  full  account,  in  this  place,  of 
the  manners  and  customs  of  the  Persians,  because  the  liistory 
of  that  people  will  take  up  a  great  part  of  this  work,  and 
because  I  shall  say  no  more  on  that  subject  in  the  sequel. 
The  treatise  of  B  irnabas  Brisson,  t  president  of  the  parlia- 
ment of  Paris,  upon  the  government  of  the  Persians,  has 
been  of  great  use  to  me.  Such  collections  as  these,  when 
they  are  made  by  able  hands,  save  a  writer  a  great  deal  of 
pains,  and  furnish  him  with  matter  of  erudition,  that  costs 
him  little,  and  yet  often  does  him  great  honor. 

ARTICLE  V. 

THE    CAUSE  OF  THE    DECLEKSIOX     OF    THE    PERSIAX    EMPIRE, 
AND  OF  THE  CHANGE  THAT  HAPPENED  IN  THEIR  MANNERS. 

When  we  compare  the  Persians,  as  they  were  before 
Cyrus,  and  during  his  reign,  with  what  they  were  afterwards 
in  the  reigns  of  his  successors,  we  can  hardly  believe  they 
were  the  same  people  ;  and  we  see  a  sensible  illustration  of 
this  truth,  that  the  declension  of  manners  in  any  state,  is 
always  attended  with  that  of  empire  and  dominion. 

Among  many  other  causes  that  brought  about  the  declen- 
sion of  the  Persian  empire,  the  four  following  may  be  looked 
vipon  as  the  principal  :  their  excessive  magnificence  and 
luxury  ;  the  abject  subjection,  and  slavery  of  the  people; 
the  bad  education  of  tlieir  ]irinces,  which  was  the  source  of 
all  their  irregularities  ;  and  their  want  of  faith  in  the  execu- 
tion of  their  treaties,  oaths,  and  engagements. 

SECTION    I. LUXURY  AND  MAGNIFICENCE. 

What  caused  the  Persian  troops,  in  Cyrus's  time,  to  be 
looked  upon  as  invincible,  was  the  temperate  and  hard  life 
to  which  they  were  accustomed  from  their  infancy,  having 
nothing  but  water  for  their  ordinary  drink,  bread  and  roots 
for  their  ordinary  food,  the  ground,  or  something  as  hard, 
to  lie  upon  ;  in\\ring  themselves  to  the  most  painful  ex- 
ercises and  labors,  and  esteeming  the  greatest  dangers  as 
nothing. 

*  CoiiiUunt  jEgyptii  mortuos,  et  cos  donii  servant :  Persse  jam  cera  circum- 
litos  coudiuiit,  ut  quam  maxime  permaiieaiit  diuturna  corporia. — Cic.  Tiiscul. 
Quaesfc.  lib.  i.  ii.  108.  +  Herod.  1.  iii.  c.  16. 

t  Baruab.  Btissouius  de  Kegio  Persarum  Principatu,  &c.  Argentorati,  an. 
1710. 


656  ANCIEKT    HISTORY. 

The  temperature  of  the  country  where  they  were  born, 
which  was  rough,  mountainous,  and  woody,  might  some- 
what contribute  to  their  hardiness ;  for  which  reason  Cyrus 
would  never  consent  to  the  project  of  transplanting  them 
into  a  more  mild  and  agreeable  climate.*  The  excellent 
manner  of  educating  the  ancient  Persians,  of  which  wo  have 
already  given  a  sufficient  account,  and  Avhich  was  not  left  to 
the  humors  and  fancies  of  parents,  but  was  subject  to  the 
authority  and  direction  of  tlie  magistrates,  and  regulated 
upon  principles  of  the  public  good  :  this  excellent  education 
prepared  them  for  observing,  in  all  pl;:ces  and  at  all  times, 
a  most  exact  and  severe  discipline.  Add  to  tliis  the  influence 
of  the  prince's  cxamj)le,  who  made  it  his  ambition  to  surpass 
all  his  subjects  in  regularity,  Avas  the  most  abstemious  and 
sober  in  his  manner  of  life,  the  plainest  in  his  dress,  the  most 
inured  and  accustomed  to  hardships  and  fatigues,  as  well  as 
the  bravest  and  most  intrepid  in  the  time  of  action.  What 
might  not  be  expected  from  soldiers  so  formed  and  so  ti-ained 
up  ?  By  them,  therefore,  we  find  Cyrus  conquered  a  great 
part  of  the  world. 

After  all  his  victories,  he  continued  to  exhort  his  army 
and  people  not  to  degenerate  from  their  ancient  virtue,  that 
they  m.ight  not  eclipse  the  glory  they  had  acquired,  but 
carefully  preserve  that  simplicity,  sobriety,  temperance,  and 
love  of  labor,  which  were  the  means  by  which  they  had  ob- 
tained it.  But  I  do  not  know,  whether  Cyrus  himself  did 
not,  at  that  very  time,  sow  the  first  seeds  of  that  luxury, 
which  soon  overspread  and  Corrupted  the  whole  nation.  In 
that  august  ceremony,  which  we  have  already  described  at 
large,  and  on  which  he  first  shoAved  himself  in  public  to  his 
new-conquered  subjects,  he  thought  proper,  in  order  to 
heighten  the  splendor  of  his  regal  dignity,  to  make  a  pom- 
l^ous  display  of  all  the  magnificence  and  show  that  could  be 
contrived  to  dazzle  the  eyes  of  the  people.  Among  other 
things,  he  changed  his  OAvn  apparel,  as  also  that  of  his  offi- 
cers, giving  them  all  garments  made  after  the  fashion  of  the 
Medes,  richly  shining  with  gold  and  purple,  instead  of  their 
Persian  clothes,  which  were  very  plain  and  simple. 

This  prince  seemed  to  forget  how  much  the  contagious 
example  of  a  court,  increases  tJie  natural  inclination  all  men 
have  to  value  and  esteem  what  pleases  the  eye,  and  makes  a 
fine  show,  how  glad  they  are  to  distinguish  themselves 
above  others  by  a  false  merit,  easily   attained  in  proportion 

*  Plut.  in  Apophth.  p.  171. 


MAXXEKS    OF    THE    ASSYRIANS,  ETC.  657 

to  the  degrees  of  wealth  and  vanity  a  man  has  above  his 
neighbo  s  ;  he  forgot  how  capable  all  this  together  was  of 
corrupting  the  purity  of  ancient  manners,  and  of  introducing 
by  degrees  a  general,  predominant  taste  for  extravagance 
and  luxury. 

This  luxury  and  extravagance  rose  in  tiine  to  such  nn 
excess,  as  was  little  better  than  downright  madness.  The 
prince  carried  all  his  wives  along  with  him  to  the  wars  : 
and  what  an  equipage  such  a  troop  must  be  attended  with 
is  easy  to  judge.  All  his  generals  and  officers  followed  his 
example,  each  in  proportion  to  his  rank  and  ability.  Their 
pretext  for  so  doing  was,  that  the  sight  of  what  they  held 
most  dear  and.  precious  in  the  Avorld,  would  encourage  them 
to  fight  with  greater  resolution  ;  but  the  true  reason  was 
the  love  of  jilensure,  by  which  they  were  overcome  and  en- 
slaved, before  they  came  to  eng:ige  with  the  enemy.* 

Another  instance  of  their  folly  was,  that  they  carried 
their  luxury  and  extravagance  in  the  ai"my,  with  respect  to 
their  tents,  chariots,  and  tables,  to  a  greater  excess,  if  pos- 
sible, than  they  did  in  their  cities.  The  most  exquisite 
meats,  the  rarest  birds,  and  the  most  costly  dainties,  must 
needs  be  found  for  the  prince,  in  whatever  part  of  the  world 
he  was  encamped.  They  had  their  vessels  of  gold  and  sil- 
ver without  number  ;  t  instruments  of  luxury,  says  a  certain 
historian,  not  of  victory,  proper  to  allure  and  enrich  an 
enemy,  but  not  to  repel  or  defeat  him.  t 

I  do  not  see  what  reason  Cyrus  could  have  for  changing 
his  conduct  in  the  last  seven  years  of  his  life.  It  must  be 
owned,  indeed,  that  the  station  of  kings  requires  a  suitable 
grandeur  and  magnificence,  which  may,  on  certain  occasions, 
be  carried  even  to  a  degree  of  pomp  and  splendor.  But 
princes,  ])Ossessed  of  a  real  and  solid  merit,  have  a  thousand 
ways  of  making  up  what  they  may  seem  to  lose  by  retrench- 
ing some  part  o±  their  outward  state  and  magnificence. 
Cyrus  himself  had  found,  by  experience,  that  a  king  is  more 
sure  of  gaining  respect  from  his  ])eople  by  the  wisdom  of  his 
conduct,  than  by  the  greatness  of  his  expenses  ;  and  that 
affection  and  confidence  produce  a  closer  attachment  to  his 
person,  than  a  vain  admiration  of  unnecessary  pomp  and 
grandeur.  Be  this  as  it  will,  Cyrus's  last  example  became 
very  contagious.  A  taste  for  vanity  and  expense  first  pre- 
vailed at  court,  then  spread  itself  into  the  cities  and  prov- 

*  Xenoph.  Cyrop.  1.  Iv.  pp.  Ol-On.  t  Seiiec.  1.  iil.  de  Ira,  c.  20. 

t  Noil  belli  Srtd  luxurisB  apparaUim — Aciem  Persaruin  auro  purpuraque  ful- 
tfenteiu  ijitueri  jubebat  Alexander,  prsedam,  iiou  arma  gestantem. — Q.  Curt. 

42 


658  ANCIEXT    HISTORY. 

inces,  and  in  a  little  time  infected  the  whole  nation,  and  was 
one  of  the  principal  causes  of  the  ruin  of  that  empire,  which 
he  himself  had  founded. 

What  is  here  said  of  the  fatal  effects  of  luxury,  is  not 
peculiar  to  the  Persian  empire.  The  most  judicious  histo- 
rians, the  most  learned  ])hilosopliers,  and  the  ju-ofoundest 
2)oliticians,  all  lay  it  down  as  a  certain,  indisputable  maxim, 
that  whei'ever  luxury  ])revails,  it  never  fails  to  destroy  the 
most  flourishing  states  and  kingdoms ;  and  the  experience 
of  all  ages,  and  all  nations,  does  but  too  clearly  demonstrate 
the  truth  of  this  maxim. 

What  is  this  subtle,  secret  poison,  then,  that  tliiis  lurks 
under  the  pomp  of  luxury  and  the  charms  of  pleasure,  and 
is  capable  of  enervating,  at  the  same  time,  both  the  whole 
strength  of  the  body,  and  the  vigor  of  the  mind?  It  is  not 
very  difficult  to  comprehend  why  it  has  this  terrible  effect. 
Wlien  men  are  accustomed  to  a  soft  and  voluptuous  life, 
can  they  be  very  fit  for  undergoing  the  fatigues  and  hard- 
ships of  war?  Are  they  qualified  for  suffei-ing  the  rigor  of 
the  seasons;  for  endurhig  hunger  and  thirst;  for  passing 
\^hole  nights  without  sleep  upon  occasion  ;  for  going  through 
continual  exercise  and  action,  for  facing  danger  and  despis- 
ing death  ?  The  natural  effect  of  voluptuousness  and  de- 
cay, which  are  the  inseparable  companions  of  luxury,  is  to 
render  men  subject  to  a  multitude  of  false  wants  and  ne- 
cessities, to  make  tlieir  happiness  depend  upon  a  thousand 
trifling  conveniences  and  superfluities,  which  they  can  no 
longer  be  without,  and  to  give  them  an  unreasonable  fondness 
for  life,  on  account  of  a  thousand  secret  ties  and  engage- 
ments that  endear  it  to  them,  and  which,  by  stifling  in  them 
the  great  motives  of  glory,  of  zeal  for  their  prince,  and  love 
for  their  country,  render  them  fearful  and  cowardly  and 
deter  them  from  exposing  themselves  to  dangers,  which  may 
in  a  moment  deprive  them  of  all  those  things  wherein  they 
place  their  felicity. 

SECTION  II. THE  ABJECT  SUBMISSION    AND    SLAVERY  OF    THE 

PERSIANS. 

We  are  told  by  Plato,  that  this  was  one  of  the  causes  of 
the  declension  of  the  Persian  empire.  And,  indeed,  what 
contributes  most  to  the  preservation  of  states,  and  renders 
their  arms  victorious,  is  not  the  number,  but  the  vigor  and 
courage  of  their  armies ;  and,  as  it  was  finely  said  by  one 


MANNERS    OF    THE    ASSYRIANS,  ETC.  659 

of  the  ancients,  "  from  the  day  a  man  loseth  his  liberty,  he 
loseth  one-half  of  his  ancient  virtue."*  He  is  no  longer 
concerned  for  the  prosperity  of  the  state,  to  which  he  looks 
upon  himself  as  an  alien  ;  and  having  lost  the  principal  mo- 
tives of  his  attachment  to  it,  he  becomes  indifferent  about 
the  success  of  public  aifairs,  about  the  glory  or  welfare  of 
liis  country,  in  which  his  circumstances  allow  him  to  claim 
no  sliare,  and  by  which  his  own  private  condition  is  not  al- 
tered or  improA^ed.  It  may  truly  be  said,  that  the  reign  of 
Cyrus  was  a  reign  of  liberty.  That  prince  never  acted 
in  an  arbitrary  manner ;  he  did  not  think  that  despotic 
poAver  Avas  Avorthy  of  a  king;  or  that  there  was  any  great 
glory  in  ruling  an  empire  of  slaves.  His  tent  Avas  always 
open,  and  free  access  allowed  to  every  one  that  desired  to 
speak  to  him.  He  did  not  IIa^c  retired,  but  Avas  visible,  ac- 
cessible, and  affable  to  all ;  heard  their  complaints,  and  Avith 
his  own  eyes  obserA'ed  and  rewarded  merit ;  invited  to  his 
table,  not  only  his  general  officers,  and  prime  nainisters,  but 
even  subalterns,  and  sometimes  Avhole  companies  of  soldiers. 
The  simplicity  and  frugality  of  his  table  made  him  capable 
of  giving  such  entertainments  frequently,  f  His  aim  therein 
was  to  animate  his  officers  and  soldiers,  to  inspire  them  Avith 
courage  and  resolution,  to  attach  them  to  his  person  rather 
than  to  his  dignity,  and  make  them  warmly  espouse  his 
glory,  and  still  more  the  interest  and  prosperity  of  the  state. 
This  is  what  may  be  truly  called  the  art  of  reigning  and 
commanding.  • 

In  reading  Xenophon,  with  what  pleasure  do  Ave  observe, 
not  only  those  fine  turns  of  Avit,  that  justness  and  ingenuity 
in  their  answers  and  repartees,  that  delicacy  in  jesting  and 
raillery^  but  at  the  same  time,  that  amiable  cheerfulness  and 
gayety,  which  enlivened  their  entertainments,  from  Avhich 
all  A^anity  and  luxury  were  banished,  and  in  Avhich  the  prin- 
cipal seasoning  was  a  decent  and  becoming  freedom,  that 
prevented  all  constraint,  and  a  kind  of  familiarity  Avhich 
was  so  far  from  lessening  their  respect  for  the  prince,  that 
it  gave  such  life  and  spirit  to  it,  as  nothing  but  real  affection 
and  tenderness  coidd  produce.  I  may  venture  to  say,  that 
by  such  conduct  as  this,  a  prince  doubles  and  trebles  his 
army  at  a  small  expense.  Thirty  thousand  men  of  this  sort 
are  preferable  to  millions  of  such  shiA-es  as  the  Persians  be- 
came afterwards.     In  time  of  action,  on  a  decisive  day  of 

*  Horn.  Odyss.  V.  322. 

t  Taiitas  vire-i  habet  frugaliias  priucipis,  ut  tot  impendiis  tot  erogationibufl 
Bola  sutliciat.— Plin.  iii  Paiieg.  Traj. 


660  ANCIENT    HISTORY. 

battle,  tliis  trutli  is  most  evident ;  and  tlie  prince  is  more 
sensible  of  it  than  anybody  else.  At  the  battle  of  Thym- 
bria,  when  Cyrus's  horse  fell  under  him,  Xenophon  takes 
notice  how  much  it  concerns  a  commander  to  be  loved  by 
his  soldiers.  The  danger  of  the  king's  ])erson  became  the 
danger  of  the  army ;  and  his  troops  on  that  occasion  gave 
incredible  proofs  of  their  courage  and  bravery. 

Things  were  not  carried  on  in  the  same  manner  under 
the  greatest  part  of  his  successors.  Their  only  care  Avas  to 
support  the  pomp  of  sovereignty.  I  niust  confess,  their 
outward  ornaments  and  ensigns  of  royalty  did  not  a  little 
contribute  to  that  end.  A  purple  robe  riclily  embroidered, 
and  hanging  down  to  their  feet,  a  tiara,  worn  upright  on 
their  heads,  with  an  imperial  diadem  round  it,  a  golden 
sceptre  in  their  hands,  a  magnificent  throne,  a  numerous 
and  shining  court,  a  multitude  of  officers  and  guards;  these 
things  must  needs  conduce  to  heighten  the  splendor  of  roy- 
alty ;  but  all  this,  when  this  is  all,  is  of  little  or  no  value. 
What  is  that  kinp:  in  reality,  Avho  loses  all  his  merit  and  his 
dignity,  when  he  puts  off  his  ornaments? 

Some  of  the  eastern  kings,  to  procure  the  greater  rever- 
ence to  their  persons,  generally  kept  themseh'es  shut  up  in 
their  palaces,  and  seldom  showed  themselves  to  their  subjects. 
We  have  already  seen  that  Dejoces,  the  first  king  of  the 
Medes,  at  his  accession  to  the  throne,  introduced  this  policy, 
which  afterwards  became  very  common  ni  all  the  eastern 
countries.  But  it  is  *  great  mistake,  that  a  prince  cannot 
descend  from  his  grandeur,  by  a  sort  of  familiarity  without 
debasing  or  lessening  his  greatness.  Artaxerxes  did  not 
think  so:  and  Plutarch  observes  that  tliat  prince,  and  queen 
Statira  his  Avife,  took  a  pleasure  in  being  visible  and  easy  of 
access  to  their  people,  and  by  so  doing  were  but  the  more 
respected.* 

Among  the  Persians,  no  subject  whatever  was  allowed 
to  appear  in  the  king's  presence  without  prostrating  himself 
before  him:  and  this  law,  which  Seneca,  with  good  reason, 
calls  a  Pei'sian  slavery,  Persicam  servitutem^  extended  also 
to  foreigners,  f  We  shall  find  afterwards,  that  several 
Grecians  refused  to  comply  with  it,  looking  upon  such  a 
ceremony  as  derogatory  to  men  borji  and  bred  in  the  bosom 
of  liberty.  S  )me  of  them,  less  scrupulous,  did  submit  to  it, 
but  not  without  great  reluctancy ;  and  Ave  are  told,  that  one 
of  them,  in  order  to  coA'cr  the  shame  of  such  a  servile  pros- 

•  In  Aitax.  p.  1013.  t  Lib.  iii.  de  Benef.  c.  12.  et  lib.  iii.  de  Ira,  c.  17. 


MANNERS    OF    THE    ASSYRIANS,  ETC  001 

tration,  purposely  let  fall  his  ring,  when  he  came  near  the 
king,  that  he  miglit  have  occasion  to  bend  his  body  on  an- 
other account.*  But  it  would  have  been  criminal  for  any 
of  the  natives  of  the  country  to  hesitate  or  deliberate  about 
a  homage  which  the  king  exacted  from  them  wath  the  utmost 
rigor. 

What  the  Scrijiture  relates  of  two  sovereigns,!  on  one 
hand,  one  of  whom  commanded  all  his  subjects,  on  pain  of 
death,  to  prostrate  themselves  before  his  image  ;  and  the 
other,  on  the  same  penalty,  suspended  all  acts  of  religion, 
with  regard  to  the  gods  in  general,  except  to  himself  only ; 
and  on  the  other  hand,  of  the  ready  and  blind  obedience  of 
the  whole  city  of  Babyl^on,  w^ho  ran  altogether,  upon  the 
first  signal,  to  bend  the  knee  before  the  idol,  and  to  invoke 
the  king,  exclusively  of  all  the  powders  of  heaven :  all  this 
shows  to  what  an  extravagant  excess  the  eastern  kings  car- 
ried their  pride,  and  the  people  their  flattery  and  servitude. 

So  great  was  the  distance  between  the  Persian  king  and 
his  subjects  that  the  latter,  of  whatever  rank  or  quality, 
whether  satraps,  governors,  near  relations,  or  even  brothers 
to  the  king,  w^ere  only  looked  upon  as  slaves ;  Avhereas  the 
king  himself  was  always  considered,  not  only  as  their  sove- 
reign lord  and  absolute  master,  but  as  a  kind  of  divinity. 
In  a  word,  the  peculiar  character  of  the  Asiatics,  and  the 
Persians  more  particularly  than  any  other,  was  servitude 
and  slavery  ;  t  which  made  Cicero  say,  that  the  despotic 
power,  which  some  were  endeavoring  to  establish  in  the 
Roman  commonwealth,  would  be  an  insupportable  yoke,  not 
only  to  a  Roman,  but  even  to  a  Persian.  § 

It  was  therefore  this  arrogant  haughtiness  of  the  princes, 
on  the  one  hand,  and  this  abject  submission  of  the  people  on 
the  other,  which,  according  to  Plato,  were  the  principal 
causes  of  me  ruin  of  the  Persian  empire,  by  dissolving  all 
the  ties  wherewith  a  king  is  united  to  his  subjects,  and  the 
subjects  to  their  king.  ||  Such  a  haughtiness  extinguishes  all 
affection  and  humanity  in  the  former  ;  and  such  an  abject 
state  of  slavery,  leaves  the  people  neither  courage,  zeal,  nor 
gratitude.  The  Persian  kings  governed  and  commanded  only 
by  threats  and  menaces,-  and  the  subjects  neither  obeyed  nor 
marched,  but  with  unwillingness  and  reluctance.  This  is  the 
idea  Xerxes  himself  gives  us  of  them,  in  Herodc.tus,  where 
that  prince  is  represented  as  wondering  how  the  Grecians, who 

*  Julian.  1.  i   Var.  Hist.  o.  xxi. 

t  Nebachiidiiezzar,  Ban.  c.  iii.  and  Darius  the  Mede.  Dan.  c.  vi. 

i  Plut.  in  ApopLli.  ij.  213.        §  Lib.  x.  Epist.  ad  Attic.        i|  Lib.  iii,  de  Leg.  p.  601, 


C(32  ANCIENT    KISTOKY. 

were  a  free  people,  could  go  to  battle  with  a  good  will  and 
inclination.  How  could  any  thing  great  or  noble  be  expect- 
ed from  men  so  di.si)irited  and  depressed  l)y  slavery,  as  the 
Persians  were,  and  reduced  to  such  an  abject  servitude  ! 
which,  to  use  the  words  of  Longinus,  is  a  kind  of  imprison- 
ment, wherein  a  man's  soul  may  be  said,  in  some  sort,  to 
grow  little  and  contracted  !  * 

I  am  unwilling  to  say  it,  but  I  do  not  knoAv,  whether  the 
gi*eat  Cyrus  himself  did  not  contribute  to  introduce  among 
the  Persians,  both  that  extravagant  pride  in  their  kings,  and 
that  abject  submission  and  flattery  in  the  peo])le.  It  was 
in  that  pompous  ceremony,  Avhich  I  have  several  times  men- 
tioned, that  the  Persians,  till  then  very  jealous  of  their 
liberty,  and  very  far  from  being  inclined  to  make  a  shame- 
ful prostitution  of  it  by  any  mean  behavior  or  servile 
compliances,  first  bent  the  knee  before  their  prince,  and 
stooped  to  a  ])osture  of  adoration.  Nor  was  this  an  effect 
of  chance  ;  for  Xenophon  intimates  clearly  enough,  that 
Cyrus,  who  desired  to  have  that  homage  ])aid  him,  had  aj)- 
pointed  persons  on  ])urj)ose  t(T  begin  it ;  whose  exam])le  was 
accordingly  followed  by  the  multitude,  and  by  the  Persians, 
as  well  as  the  other  nations. f  In  these  little  tricks  and 
stratagems,  we  no  longer  discern  that  nobleness  and  gi*eat- 
ness  of  soul,  which  had  ever  been  conspicuous  in  that  prince 
till  this  occasion  ;  and  I  should  be  apt  to  think,  that  being 
arrived  at  the  utmost  pitch  of  glory  and  power,  he  could  no 
longer  resist  those  violent  attacks,  with  Avhich  jirosperity  is 
always  assaulting  even  the  best  of  princes,  SecundcB  res 
sapientum  animos  fatigant ;  %  and  that  at  last  pride  and 
vanity,  which  are  almost  inseparable  from  sovereign  power, 
forced  him,  and  in  a  manner  tore  him  from  himself,  and  his 
own  natural  inclination  :  Vi  dominationis  convulsus  et  unvr- 
talus.  § 

SECTION  III. THE     WRONG     EDUCATION     OF     THEIR    PRINCES, 

ANOTHER    CAUSE    OF     THE    DECLENSION    OF    THE    PERSIAN 
EMPIRE. 

It  is  Plato,  still  the  prince  of  philosophers,  who  makes  this 
reflection  ;  and  we  shall  find,  if  we  narrowly  examine  the 
fact  in  question,  how  solid  and  judicious  it  is,  and  how  in- 
excusable Cyrus's  conduct  was  in  this  respect.  || 

Never  had  any  man  more  reason  than  Cyrus  to  be  sen* 

*  Cap.  XXXV.  t  Cyrop.  ].  ii.  p.  215.  t  Salliist. 

§  Tacit.  Aiinal.  L  vi.  c.  46.  y  Lib.  iii.  de  Leg.  pp.  694,  tj95. 


MA]Sr?fEES    OF    THE    ASSYRIANS,  ETC.  6G3 

sible,  how  liighly  necessary  a  good  education  is  to  a  young 
prince.  He  knew  the  whole  vahie  of  it  witli  regard  to  him- 
self, and  had  found  all  the  advantages  of  it  by  his  own 
experience.* 

What  he  most  earnestly  recommended  to  his  officers,  in 
that  fine  discourse  he  made  to  them  after  the  taking  of 
Babylon,  in  order  to  exhort  them  to  maintain  the  glory  and 
reputation  they  had  acquired,  was  to  educate  their  children 
in  the  same  manner  as  they  knew  they  were  educated  in 
Persia,  and  to  preserve  themselves  in  the  j^ractice  of  the 
same  manners  as  were  practised  there. 

Would  one  believe,  that  a  prince  who  spoke  and  thought 
in  this  manner,  could  ever  have  entirely  neglected  the  edn- 
cation  of  his  own  children?  Yet  this  is  wliat  happened  to 
Cyrus.  Forgetting  that  lie  was  a  father,  and  employing  him- 
self wholly  about  his  conquests,  he  left  that  care  entirely  to 
women,  that  is,  to  princesses,  brought  u])  in  a  country  Avhere 
vanity,  luxury,  and  voluptuousness,  reigned  in  the  highest 
degree ;  for  the  queen  his  wife  was  of  Media.  And  in  the 
same  taste  and  manner  were  the  two  young  jjrinces  Cam- 
byses  and  Smerdis  educated.  Nothing  they  asked  was  ever 
refused  them  ;  nor  wei-e  their  desires  only  granted,  but  pre- 
vented. The  great  maxim  was,  that  their  attendants  should 
cross  them  in  nothing,  never  contradict  them,  nor  ever  make 
use  of  rej^roofs  or  remonstrances  with  them.  No  one 
opened  his  mouth  in  their  presence,  but  to  praise  and  com- 
mend what  they  said  and  did.  Every  one  cringed  and  stooped, 
and  bent  the  knee  before  them  ;  and  it  was  thought  essential 
to  their  greatness,  to  jilace  an  infinite  distance  between  them 
and  the  rest  of  mankind,  as  if  they  had  been  of  a  different 
species  from  them.  It  is  Plato  that  informs  us  of  all  these 
particulars  :  for  Xenophon,  probably  to  spare  his  hero,  says 
not  one  word  of  the  manner  in  which  these  princes  were 
brought  up,  though  he  gives  us  so  ample  an  account  of 
the  education  of  their  father.  • 

What  surprises  me  the  most  is,  that  Cyrus  did  not,  at 
least,  take  them  along  with  him  in  his  last  campaigns,  in 
order  to  draw  them  out  of  that  soft  and  effeminate  course 
of  life,  and  to  instruct  them  in  the  art  of  Avar,  for  they  must 
have  been  of  sufficient  years ;  but  perhaps  the  women  op- 
posed his  design,  and  overruled  him. 

Whatever  the  obstacle  was,  the  effect  of  the  education  of 
these  princes  was  such   as  ought  to  be  expected  from  it. 

*  Cyiop.  1.  vii.  p.  200. 


6G4  ANCIENT    HISTORY. 

Cambyses  came  out  of  that  school,  what  he  is  represented  in 
history,  an  obstinate  and  self-conceited  prince,  full  of  arro- 
gance and  vanity,  abandoned  to  the  most  scandalous  ex- 
cesses of  drunkenness  and  debauchery,  cruel  and  inhuman, 
even  to  the  causing  of  his  own  brother  to  be  murdered  in 
consequence  of  a  dream  ;  in  a  word,  a  furious,  frantic  mad- 
man, who  by  his  ill  conduct  brought  the  empire  to  the  brink 
of  destruction. 

His  father,  says  Plato,  left  him  at  his  death  many  vast 
provinces,  immense  riches,  with  innumerable  forces  by  sea 
and  land  ;  but  he  had  not  given  him  the  means  of  preserving 
them,  by  teaching  him  the  right  use  of  such  power. 

This  philosopher  makes  the  same  reflection  with  regard 
to  Darius  and  Xerxes.  The  former,  not  being  the  son  of 
a  king,  had  not  been  bi'ought  up  in  the  same  effeminate 
inanner  as  princes  were,  but  ascended  the  throne  with  a 
long  habit  of  industry,  great  temper  and  moderation,  a  cour- 
age little  inferior  to  that  of  Cyrus,  and  by  which  he  added 
to  the  empire  almost  as  many  provinces  as  the  other  had 
conquered.  But  he  was  no  better  a  father  than  him,  and 
reaped  no  benefit  from  the  fault  of  his  predecessor,  in  ne- 
glecting the  education  of  his  children.  Accordingly,  his  son 
Xerxes  was  little  better  than  a  second  Cambyses. 

From  all  this,  Plato,  after  having  shown  what  numberless^ 
rocks  and  quicksands,  almost  unavoidable,  lie  in  the  way  of 
persons  bred  in  the  arms  of  v\-ealth  and  greatness,  concludes, 
that  one  principal  cause  of  the  declension  and  ruin  of  the  Per- 
sian empire,  was  the  bad  education  of  their  princes ;  be- 
cause those  first  examples  had  an  influence  upon,  and  became 
a  kind  of  rule  to,  all  their  successors,  under  whom  every 
thing  still  degenerated  more  and  more,  till  at  last  their  luxury 
exceeded  all  bounds  and  restraints. 

SECTION     IV. THEIR    BREACH     OF     FAITH,    OR     WANT    OP 

SINCERITY. 

• 

AVe  are  informed  by  Xenophon,  that  one  of  the  causes, 
both  of  the  great  corruption  of  manners  among  the  Persians, 
and  of  the  destruction  of  their  em)>ire,  was  their  want  of 
public  faith.*  Formerly,  says  he,  the  king,  and  those  that 
governed  under  him,  thought  it  an  indispensable  duty  to 
keep  their  word,  and  inviolably  to  observe  all  treaties,  into 
which  they  had  entered  with  the  solemnity  of  an  oath,  and 
that  even  with  respect  to  those  that  had  rendered  themselves 

*  Cyrop.  1.  viii.  p.  239. 


MANNERS    OF    THE    ASSYRIANS,  ETC.  G65 

most  unworthy  of  such  treatment,  through  their  perfidious- 
ness  and  insincerity  ;  and  it  was  by  this  true  policy  and 
prudent  conduct  tliat  they  gained  the  absohite  confidence, 
both  of  their  own  subjects,  ai^d  of  their  neighbors  and  allies. 
This  is  a  very  great  encomium  given  by  the  historian  to 
the  Persians,  which  undoubtedly  belongs  to  the  reign  of 
the  great  Cyrus;  though  Xenophon  applies  it  likewise 
to  that  of  the  younger  Cyrus,  whose  grand  maxim  was, 
as  he  tells  us,  never  to  violate  his  faith  upon  any  ])retence 
whatever,  with  regard  either  to  any  word  he  had  given,  any 
promise  made,  or  any  treaty  he  had  concluded.  These 
princes  had  a  just  idea  of  the  regal  dignity,  and  rightly 
judged,  that  if  probity  and  truth  were  renounced  by  the  rest 
of  mankind,  they  ought  to  find  a  sanctuary  in  the  heart 
of  a  king,  who,  being  the  bond  and  centre,  as  it  were,  of 
society,  should  also  be  the  protector  and  avenger  of  plighted 
faith ;  which  is  the  very  foundation  whereon  the  other  de- 
pends.* 

Such  sentiments  as  these,  so  noble,  and  so  worthy  of 
persons  born  for  government,  did  not  last  long.  A  false 
prudence,  and  a  spurious,  artificial  policy,  soon  succeeded  in 
their  place.  Instead  of  faith,  probity,  and  true  merit,  says 
Xenophon, t  which  heretofore  the  prince  used  to  cherish  and. 
distinguish,  all  the  chief  offices  of  the  court  began  to  be 
filled  with  those  pretended  zealous  servants  of  the  king,  who 
sacrifice  every  thing  to  his  humor  and  supposed  interest ; 
Avho  hold  it  as  a  maxim,  that  falsehood  and  deceit,  perfid- 
iousness  and  perjury,  if  boldly  and  artfully  put  in  practice, 
are  the  shortest  and  surest  expedients  for  bringing  about  his 
enterprises  and  designs  ;  who  looked  upon  a  scrupulous  ad- 
herence in  a  prince  to  his  word,  and  to  the  engagements 
into  which  he  has  entered,  as  an  effect  of  pusillanimity,  in- 
capacity, and  want  of  understanding ;  and  whose  opinion, 
in  short,  is,  that  a  man  is  unqualified  for  government,  if  he 
does  not  prefer  reasons  and  considerations  of  state  before 
the  exact  observation  of  treaties,  though  concluded  in  ever 
so  solemn  and  sacred  a  manner.J 

The  Asiatic  nations,  continues  Xenophon,  soon  imita- 
ted their  prince,  who  became  their  example  and  instructor 
in  double-dealing  and  treachery.  They  soon  gave  them- 
selves  up   to   violence,  injustice,  and   impiety ;    and   from 

*  De  Exped.  Cyr.  1.  i.  p.  267.  _  t  Cyrop.  1.  viii.  p.  239. 

t  'Etti  to  Karepya  ^€(r9ai  S>v  emOvfjioiTj,  (rvvvo^JnoTaTi^v  o&oy  (ocro  e'lrat  6ta  tou 
eTTiopKeiv  TE,  Kal  v//u6Ses6ai  koI  e^anarav  to  Si  oiTrAovs  Tt  koX  aAi)9es  to  diro  tiu  ijAiflic* 
tivai. — De  Exped.  Cyr.  1.  i.  p.  292. 


G66  ANCIENT    HISTORY. 

thence  proceeds  that  strange  alteration  and  difference  we 
find  in  their  manners,  as  also  the  contempt  they  conceived 
for  their  sovereigns,  wliich  is  both  the  natural  consequence 
and  punishment  of  the  little  regard  princes  pay  to  the  most 
sacred  and  awful  solemnities  of  religion. 

Surely  the  oath  by  which  treaties  are  sealed  and  ratified, 
and  the  Deity  brought  in,  not  only  as  present,  but  as  guar- 
antee of  the  conditions  stijiulated,  is  a  most  sacred  and 
august  ceremony,  very  proper  for  the  subjecting  of  earthly 
princes  to  the  Supreme  Judge  of  heaven  and  earth,  who 
alone  is  qualified  to  judge  them,  and  for  the  keeping  all 
human  majesty  Avithin  the  boimds  of  its  duty,  by  making  it 
appear  before  the  majesty  of  God,  in  respect  of  which  it  is 
as  nothing.  Now,  if  princes  will  teach  their  people  not  to 
stand  in  fear  of  the  Supreme  Being,  how  Avill  they  be  able 
to  secure  their  respect  and  reverence  to  themselves  ?  When 
once  that  fear  comes  to  be  distinguished  in  the  subject  as 
well  as  in  the  prince,  what  Avill  become  of  fidelity  and  obedi- 
ence, and  on  what  foundations  shall  the  throne  be  supported  ? 
Cyrus  had  good  reason  to  say,  that  he  lo<  ked  upon  none  as 
good  servants  and  faithful  subjects,  bxit  such  as  had  a  sense 
of  religion,  and  a  reverence  for  the  Deity  :  nor  is  it  at  all 
astonishing  that  the  contempt  which  an  impious  prince,  who 
had  no  regard  to  the  sancity  of  oaths,  shows  of  God  and  re- 
ligion, should  shake  the  very  foundations  of  the  firmest  and 
best-established  empires,  and  sooner  or  later  occasion  their 
utter  destruction.*  Kings,  says  Plutarch,  when  any  revolution 
happens  in  their  dominions,  are  apt  to  complain  bitterly  of 
the  unfaithfulness  and  disloyalty  of  their  subjects  ;  but  they 
do  them  wrong,  and  forget  that  it  Avas  themselves  who  gave 
them  the  first  lesson  of  their  disloyalty,  by  showing  no  re- 
gard to  justice  and  fidelity,  which,  on  all  occasions,  they 
had  sacrificed,  without  scruple  to  their  own  particular  in- 
terests.f 

♦  Cyrop.  1.  viil.  p.  204.  t  Plut.  in  Pyrrli.  p.  390. 


BOOK     FIFTH. 


THE 

HISTORY 

OF     THE 

ORIGIN   AND   SETTLEMENT 

OF    THE    SEVERAL 

STATES   AND  GOVERNMENTS    OF 

G  R  E  E  C  B. 


Of  all  the  countries  of  antiquity,  none  have  been  so  highly- 
celebrated,  or  furnished  history  with  so  many  valuable  mon- 
uments and  illustrious  examples,  as  Greece.  In  whatever 
light  she  is  considered,  whether  for  the  glory  of  her  arms, 
the  wisdom  of  her  laws,  or  the  study  and  improv  'ment  of 
arts  and  sciences,  we  must  allow  that  she  carried  tliem  to 
the  utmost  degree  of  perfection  ;  and  it  may  truly  be  said, 
that  in  all  these  respects,  she  has,  in  some  measure  been  the 
school  of  mankind. 

It  is  impossible  not  to  be  very  much  affected  with  the 
history  of  such  a  nation  ;  especially  when  we  consider,  that 
it  has  been  transmitted  to  us  by  writers  of  extraordinary 
merit,  many  of  whom  distinguished  themselves  as  much  by 
their  words,  as  by  their  pens,  and  were  as  great  commanders 
and  able  statesmen,  as  excellent  historians.  I  confess,  it  is  a 
vast  advantage  to  have  such  men  for  guides  ;  men  of  an  ex- 
quisite judgment  and  consummate  prudence  ;  of  a  just  and 
perfect  taste  in  every  respect ;  and  who  furnish  not  only  the 
facts  and  thoughts,  as  well  as  the  expressions  wherewith  they 
are  to  be  represented  ;  but,  what  is  more  important,  the 
proper  reflections  that  are  to  accompany  those  facts,  and 
which  are  the  great  advantages  resulting  from  history.  These 
are  the  rich  sources  from  whence  I  shall  draw  all  that  I  have 
to  say,  having  previously,  however,  inquired   into  the  first 

(667) 


668  AXCIEXT    HISTORY. 

origin  and  establishment  of  the  Grecian  states.  As  this  ij. 
quiry  must  be  dry,  and  not  capable  of  affording  mucii  delight 
to  the  reader,  I  shall  be  as  brief  as  possible.  But  befoi-e  1 
enter  upon  that  I  think  it  necessary  to  draw  a  kind  of  short 
plan  of  the  situation  of  the  country,  and  of  the  several  parts 
that  compose  it. 

ARTICLE  I. 

A  GEOGExVPHICAL  DESCRIPTION  OF  AXCIEXT  GREECE. 

Ancient  Greece,  which  is  now  the  south  part  of  Turkey 
in  Europe,  was  bounded  on  the  east  by  the  ^gean  sea,  now 
called  the  Archipelago  ;  on  the  south  by  the  Cretan,  or  Can- 
cjian  sea  ;  on  the  west  by  the  Ionian  sea ;  and  on  the  north 
by  Illyria  and  Thrace.  . 

The  constituent  parts  of  ancient  Greece  are,  Epirus,  Pel- 
oponnesus, Greece  properly  so  called,  Thessaly,  and  Mace- 
donia. 

Epirus.  This  province  is  situated  to  the  west,  and  divided 
from  Thessaly  and  Macedonia  by  Mount  Pindus  and  the 
Acroceraunian  mountains. 

The  most  remarkable  inhabitants  of  Epirus  are,  the  Mo- 
lossians,  whose  chief  city  is  Dodona,  famous  for  the  temple 
and  oracle  of  Jupiter.  The  Chaonians^  whose  principal  city 
is  Oricum.  The  Thesprotians,  whose  city  is  Buthrotum, 
where  was  the  palace  and  residence  of  Pyrrhus.  The  Acar- 
nanians,  whose  city  was  Ambracia,  which  gives  its  name  to 
the  gulf.  Near  to  this  stood  Actium,  famous  for  the  victory 
of  Augustus  Cfesar,  vv^ho  built  opposite  to  that  city,  on  the 
other  side  of  the  gulf,  a  city  named  Nicopolis.  There  were 
two  little  rivers  in  Epirus,  very  famous  in  fabulous  story, 
Cocytus  and  Acheron. 

Epirus  must  have  been  very  well  peopled  in  former  tunes  ; 
as  Polybius  relates,  that  Paulus  ^milius,  after  having  de- 
feated Perseus,  the  last  king  of  Macedonia,  destroyed  seventy 
cities  in  that  country,  the  greatest  part  of  which  belonged  to 
the  Molossians ;  and  that  he  carried  away  from  thence  no 
less  than  a  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  jtrisoners.* 

Peloponnesus.  This  is  a  |ieniusula  now  called  the  Morea, 
joined  to  the  rest  of  Greece  only  by  the  Isthmus  of  Corinth, 
which  is  but  six  miles  broad.  It  is  well  known  that  several 
princes  have  attempted  in  vain  to  cut  through  this  Isthmus. 

The  parts  of  Peloponnesus  are  Achaia,  properly  so  called, 

*  Apud.  Strab.  1.  vii.  p.  322. 


HISTORY    OF    GREECE.  G69 

"whose  chief  cities  are,  Corinth,  Sicyon,  Patrse,  etc.  Elis,  in 
which  is  Olympia,  otherwise  called  Pisa,  seated  on  the  river 
Alphens,  upon  the  banks  of  which  the  Olympic  games  used 
to  be  celebrated.  Messenia,  in  which  are  the  cities  of  Mcs- 
Rene,  and  Pylos,  the  birth-place  of  Nestor  and  Corona.  Ar- 
»5adia,  in  which  was  Cyllene,  the  mount.'un  where  Mercury 
WHS  born,  the  cities  of  Tegea,  Stymphalus,  Mantinea,  and 
Megalopolis,  the  native  place  of  Polybius.  L:iconia,  wlierein 
Btood  Sparta,  or  Lacedsemon,  and  Amycla3 ;  Mount  Tayge- 
tus  ;  the  river  Eurotas,  and  the  cape  of  Tenarus.  Argolis,  in 
which  was  the  city  of  Argos,  called  also  Hipjnum,  famous  for 
the  temple  of  Juno  ;  Nemea,  Mycenae,  Nau]:>lia,  Tra;zene, 
and  E])idaurus,  wherein  was  the  temple  of  ^sculapius. 

Greece,  properly  so  called.  The  principal  parts  of  this 
country  were,  ^tolia,  in  Avhich  were  the  cities  of  Chalcis, 
Calydon,  and  Olenus.  Doris.  Locris,  inhabited  by  the 
Ozolae.  Naupactnm,  now  called  Lepanto,  famous  for  the  de- 
feat of  the  Turks  in  ,4  571.  Phocis.  Anticyra.  Delphos,  at 
the  foot  of  Mount  Parnassus,  famous  for  the  oracles  delivered 
there.  In  this  country  also  was  Mount  Helicon.  1  ceo  ia. 
Mount  Cithaeron,  Orchonienus.  Thespia.  Chaeronea,  Plu- 
tarch's native  country.  Plataja,  famous  for  the  defeat  of 
Mardonius.  Tliebes.  Aulis,  famous  for  its  port,  from 
whence  the  Grecian  army  set  sail  for  the  siege  of  Troy. 
Leuctra,  celebrated  for  the  victory  of  Epaminondas.  Attica. 
Mcgara.  Eleusis.  Decelia.  Marathon,  where  Miltiades 
defeated  the  Persian  army.  Athens,  whose  ports  were 
Piraeus,  Munychia,  and  Phalerus.  The  mountain  Hymettus^ 
famous  for  its  excellent  honey.     Locris. 

Thessaly.  The  most  remarkable  towns  of  this  province 
were  Gomphi,  Pharsalia,  near  which  Julius  Caesar  defeated 
Pomp6y.  Magnesia.  Methone,  at  the  siege  of  which  Phdip 
lost  his  eye.  Thermopylae,  a  narrow  strait,  famous  for  the 
defeat  of  Xerxes's  numerous  army  by  the  vigorous  resistance 
of  three  hundred  Spartans.  Phtliia.  Thebes.  Larissa. 
Demetrias.  The  delightful  valleys  of  Tempo,  near  the  banks 
of  the  river  Peneus.  Olympus,  Pelion,  and  Ossa,  three 
mountains  celebrated  in  fabulous  story  for  the  battle  of  the 
giants. 

Macedonia.  I  shall  only  mention  a  few  of  the  principal 
towns  of  this  country.  Epidamnus,  or  Dyrrachium,  now 
called  Durazzo.  Apollonia.  Pella,  the  capital  of  the  coun- 
try, and  the  native  place  of  Philip,  and  of  his  son  Alexan- 
der the  Great.    JEgaea.     uEdessa.     Pallene.     Olinthus,  from 


670  ANCIENT    HISTORY. 

whence  the  Olynthiacs  of  Demosthenes  took  their  name. 
Torone.  Arcanthus.  Thessalonica,  now  called  Salonichi. 
Stagira,  the  place  of  Aristotle's  birth.  Amphipolis.  Philippi, 
famous  for  the  victory  gained  there  by  Augustus  and  An- 
thony over  Brutus  and  Cassius.  Scotussa.  Mount  Athos  ; 
and  the  river  Strymon. 

THE     GRECIAN     ISLES. 

There  are  a  great  number  of  islands,  contiguous  to 
Greece,  that  are  very  famous  in  history.  In  the  Ionian  sea, 
Corcyra,  with  a  town  of  the  same  name,  now  called  Corfu. 
Cephalene  and  Zacynthus,  now  Cephalonia  and  Zante. 
Ithaca,  the  country  of  Ulysses,  and  Dulichium.  Near  the 
promontory  Malea,  opposite  to  Laconia,  is  Cythei-a.  In 
the  Saronic  gulf,  are  ^gina  and  Salamin,  so  famous  for  the 
naval  battle  between  Xerxes  and  the  Grecians.  Between 
Greece  and  Asia  lie  the  Sporades,  and  the  Cyclades,  the 
most  noted  of  which  are  Andros,  Delos,  and  Paros,  anciently 
famous  for  fine  marble.  Higher  up  in  the  ^gean  sea  is 
Euboea,  now  Negropont,  se])arated  from  the  main  land  by  a 
small  arm  of  the  sea  called  Eux'ipus.  The  most  remarkable 
city  of  this  isle  was  Chalcis.  Towards  the  north  is  Skyros, 
and  beyond  is  Lemnos,  now  called  Stalimene  ;  and  still 
farther,  Samothrace.  Lower  down  is  Lesbos,  whose  princi- 
pal city  was  Mitylene,  from  whence  the  isle  has  since  taken 
the  name  oi  Metelin.  Chios,  now  Scio,  renowned  for  ex- 
cellent wine  ;  and  lastly,  Samos,  Some  of  these  last-men- 
tioned isles  are  reckoned  to  belong  to  Asia. 

The  island  of  Crete,  now  Candia,  is  the  largest  of  all  the 
isles  contiguous  to  Greece.  It  has  to  the  north  the  ^gean 
sea,  or  the  Archipelago  ;  and  to  the  south  the  African  ocean. 
Its  principal  towns  Avere,  Gortyna,  Cydon,  Gnossus ;  its 
mountains,  Dicte,  Ida,  and  Corycus.  Its  labyrinth  is  famous 
throughout  the  world. 

The  Grecians  had  colonies  in  most  of  these  isles. 

They  had  likewise  settlements  in  Sicily,  and  in  part  of 
Italy  towards  Calabria,*  which  places  are  for  that  reason 
called  Graecia  Magna. 

But  their  grand  settlement  was  in  Asia  Minor,  and  par- 
ticularly in  ^olis,  Ionia,  and  Doris.f  The  jjrincipal  towns 
of  ^Eolis,  are  Cumae,  Chocaea,  Elea.  Of  Ionia,  Smyrna, 
Clazomenae,  Teos,  Lebedus,  Colophon,  and  Ephesus.  Of 
Doi'is,  Halicarnassus  and  Cilidos. 

•  Strab.  1.  vi.  p.  253.  1  Plin.  1.  vi.  c.  2. 


HISTORY    OF    GREECE,  671 

They  had  also  a  great  number  of  colonies  in  different 
parts  of  the  world,  of  which  I  shall  give  some  account  as 
occasion  shall  offer. 

ARTICLE    II. 

DIVISION    OF    THE    GRECIAJST    HISTORY    INTO    FOUR    SEVERAL 

AGES. 

The  Grecian  history  may  be  divided  into  four  different 
ages,  noted  by  so  many  memorable  epochs,  all  which  to- 
gether include  the  space  of  2154  years. 

The  first  age  extends  from  the  foundation  of  the  several 
petty  kingdoms  of  Greece,  beginning  with  that  of  Sicyon, 
which  is  the  most  ancient,  to  the  siege  of  Troy,  and  com- 
prehends about  a  thousand  years,  namely,  from  the  year  of 
the  world  1820"  to  the  year  2820. 

The  second  begins  at  the  taking  of  Troy  and  reaches  to 
the  reign  of  Dai-ius,  the  son  of  Hystaspes,  at  which  ))eriod 
the  Grecian  history  begins  to  be  intermixed  with  that  of 
the  Persians,  and  contains  the  space  of  six  hundred  and 
sixty-three  years,  from  the  year  of  the  world  2820  to  the 
year  3483. 

The  third  is  dated  from  the  beginning  of  the  reign  of 
Darius  to  the  death  of  Alexander  the  Great,  which  is  the 
finest  part  of  Grecian  history,  and  takes  in  the  term  of  one 
hundred  and  ninety-eight  years,  from  the  year  of  the  world 
3488  to  the  year  3681. 

The  fourth  and  last  age  commences  from  the  death  of 
Alexander,  at  which  time  the  Grecians  began  to  decline,  and 
continues  to  their  final  subjection  by  the  Romans.  The 
epoch  of  the  utter  ruin  and  doAvnfall  of  the  Greeks  may  be 
dated,  partly  from  the  taking  and  destruction  of  Corinth  by 
the  consul  L.  Mummius  in  3858,  partly  from  the  extinction 
of  the  kingdom  of  the  Seleucidse  in  Asia,  by  Poinijey,  in  the 
year  of  the  world  3939  ;  and  of  the  kingdom  of  the  Lagidae 
in  Egypt,  by  Augustus,  A.  31.  3974.  This  last  age  includes, 
in  all,  two  hundred  and  ninety-three  years. 

Of  these  four  distinct  ages,  I  shall  in  this  pKice  only 
touch  upon  the  two  first  in  a  very  succinct  manner,  just  to 
give  the  reader  some  general  idea  of  that  obscure  period  ; 
because  those  times,  at  least  a  great  part  of  them,  partake 
more  of  fable  than  of  real  history  :  and  are  wrapped  up  in 
a  darkness  and  obscurity,  which  it  is  very  difficult,  if  not 
impossible,  to  penetrate  :  and  I  have  often  declared  already, 


672  AXCTEXT    HISTORY. 

that  such  a  dark  and  laborious  inquiry,  though  very  useful 
for  those  that  are  entering  deep  into  history,  does  not  com6 
within  the  plan  of  my  design. 

AJRTICLfi    ttl. 

THE    PRIMITIVE    ORIGIX    OF    THE    GRECIANS. 

In  order  to  arrive  at  any  certain  knowledge  concerning 
the  derivation  of  the  Grecian  nations,  we  must  necessarily 
have  recourse  to  the  account  >ve  have  of  it  in  the  Holy 
Scriptures. 

JaA'an  or  Ion,  for  in  the  Hebrew  the  same  letters  differ- 
ently pointed,  form  these  two  different  names,  the  son  oi 
Japhet,  and  grandson  of  Noah,  was  certainly  the  father  of 
all  those  natiois  that  went  under  the  general  denomination 
of  Greeks,  though  he  has  been  looked  upon  as  the  father  of 
the  lonians  only,  which  were  but  one  particuha-  nation  of 
Greeks.*  But  the  Hebrews,  the  Chaldeans,  Arabians,  and 
others,  give  no  other  a])pellation  to  the  whole  body  of  the 
Grecian  nations,  than  that  of  lonians.  And  for  this  reason, 
Alexander,  in  the  predictions  of  Daniel, f  is  mentioned 
under  the  name  of  the  king  of  Javan.  t 

Javan  had  four  sons,  Elisha,  Tarsis,  Chittim,  and  Do- 
danim.  §  As  Javan  was  the  original  father  of  the  Grecian? 
in  general,  no  doubt  but  his  four  sons  were  the  heads  and 
founders  of  the  chief  tribes  and  principal  branches  of  that 
nation,  which  became,  in  succeeding  ages,  so  renowned  ioi 
arts  and  arms. 

Elisha  is  the  same  as  Ellas,  as  it  is  rendered  in  the 
Chaldee  translation  :  and  the  word  "JJJ.r/^i-,  Avhich  wa^ 
used  in  the  common  appellation  of  the  whole  people,  in  the 
same  manner  as  the  word  "EX/.a^  was  of  the  whole  country, 
has  no  other  derivation.  The  city  of  Elis,  very  ancient  in 
Peloponnesus,  the  El  ,'sian  fields,  the  river  Elissus,  or  Ilissus 
have  long  retained  the  marks  of  their  being  derived  from 
Elisha,  and  have  contributed  more  to  preserve  liis  memory, 
than  the  historians  themselves  of  the  nation,  A\ho  were  in- 
quisitive after  foreign  affairs,  and  but  little  acquainted  with 
their  own  original ;  because,  as  they  had  little  or  no  knowl- 
edge of  the  true  religion,  they  did  not  carry  their  inquiries 
8o  high.  Upon  which  account,  they  themselves  derived  the 
words  Hellenes  and  lones  from  another  source,  as  we  shall 

•  Gen.  X.  2.  t  Dan.  viii.  21. 

t  Hireua  caprarum  rex  Grecise  :  in  the  Hebrew,  rex  Javan.       §  (Jen.  x.  4. 


HISTORY    OF    GREECE.  673 

see  in  the  sequel ;  for  I  think  myself  obliged  to  give  some 
account  of  their  opinions  also  in  this  respect. 

Tiirsis  was  the  second  son  of  Javan.  He  settled,  as  his 
brethren  did,  in  some  }>arts  of  Greece,  perhaps  in  Achaia  or 
the  neighboring  provinces,  as  Elisha  did  in  Peloponnesus. 

It  is  not  to  be  doubted  but  that  Chittim  was  the  father 
of  the  Macedonians,  according  to  the  authority  of  tlie  first 
book  of  the  Maccabees,*  in  the  beginning  of  which  it  is 
said,  that  Alexander,  the  son  of  Philip,  the  Macedonian, 
went  out  of  his  country,  which  was  that  of  Cetthim,t  or 
Chittim,  to  make  war  against  Darius,  king  of  Persia. 
And  in  the  eighth  chapter,  speaking  of  the  Romans  and 
their  victories  over  the  last  kings  of  Macedonia,  Philip  and 
Perseus,  t  the  two  last-mentioned  princes,  are  called  kings 
of  the  Cetheaijs. 

Dodanim.  It  is  very  probable,  that  Thessaly  and  Epirus 
were  the  portion  of  the  fourth  son  of  Javan.  The  im- 
pious worship  of  Jupiter  of  Dodona,  as  well  as  the  city  of 
Dodona§  itself,  are  proofs  that  some  remembrance  of  Dod- 
anim had  remained  with  the  people,  who  derived  their 
first  establishment  from  him. 

This  is  all  that  can  be  said  with  any  certainty  concerning 
the  true  origin  of  the  Grecian  nation.  The  Holy  Scripture, 
whose  design  is  not  to  satiskfy  our  curiosity,  but  to  cherish 
and  improve  our  piety,  after  scattering  these  few  rays  of 
light,  leaves  us  in  utter  darkness  concerning  the  rest  of  their 
history,  which  therefore  can  only  be  collected  from  profane 
authors. 

If  we  may  believe  Pliny,  the  Grecians  were  so  called 
from  the  name  of  an  ancient  king,  of  whom  they  had  but  a 
very  uncertain  tradition.  ||  Homer,  in  his  poems,  calls  them 
Hellene,s,  Danai,  Argives,  and  Achaians.  It  is  observable, 
that  the  word  Grcecus  is  not  once  used  in  Virgil. 

The  exceeding  rusticity  of  the  first  Grecians  would  ap- 
pear incredible,  if  we  could  call  in  question  the  testimony  of 
their  own  historians  upon  that  article.  But  a  people  so  vain 
of  their  origin,  as  to  adorn  it  with  fiction  and  fable,  we  may 
be  sure,  would  never  think  of  inventing  any  thing  to  its  dis- 
paragement. Who  would  imagine,  that  the  people  to  whom 
the  world  is  indebted  for  all  her  knowledge  in  literature  and 
the  sciences,  should  be  descended  from  mere  savages,  who 
knew  no  other  law  than  force,  and  were  ignorant  even  of 

*  Maccab.  i.  1.  t  Egressiis  de  terra  Cetbim. 

t  Philippum  ct  Peraeum,  Cetheorum  reges.— V.  5. 

§  AuSuJi^n  a.7To  Atuoiucov  tov  Aiiti  Kai  Euowirij^.— St6,  ||  Lib.  iv.  C.  7> 

43 


674  ANCIENT    HISTOUY. 

agi'icultm e  ?  *  And  yet  this  appears  plainly  to  !>.■  tlie  case, 
from  the  divine  honors  they  decreed  to  Pelasgu-,  who  first 
taught  them  to  feed  upon  acorns,  as  a  more  delicate  and 
wholesome  nourishment  than  herbs.  There  was  still  a  gi-eat 
distance  from  this  first  improvement  to  a  state  of  urbanity 
and  politeness.  Xor  did  they  indeed  arrive  at  the  latter, 
till  after  a  long  process  of  time. 

The  weakest  were  not  the  last  to  understand  the  neces- 
sity of  living  together  in  society,  in  order  to  defend  them- 
selves against  violence  and  oppression.  At  first  they  built 
single  houses  at  a  distance  from  one  another,  the  number  of 
which  insensibly  increasing,  formed  in  time,  towns  and 
cities.  But  the  bare  living  together  in  society  was  not  suflfi- 
cient  to  polish  such  a  people.  Egj^pt  and  Phoenicia  had  the 
honor  of  doing  this.  Both  these  nations  contributed  to  in- 
struct and  civilize  the  Grecians,  by  the  colonies  they  sent 
among  them.  The  latter  taught  them  navigation,  Avriting, 
and  commerce  ;  the  former  the  knowledge  of  their  laws  and 
polity,  gave  them  a  taste  for  arts  and  sciences,  and  initiated 
them  into  their  mysteries. f 

Greece,  in  her  infant  state,  was  exposed  to  gi'eat  commo- 
tions and  frequent  revolutions  ;  because,  as  the  people  liad 
no  settled  correspondence,  and  no  superior  power  to  give 
laws  to  the  rest,  every  thing  was  determined  by  force  and 
violence.  The  sti'ongest  invaded  those  lands  of  their  neigh- 
bors, which  they  thought  most  fertile  and  delightful,  and  dis- 
possessed the  lawful  owners,  who  were  obliged  to  seek  new 
settlements  elsewhere.  As  Attica  was  a  dry  and  barren 
country,  its  inhabitants  had  not  the  same  invasions  and  out- 
rages to  fear,  and  therefore  cousequently  kept  themselves  in 
possession  of  their  ancient  territories ;  for  which  reason  they 
took  the  name  of  ahroyjhv^z-^  that  is,  men  born  in  the  country 
where  they  lived,  to  distinguish  themselves  from  the  rest  of 
the  nations,  that  had  almost  all  transplanted  themselves 
from  place  to  place.  % 

Such  were  in  general  the  first  beginnings  of  Greece.  We 
must  now  enter  into  a  more  particular  detail,  and  give  a 
brief  account  of  the  establishment  of  the  several  different 
Btates,  which  constituted  the  whole  country. 

•  Pausan.  1.  viii.  pp.  4'55, 456. 

t  Herod.  1.  V.  c.  58,  et  1.  v.  e.  58-60.    Plin.  1.  v.  c.  12,  et.  1.  vit.  c.  56. 

i  Thucy.  i.  1.  p.  3. 


HISTORY    OF    GREECE.  675 

ARTICLE  IV. 

THE    DIFFERE^^T    STATES    INTO  WHICH  GREECE  WAS  DIVIDED. 

In  those  early  times,  kingdoms  were  but  inconsiderable, 
and  of  very  small  extent,  the  title  of  kingdom  being  often 
given  to  a  single  city,  with  a  few  leagues  of  land  depending 
upon  it. 

Sicyon.*  The  most  ancient  kingdom  of  Greece  was  that 
of  Sicyon,  whose  commencement  is  dated  by  Eusebius  one 
thousand  three  hundred  and  thirteen  years  befoi-e  the  first 
Olympiad.  Its  duration  is  believed  to  have  been  about  a 
thousand  years. 

Argos.f  The  kingdom  of  Argos  in  Peloponnesus,  be- 
gan one  thousand  and  eighty  years  before  the  first  Olympiad, 
in  the  time  of  Abraham.  The  tirst  king  of  it  was  Ixaoiius. 
His  successors  were,  his  son  Pholoneus,  Apis,  Argus,  from 
whom  the  country  took  its  name  ;  and  after  several  others, 
Gleanor,  Avho  was  dethroned  and  expelled  his  kingdom  by 
Danaus  the  Egyptian,  t  The  successors  of  this  last  were 
first,  Lynceus,  the  son  of  his  brother  ^Egyptus,  Avho  alone, 
of  fifty  brothers,  escaped  the  cruelty  of  the  Danaides  ;  then 
Abas,  Proetus,  and  Acrisius. 

Of  Danae,  daughter  of  the  last,  was  born  Perseus,  who 
having,  when  he  was  grown  up,  unfortunately  killed  his 
grandfather  Acrisius,  and  not  being  able  to  bear  the  sight  of 
Argos,  Avhere  he  committed  that  involuntary  murder,  with- 
drew to  Mycenae,  and  there  fixed  the  seat  of  his  kingdom. 

Mycenae.  Perseus  then  translated  the  seat  of  the  king- 
dom from  Argos  to  Mycenae.  He  left  several  sons  behind 
him;  among  others,  Alcaeus,  Sthenelus,  and  Electryon.  Al- 
cseus  was  the  father  of  Amphitryon,  Sthenelus  of  Eurystheus, 
and  Eiectryon  of  Alcmena.  Amphitryon  married  Alcmena, 
u]  on  whom  Jupiter  begat  Hercules. 

iiiurystheus  and  Hercules  came  into  the  world  the  same 
day;  but  as  the  birth  of  the  former  was,  by  Juno's  manage- 
ment antecedent  to  that  of  the  latter,  Hercules  was  forced 
to  be  subject  to  him,  and  was  obliged,  by  his  order,  to 
undertake  the  twelve  labors,  so  celebrated  in  f:\ble. 

The  kings  who  reigned  at  Mycenae  after  Perseus,  were, 

*  a.  M.  1015.     Ant.  .J.  C.  2089. 

t  A.  M.  2148.    Ant.  J.  C  1856.    Euseb.  in  Chron. 

t  A.  M.  2530.    Aut-  J.  C.  U74. 


676  Ajrcii2KT  history. 

Electryon,  Sthonelus,  and  Eurystheus.  Tlie  last,  after 
the  death  of  Hercules,  declared  open  war  against  his  de- 
scendants, apprehending  they  might  some  time  or  other 
attempt  to  dethrone  him,  which,  as  it  ha])])eiie(l,  was  done 
by  the  Heraclida? ;  for  having  killed  Eurystheus  in  battle, 
they  entered  victorious  into  Peloponnesus,  and  made  them- 
selves masters  of  the  country.  But,  as  this  happened  before 
the  time  determined  by  fate,  a  ])lague  ensued,  which,  Avith 
the  direction  of  an  oracle,  obliged  them  to  quit  the  country. 
Three  years  after  this,  being  deceived  by  the  ambiguous  ex- 
pression of  the  oracle,  they  made  a  second  attempt,  Avhich 
likewise  proved  fruitless.  This  was  about  twenty  years  be- 
fore the  taking  of  Troy. 

Atreus,  the  son  of  Pelops,  uncle  by  the  mother's  side  to 
Eurystheus,  succeeded  the  latter.  And  in  this  manner  the 
crown  came  to  the  descendants  of  Pelops,  from  whom  Pelo- 
ponnesus, Mhich  before  was  called  Apia,  derived  its  name. 
The  bloody  hatred  of  two  brothers,  Atreus  and  Thyestes,  is 
known  to  all  the  Avorld. 

Plisthenes,  the  son  of  Atreus,  succeeded  his  father  in  the 
kingdom  of  Mycenae,  which  he  left  to  his  son  Agamemnon, 
who  Avas  succeeded  by  his  son  Orestes.  The  kingdom  of 
Mycenae  Avas  iilled  witli  enormous  and  horrible  crimes,  from 
the  time  it  came  into  the  family  of  Pelops. 

Tisamenes  and  Penthilus,  sons  of  Orestes,  reigned  after 
their  father,  and  were  at  last  driven  out  of  Peloponnesus 
by  the  TIeraclidas. 

Athens.*  Cecrops,  a  native  of  Egypt,  Avas  tlie  founder 
of  this  kingdom.  Having  settled  in  Attica,  he  divided  all 
the  country  subject  to  him  into  twelve  districts.  He  also 
established  the  Areopagus. 

This  august  tribunal,  in  the  reign  of  his  successor 
Cranaus,  adjudged  the  famous  dispute  betAveen  Neptune 
and  Mars.  In  this  time  hap]>ened  Deucalion's  flood.  The 
deluge  of  Ogyges  in  Attica  was  much  more  ancient,  being  a 
thousand  and  tAventy  years  before  the  first  Olympiad,  and 
consequently  in  the  year  of  the  Avorld  2208. 

Amphictyon,  the  third  king  of  Athens,  procured  a  con- 
federacy between  tAvelve  nations,  Avhich  assembled  twice  a 
year  at  Thermopylie,  there  to  offer  theii*  common  sacrifices, 
and  to  consult  together  upon  their  affairs  in  general,  as  also 
Tipon  the  affairs  of  e  K-h.  nation  in  particular.  This  conven- 
tion Avas  called  the  Assembly  of  the  Araphictyons. 

•  A.  M.  244S.    Aut.  J.  C-  IO06. 


HISTOKY    OF    GREECE.  077 

The  reign  of  Erectlieus  is  remarkable  for  the  arrival  of 
Cei'es  ill  Attica,  after  the  rape  of  her  dauglitcr  Proserpine, 
as  also  for  the  institution  of  the  mysteries  of  Eleusis. 

The  reign  of  ^gens,  the  son  of  Pandion,  is  tlie  most 
illustrious  ])erio(l  of  the  history  of  the  heroes.*  In  his  time 
are  jilaced  the  expedition  of  the  Argonauts  ;  the  celebrated 
labors  of  Hercules ;  the  war  of  Minos,  second  king  of  Crete, 
against  the  Athenians  ;  the  story  of  Theseus  and  Ariadne. 

Theseus  succeeded  his  father  JEgeus.  Cecrops  had  di- 
vided Attica  into  tM'elve  boroughs,  or  districts,  separated 
from  each  other.  Theseus  brought  the  people  to  understand 
the  advantages  of  a  common  government,  and  united  the 
twelve  boroughs  into  one  city,  or  body  politic  in  -which  the 
whole  authority  was  united. 

Codrus  was  the  last  king  of  Athens ;  he  devoted  himself 
to  the  death  for  his  ])eople. 

After  him  the  title  of  king  Avas  extinguished  among  the 
Athenians.!  Medon,  his  son,  Avas  set  at  the  head  of  the 
commonwealth  with  the  title  of  archon,  that  is  to  say,  pres- 
ident or  governor.  The  first  archons  Avere  for  life  ;  but 
the  Athenians,  growing  Aveary  of  a  government  Avhich  they 
still  thought  bore  too  great  resemblance  to  royal  jiOAver, 
made  their  archons  elective  eA^ery  ten  years,  and  at  last 
reduced  it  to  an  annual  office. 

Thebes,  t  Cadmus,  who  came  by  sea  from  the  coast  of 
Phoenicia,  that  is,  from  about  Tyre  and  Sidon,  seized  vipon 
that  part  of  the  country  Avhich  Avas  afterwards  called  Bceotia. 
He  built  there  the  city  of  Thebes,  or  at  least  a  citadel,  Avhich 
from  his  own  name  he  called  Cadmsea,  and  there  fixed  the 
seat  of  his  )>ower  and  dominion. 

The  fatal  misfortune  of  Laius,  one  of  his  successors,  and 
of  Jocasta  his  wife,  of  Qildipus  their  son,  of  Eteocles  and 
Polynices,  Avho  were  born  of  the  incestuous  marriage 
of  Jocasta  Avith  Qildipus,  haA^e  furnished  ample  matter  for 
fabulous  narration  and  theatrical  representations. 

Sparta,  or  Lacedasmon.  It  is  supposed  that  Lelex,  the 
first  king  of  Laconia,  began  his  reign  about  one  thousand 
five  hundred  and  sixteen  years  before  the  Christian  era. 

Tyndarus,  the  ninth  king  of  Lacedaemon,  had,  by  Leda, 
Castor  and  Pollux,  Avho  were  twins,  besides  Helena,  and 
Clyteranestra,  the  Avife  of  Agamemnon,  king  of  Mycenre, 
Having  survived  his  two  sons,  the  twins,  he  began  to  think 

*  A.  M.  2T20,  Ant.  J.  C.  12^4.  t  A.  M.  2934.  Ant.  J.  C.  1070. 

t  A.  M.  3oi9.  Aut.  J.  C.  1455. 


678  ANCIEXT    HISTORY. 

of  choosing  a  successor,  by  seeking  a  husband  forliis  daugli- 
ter  Helena.  All  the  pretenders  to  this  princess  bound  them- 
selves by  oath  to  abide  by,  and  entirely  submit  to,  the  choice 
which  the  lady  herself  should  make,  who  determined  in 
favor  of  Menelaus.  She  had  not  lived  above  three  years 
with  her  husband,  before  she  was  carried  of  by  Alexander 
or  Paris,  son  of  Priam,  king  of  the  Trojans,  which  rape 
was  the  cause  of  the  Trojan  war.  Greece  did  not  properly 
begin  to  know  or  experience  her  united  strength,  till  the 
famous  siege  of  that  city,  Avliere  Achilles,  the  Aj:ixes,  Nestor, 
and  Ulysses,  gave  Asia  sufficient  reasons  to  forebode  her 
future  subjection  to  their  posterity.  The  Greeks  took  Troy 
after  a  siege  of  ten  years,  much  about  the  time  that  Jephtha 
governed  the  people  of  God,  that  is,  according  to  Bishop 
Usher,  in  the  year  of  the  world  2820,  and  1184  before  Jesus 
Christ,  lliis  epoch  is  famous  in  liistory,  and  should  be  care- 
fully remembered,  as  well  as  that  of  the  01ym])iads. 

An  Olympiad  is  the  revolution  of  four  complete  years 
from  one  celebration  of  the  Olympic  games  to  another.  We 
shall  elsewhere  give  an  account  of  the  institution  of  these 
games,  which  were  celebrated  every  four  years,  near  the 
town  of  Pisa,  otherwise  called  Olympia, 

The  common  era  of  the  Olympiads  begins  in  the  sum- 
mer of  the  year  of  the  Avorld  8228,  seven  hundred  and 
seventy-six  j^ears  before  Jesus  Christ,  from  the  games  in 
which  Chorebus  won  the  prize  in  the  foot  race. 

Eighty  years  after  the  taking  of  Troy,  the  Ileraclidas  re- 
entered the  Peloponnesus,  and  seized  Lacedsemon,  where  two 
brothers,  Eurysthenes  and  Procles,  sons  of  Aristodemus, 
began  to  reign  together,  and  from  their  time  the  sceptre 
always  continued  jointly  in  the  hands  of  the  descendants  of 
those  two  families.  Many  years  after  this,  Lycurgus  insti- 
tuted that  body  of  laws  for  the  Spartan  state,  which  ren- 
dered both  the  legislature  and  the  republic  so  famous  in 
history.     I  shall  speak  of  them  at  large  in  the  secpiel. 

Corinth.*  Corinth  began  later  than  the  other  cities  I 
liaA'^e  been  speaking  of  to  be  governed  by  particular  kings. 
It  Avas  at  first  subject  to  those  of  Argos  and  Mycenae;  at 
last  Sisyphus,  the  son  of  ^olus,  made  himself  master  of  it. 
But  his  descendants  were  dispossessed  of  the  throne  by  the 
HeraclidjB,  about  one  hundred  and  ten  years  after  the  siege 
of  Troy. 

The  regal  power  after  this  came  to  the   descendants  of 

*  A.  :M.  2G28.     AiU.  J.  C.  1376. 


HISTORY    OF    GREECE.  G79 

Bacchis,  under  whom  the  monarchy  was  changed  into  an 
aristocracy,  that  is,  the  reins  of  the  government  were  in 
the  hands  of  the  ekiers,  who  annually  chose  troni  among 
tlieniselves  a  chief  magisti'ate,  whom  they  called  Prytanis. 
At  last  Cypselus  having  gained  the  people,  usurped  the 
supreme  authority,  which  he  transmitted  to  his  son  Peri- 
ander,  who  was  ranked  among  the  Grecian  sages,  on  ac- 
count of  the  love  he  bore  to  learning,  and  the  protection  and 
encouragement  he  gave  to  learned  men. 

Macedonia.*  It  was  a  long  time  before  the  Greeks  had 
any  great  regard  to  Macedonia.  Her  kings  living  retired 
in  woods  and  mountains,  seemed  not  to  be  considered  as  a 
part  of  Greece.  They  pretended,  that  their  kings,  of  whom 
Caranus  was  the  first,  were  descended  from  Hercules. 
Philip  and  his  son  Alexander  raised  the  glory  of  this  king- 
dom to  a  A'ery  high  degree.  It  had  subsisted  four  hundred 
and  seventy-one  years  before  the  death  of  Alexander,  and 
continued  one  hundred  and  fifty-five  more,  till  Perseus  was 
beaten  and  taken  by  the  Romans  ;  in  all  six  hundred  and 
twenty-six  years. 

ARTICLE  V. 

coLO^^ES  of  the  greeks  sext  ikto  asia  minor. 

We  have  already  observed,  that  eighty  years  after  the 
taking  of  Troy,  the  Heraclidaj  recovered  Peloponnesus,  after 
having  defeated  the  Pelopidae,  that  is,  Tisamenes  and  Pen- 
thilus,  sons  of  Orestes  ;  and  that  they  divided  the  kingdom 
of  Mycenae,  Argos,  and  Lacedsemon,  among  them. 

So  great  a  revolution  as  this  almost  changed  the  face  of 
the  countrj^,  and  made  way  for  several  very  famous  transmi- 
grations ;  which,  the  better  to  understand,  and  to  have  the 
clearer  idea  of  the  situation  of  the  Grecian  nations,  as  also 
of  the  four  dialects,  or  different  idioms  of  speech,  that 
prevailed  among  them,  it  will  be  necessary  to  look  a  little 
further  back  into  histor3^ 

Deucalion,  who  reigned  in  Thessaly,  and  under  whom 
happened  the  flood  that  bears  his  name,  had  by  Pyrrha,  his 
Avife,  two  sons,  Helenus  and  Amphictyon.  This  last,  having 
driven  Cranaus  out  of  Athens,  reigned  there  in  his  stead. 
Helenus,  if  we  may  believe  the  historians  of  his  country, 
gave  the  name  of  Helenes  to  the  Greeks :  he  had  three  sons, 
JEolus  Dorus,  and  Xuthus.f 

*  A.  M.  3101.    Aiit.  J.  C.  813. 

t  Strab.  I.  viii.  p.  383,  &c.    Pausaii.  1.  vii.  p.  390,  &c. 


680  ANCIENT    niSTORY. 

-^olus,  who  was  the  eldest,  succeeded  Ins  fatlier,  and  be- 
sides Thessaly,  had  Locris  and  Boeotia  added  to  his  domin- 
ions. Several  of  his  descendants  went  into  Peloj»onnesus 
with  Pelops,  the  son  of  Tantalus,  kincc  of  Phryoia,  from 
whom  Peloponnesus  took  its  name,  and  settled  themselves 
in  Laconia. 

The  country  contiguous  to  Parnassus  fell  to  the  share  of 
Dorus,  and  from  him  was  called  Doris. 

Xuthus,  compelled  by  his  brothers,  upon  some  particular 
disgust,  to  quit  his  country,  retired  into  Attica,  where  he 
married  the  daughter  of  Erechtheus,  king  of  the  Athenians, 
by  Avhom  he  had  two  sons,  Acha?us  and  Ion. 

An  involuntary  murder,  committed  by  Achseus,  obliged 
him  to  retire  to  Peloponnesus,  whicli  was  then  called  Egialasa, 
of  which  one  part  was  fiom  him  called  Achaia.  His  de- 
scendants settled  at  Lacedseraon. 

Ion,  having  signalized  himself  by  his  victories,  was  in- 
vited by  the  Athenians  to  govern  their  city,  and  gaA'e  the 
country  his  name  ;  for  the  inhabitants  of  Attica  Avere  like- 
wise called  lonians.  Tlie  number  of  the  citizens  increased 
to  such  a  degree,  that  the  Athenians  were  obliged  to  send  a 
colony  of  the  lonians  into  Peloponnesus,  who  likewise  gave 
the  name  to  the  country  they  possessed. 

Thus  all  the  inhabitants  of  Peloponnesus,  though  com- 
posed of  different  people,  were  united  under  the  names  of 
Achaaans  and  lonians. 

The  TIeraclidas,  eighty  years  after  the  taking  of  Troy, 
resolved  seriously  to  recover  Peloponnesus,  which  of  right 
belonged  to  them.  They  had  three  principal  leaders,  sons 
of  Aristomachus,  namely,  Timenes,  Cresphontes,  and  Aris- 
toderaus ;  the  last  dying,  his  two  sons,  Euristhenes  and 
Procles,  succeeded  him.  The  success  of  their  expedition 
was  as  happy  as  the  motive  was  just,  and  they  recovered  the 
possession  of  their  ancient  dominion.  Argos  fell  to  Timenes, 
Messenia  to  Cresphontes,  and  Laconia  to  the  two  sons  of 
Aristodemus. 

Such  of  the  Achasans  as  v.c re  descended  from  ^olus, 
vmd  hid  liithcrto  inhabited  Liconia,  being  driven  from 
thence  by  the  Dorians,  vrho  accompanied  the  Heraclidaa  into 
Peloponnesus,  after  some  wandering,  settled  in  that  part  of 
Asia  Minor,  v.diich  from  them  took  the  name  of  ^Eolis,  wliere 
they  founded  Smyrna,  and  eleven  other  cities  ;  buttlie  town 
of  Smyrna  came  afterw.irds  into  the  hands  of  the  lonians. 
The  JEolians  became  likewise  possessed  of  several  cities  of 
Lesbos. 


HISTORY    OF    GREECE.  681 

As  for  tlic  Achseans  of  Mycente  and  Argos,  being  com- 
pelled to  abandon  theii*  country  to  the  Heraclidae,  they 
seized  upon  that  of  the  lonians,  Avho  dwelt  at  that  time  in  a 
part  of  Peloponnesus.  The  latter  fled  at  first  to  Athens, 
their  original  country,  from  Avhence  they  sometime  after- 
wards departed  under  the  conduct  of  Xileus  and  Aiidrocles, 
both  sons  of  Codrus,  and  seized  upon  that  part  of  the  coast 
of  Asia  Minor  which  lies  between  Caria  and  Lydia,  and  from 
them  was  named  Ionia;  here  they  built  twelve  cities,  Ephe- 
sus,  Clazomenae,  Samos,  etc. 

The  power  of  the  Athenians,  Avho  had  then  Codrus  for 
their  king,  being  very  much  augmented  by  the  great  num- 
ber of  refugees  that  were  fled  into  their  country,  the  Hera- 
clidae  thought  proper  to  oppose  the  jn-ogress  of  their  power, 
and  for  that  reason  made  war  upon  them.  The  latter  were 
defeated  in  a  battle,  but  still  remained  masters  of  Megaris, 
where  they  built  Megara,  and  settled  the  Dorians  in  that 
country  in  the  room  of  the  lonians.* 

One  part  of  the  Dorians  continued  in  the  country  after 
the  death  of  Codrus,  another  went  to  Crete ;  the  greatest 
number  settled  in  that  part  of  Asia  Minor,  which  from  them 
was  called  Doris,  where  they  built  Halicarnassus,  Cnidos, 
and  other  cities,  and  made  themselves  masters  of  the  island 
of  Rhodes,  Cos,  etc.f 

THE    GRECIAX   DIALECTS. 

It  will  now  be  more  easy  to  understand  what  we  have 
to  say  concerning  the  several  Grecian  dialects.  These  were 
four  in  number  ;  the  Attic,  the  Ionic,  the  Doric,  and  the 
^olic.  They  were  in  reality  four  different  languages,  each 
of  them  perfect  in  its  kind,  and  used  by  a  distinct  nation  ; 
but  yet  all  derived  from,  and  founded  upon,  the  same  origi- 
nal tongue.  And  this  diversity  of  languages  is  by  no  means 
Avondcrful  in  a  country  where  the  inhabitants  consisted  of 
different  nations,  that  did  not  depend  upon  one  another,  but 
had  each  its  particular  territories. 

1.  The  Attic  dialect  is  that  which  was  used  in  Athens 
and  the  country  round  about.  This  dialect  has  been  chiefly 
used  by  Thucydides,  Aristophanes,  Plato,  Isocrates,  Xeno- 
phou,  and  Demosthenes. 

•2.  The  Ionic  dialect  was  almost  the  same  with  the  an- 
cient Attic  ;  but  after  it  had  passed  into  several  towns  of 
Asia  Minoi",  and  in  the  adjacent  islands  which  were  colonies 

*  Strab.  p.  393.  t  .Strab.  p.  C53. 


682  ANCIEXT    HISTORY. 

of  tlie  Athenians,  and  of  the  people  of  Achaia,  it  received  a 
sort  of  new  tincture,  and  did  not  come  up  to  that  perfect 
delicacy  which  the  Athenians  afterwards  attained  to.  Hip- 
pocrates and  Herodotus  wrote  in  this  dialect. 

3.  The  Doric  was  first  in  use  among  the  Spartans,  and 
the  peo]jle  of  Argos ;  it  ]>assed  afterwards  into  Epirus, 
Libya,  Sicily,  Rhodes,  and  Crete.  Archimedes  and  Theo- 
critus, both  of  them  Syracusans,  and  Pindar,  followed  this 
dialect. 

The  u.'Eolic  dialect  was  at  first  used  by  the  Boeotians  and 
their  neighbors,  and  then  in  ^olis,  a  country  in  Asia  Minor, 
between  Ionia  and  Mysia,  which  contained  ten  or  twelve 
cities  that  were  Grecian  colonies.  Sa])pho  and  Alcaius,  of 
v.'hose  works  very  little  remains,  wrote  in  this  dialect.  We 
find  also  a  mixture  of  it  in  the  writings  of  Theocritus,  Pin- 
dar, Homer,  and  many  others. 

APtTICLE  VI. 

THE  EEPUBLICAX  FORM  OF  GOVEENMEXT  ALMOST  GEXEEALLY 
ESTABLISHED  THROUGHOUT  GREECE. 

The  reader  may  have  observed,  in  the  little  I  liave  said 
about  the  several  settlements  of  Greece,  that  the  primordial 
ground  of  all  those  different  states  was  monarchial  govern- 
ment, Avdiich  was  the  most  ancient  of  all  forms,  the  most  uni- 
versally received  and  established,  the  m(5st  proper  to  main- 
tain peace  and  concord,  and  which,  as  Plato  observes,  is 
formed  upon  the  model  of  paternal  authority,  and  of  that 
gentle  and  moderate  dominion  which  fathers  exercise  over 
their  families.* 

But,  as  the  state  of  things  degenerated  by  degrees, 
through  the  injustice  of  usurpers,  and  severity  of  lawful 
masters,  the  insurrections  of  the  people,  and  a  thousand  ac- 
cidents and  revolutions  that  ha]>pened  in  those  states,  a  dif- 
ferent spirit  seized  the  people,  which  prevailed  throughout 
Greece,  kindled  a  violent  desire  of  liberty,  and  brought 
about  a  general  change  of  government  everywhere,  except 
in  Macedonia  ;  so  that  monarchy  gave  way  to  a  republican 
government,  which,  however,  was  diversified  into  almost  as 
many  various  forms  as  there  were  different  cities,  according 
to  the  different  genius  and  peculiar  character  of  each  people. 

There  still,  however,  remained  a  kind  of  tincture  or 
spirit  of   the   ancient   monarchial  government,  which  fre- 

*  Plat.  I.  UL  de  Leg.  p.  680. 


HISTORY    OF    OKEECE  G83 

quently  inflamed  the  ambition  of  private  citizens,  and  made 
them  desire  to  become  masters  of  their  conntry.  In  ahnost 
every  state  of  Greece,  some  private  persons  arose,  Avho, 
without  any  right  to  the  throne,  either  by  birtli  or  election 
of  the  citizens,  endeavored  to  advance  tliemselves  to  it  by 
cabal,  treachery,  and  violence  ;  and  Avho,  without  any  respect 
for  tlie  laws,  or  regard  to  the  public  good,  exercised  a  sov- 
ereign authority,  with  a  despotic  empire  and  arbitrary  sway. 
In  order  to  support  their  unjust  usurpations  in  the  midst  of 
distrusts  and  alarms,  they  thought  themselves  obliged  to 
prevent  imaginary,  or  to  repress  real  cojispiracies,  by  the 
most  cruel  proscriptions  ;  and  to  sacrifice  to  their  own  secur- 
ity all  those  whom  merit,  rank,  wealth,  zeal  for  libert}^,  or 
love  of  their  country,  rendered  obnoxious  to  a  suspicious 
and  unsettled  government,  which  found  itself  hated  by  all, 
and  was  sensible  it  deserved  to  be  so.  It  was  this  cruel  and 
inhuman  treatment  that  rendered  these  men  so  odious,  and 
broiight  upon  them  the  appellation  of  tja-ants,*  Avhich  fur- 
nished saeh  ample  m.itter  for  the  declamation  O-  orators, 
and  the  tragical  representations  of  the  theatre. 

All  these  cities  and  districts  of  Greece  that  seemed  so 
entirely  different  from  one  another,  in  their  laws,  customs, 
and  interests,  were  nevertheless  foi-med  and  combined  into 
one  sole,  entire,  and  united  body  ;  whose  strength  increased 
to  such  a  degree,  as  to  make  the  formidable  power  of  the 
Persians  under  Darius  and  Xerxes  tremble ;  and  which  even 
then,  perhaps,  would  have  entirely  overthrown  the  Persian 
greatness,  had  the  Grecian  states  been  wise  enough  to  have 
preserved  that  union  and  concord  among  themselves,  which 
afterwards  rendered  them  invincible.  This  is  the  scene 
which  I  am  now  to  open,  and  which  certainly  mei*its  the 
reader's  whole  attention. 

We  shall  see,  in  the  following  volumes,  a  small  nation,  con- 
fined within  a  country  not  equal  to  the  fourth  part  of  France, 
disputing  empire  with  the  most  powerful  throne  then  upon 
earth  ;  and  we  shall  see  this  handful  of  men,  not  only  mak- 
ing head  against  the  innumerable  army  of  tlie  Persians,  but 
dispersing,  routing,  and  cutting  them  to  pieces,  and  some- 
times reducing  the  Persian  pride  so  low,  as  to  make  them 
submit  to  conditions  of  peace,  as  shameful  to  the  conquered 
as  glorious  for  the  conquerors. 

Among  all  the  cities  of  Greece,  there  were  two  that  par- 

♦  This  word  originally  sigiiilied  no  more  than  king,  and  was  anciently  the  title 
of  lawful  princes. 


684  AKCIEJiTT    HISTORY. 

ticularly  distinguished  themselves,  and  acquired  an  authority 
and  a  kind  of  superiority  over  the  rest,  by  their  merit 
and  conduct ;  these  two  were  Laceda3mon  and  Athens.  As 
these  cities  make  a  considerable  figure,  and  act  an  illustrious 
])art  in  the  ensuing  history,  before  I  enter  upon  particulars, 
I  think  I  ought  to  give  the  reader  some  idea  of  the  genius, 
character,  manners,  and  government  of  their  respective  in- 
habitants. Plutarch,  in  the  lives  of  Lycurgus  and  Solon, 
will  furnish  me  with  the  greatest  part  of  Avhat  I  have  to  say 
upon  this  head. 

ARTICLE  VII. 

THE  SPARTAX  GOVERXMEJfT.       LAWS    ESTABLISHED    B"i 
LYCURGUS. 

There  is  perhaps  nothing  in  profane  history  better  at- 
tested, and  at  the  same  time  more  incredible,  than  what  re- 
lates to  the  governnirmt  of  Sparta,  and  the  discipline  estab- 
lished in  it  by  Lycurgus.  This  legislator  was  the  son  of  Eu- 
nomus,  one  of  the  two  kings  who  reigned  together  in  Sparta.* 
It  would  have  been  easy  for  Lycurgus  to  ascend  the  throne 
after  the  death  of  his  eldest  brother,  Avho  left  no  son  behind 
him  ;  and  in  effect  he  was  king  for  some  days.  But  as  soon 
as  his  sister-in-law  was  found  to  be  with  child,  he  declared, 
that  the  crown  belonged  to  her  son,  if  she  had  one,  and 
from  thenceforth  he  governed  the  kingdom  only  as  his  guar- 
dian. In  the  mean  time,  the  Avidow  sent  to  him  secretly,  that 
if  he  would  promise  to  marry  her  when  he  was  king,  she 
would  destroy  the  fruit  of  her  wojnb.  So  detestable  a  pro- 
posal struck  Lycurgus  with  horror ;  however,  he  concealed 
his  indignation,  and  amusing  the  woman  witli  different  pre- 
tence^, so  managed  it  that  she  Avent  out  her  full  time,  and 
Avas  delivered.  As  soon  as  the  child  was  born  he  proclaimed 
him  king,  and  took  care  to  haA^e  him  brought  up  and  edii- 
cated  in  a  projier  manner.  This  prince,  on  account  of  the 
joy  Avhich  the  people  testified  at  his  birth,  was  named  Cha^ 
rilaus. 

The  state  AA^as  at  this  time  in  great  disorder,  the  au- 
thority, both  of  the  king  and  the  laws,  being  absolutely  de- 
spised and  disregarded.  No  curb  Avas  strong  enough  to 
restrain  the  audaciousness  of  the  peo])le,  Avhich  CA'ery  day 
increased. t 

Lycurgus  was  so  courageous  as  to  form  the  design  of 

Plut.  ill  Vit.  Lye.  p.  40.  t  Idem.  p.  41. 


HISTORY    OF    GREECE. 


685 


making  a  thorough  reformation  in  the  Spartan  government ; 
and  to  be  the  more  capable  of  making  wise  reguhitions,  he 
thought  fit  to  travel  into  several  countries,  in  order  to  ac- 
quaint liimself  with  the  different  maimers  of  other  nations, 
and  to  consult  the  most  able  and  experienced  persons  he 
could  meet  with,  in  the  art  of  government.  Tie  began  with 
the  island  of  Crete,  whose  rigid  and  austere  laws  Avere  very 
famous  ;  from  thence  he  passed  into  Asia,  where  quite  differ- 
ent customs  prevailed  ;  and,  last  of  all,  he  went  into  Egv]it, 
which  was  then  the  seat  of  science,  wisdom,  and  good  coun- 
sels. 

His  long  absence  only  made  his  country  the  more  desir- 
ous of  his  return  ;  and  the  kings  themselves  importuned  him 
to  that  purpose,  being  sensible  how  much  they  stood  in  need 
of  his  authority  to  keep  the  people  within  bounds,  and  hi 
some  degree  of  subjection  and  order.  When  he  came  back 
to  Sparta,  he  undertook  to  change  the  whole  form  of  their 
government,  being  persuaded  that  a  few  particular  laws 
would  produce  no  great  effect.* 

But  before  he  put  this  design  in  execution  he  Avent  to  Del- 
phos  to  consult  the  oracle  of  Apollo  ;  where,  after  having  of- 
fered his  sacrifice,  he  received  that  famous  answer,  in  which 
the  priestess  called  him  "  A  friend  of  the  gods,  and  rather 
a  god  than  a  man."  And  as  for  the  favor  he  desired,  of 
being  able  to  frame  a  good  set  of  laws  for  his  country,  she 
told  him,  the  gods  had  heard  his  prayers,  and  that  the  com- 
monwealth he  was  going  to  establish  would  be  the  most 
excellent  state  in  the  world. 

On  his  return  to  Sparta,  the  first  thing  lie  did,  was  to 
bring  over  to  his  designs  the  leading  men  of  the  city,  whom 
he  made  acquainted  with  his  views  ;  when  he  was  assured  of 
their  approbation  and  concurrence,  he  went  into  the  public 
market-place,  accompanied  with  a  number  of  armed  men,  in 
order  to  astonish  and  intimidate  those  who  migiit  desire  to 
oppose  his  undertaking. 

The  new  form  of  government  which  he  introduced  into 
Sparta,  may  properly  be  reduced  to  three  j:)rincipal  institu- 
tions. 

INSTITUTION^    I. THE    SENATE. 

Of  all  the  new  regulations  or  institutions  made  by  Lycur- 
gus,  the  greatest  and  most  considerable  was  that  of  the  sen- 
ate ;  which,  by  tempering  and  balancing,  as  Plato  observes 

♦  Plut.  in  Vit.  Lye.  p.  42. 


686  ANCIENT    niSTOIlY. 

the  too  absolute  power  of  the  kings,  by  an  authority  of 
equal  weight  and  inlluence  with  theirs,  became  the  principal 
support  and  preservation  of  the  state.*  For  whereas  before, 
it  was  ever  unsteady,  and  tending  one  while  towards  tyr- 
anny, by  the  violent  proceedings  of  the  kings ;  at  other 
times  towards  democracy,  by  the  excessive  power  of  the 
people  ;  the  senate  served  as  a  kind  of  counterpoise  to  both, 
which  kept  the  state  in  a  due  equilibrium,  and  pi-eserved  it 
in  a  firm  and  steady  situation  ;  the  t\\'enty-oight  senators  f 
of  which  it  consisted  siding  with  the  king,  when  the  people 
were  grasping  at  too  much  power:  and,  on  the  other  hand, 
espousing  the  interests  of  the  people,  whenever  the  kings 
attempted  to  carry  their  authority  too  far. 

Lycurgus  having  thus  tempered  the  government,  those 
that  came  after  him  thought  the  power  of  the  thirty  that 
composed  the  senate  still  too  great  and  absolute ;  and  there- 
fore, as  a  check  upon  them,  they  devised  the  authority  of 
the  Ephori,  |  about  a  hundred  and  thirty  years  after  Lycur- 
gus. The  E])hori  were  five  in  number,  and  remained  but 
one  year  in  ofKce.  They  were  all  chosen  out  of  the  people, 
and  in  that  respect  considerably  resembled  the  tribunes  of 
the  people  among  the  Romans.  Their  authority  extended 
to  arresting  and  imprisoning  the  persons  of  their  kings,  as  it 
happened  in  the  case  of  Pausanius.  The  institution  of  the 
Ephori  began  in  the  reign  of  Theoporapus,  whose  wife  re- 
proached him,  that  he  would  leave  to  his  children  the  regal 
authority  in  a  Avorse  condition  than  he  had  received  it ;  on 
the  contrary,  said  ho,  I  shall  leave  it  to  them  in  a  much 
better  condition,  as  it  will  be  more  permanent  and  lasting. 

The  Spartan  government,  then,  was  not  purely  monar- 
chial.  The  nobility  had  a  great  share  in  it,  and  the  people 
were  not  excluded.  Each  part  of  this  body  politic,  in  pro- 
portion as  it  contributed  to  the  public  good,  found  in  it  their 
advantage  ;  so  that,  in  spite  of  the  natural  restlessness  and 
inconstancy  of  man's  heart,  which  is  always  thirsting  after 
novelty  and  change,  and  is  never  cured  of  its  disgust  to  uni- 
formity, Lacedaemon  persevered  for  above  seven  hundred 
years  in  the  exact  observance  of  her  laws. 

INSTITUTION    II. THE    DIVISION    OF    THE    LANDS,    AND    THE 

PROHIBITION  OF    GOLD    AND    SILVER  MONEY. 

The  second  and  the  boldest  institution  of  Lycurgus  was 

*  Pint,  ill  Vit.  Lyciirg.  p.  42. 

t  This  council  consisted  of  thirty  persons,  including  the  two  kings 

i  The  word  wgiiilies  comptroller  or  inspector. 


HISTORY    OF    GREECE.  6S7 

the  division  of  the  hinds,  which  he  looked  ujioii  as  absohitely 
necessary  for  establishing  peace  and  good  order  in  the  com . 
monwealth.  The  major  part  of  the  people  were  so  poor,  that 
they  had  not  one  inch  of  land  of  their  own,  while  a  small 
number  of  particular  persons  were  possessed  of  all  the  lands 
and  wealth  of  the  country ;  in  order,  therefore,  to  banish  inso- 
lence, envy,  fraud,  luxury,  and  two  other  distempers  of  the 
state  still  greater  and  more  ancient  than  these,  I  mean  ex- 
treme poverty  and  excessive  wealth,  he  persuaded  the  citizens 
to  give  up  all  their  lands  to  the  commonwealth,  and  to  make 
a  new  division  of  them,  that  they  might  all  live  together  in  a 
perfect  equality,  and  that  no  pre-eminence  or  honors  should 
be  given,  but  to  virtue  and  merit  alone.* 

This  scheme,  extraordinary  as  it  may  seem,  was  imme- 
diately executed.  Lycurgus  divided  the  lands  of  Laconia 
into  thirty  thousand  parts,  which  he  distributed  among  tlie 
inhabitants  of  the  country;  and  the  territories  of  Sparta 
into  nine  thousand  parts,  wliich  he  distributed  among  an 
equal  number  of  citizens.  It  is  said,  that  some  years  after, 
as  Lycurgus  was  returning  from  a  long  journey,  and  passing 
through  the  lands  of  Laconia  in  the  time  of  harvest,  and 
observing,  as  he  went  along,  the  perfect  equality  of  the 
reaped  corn,  he  turned  towards  those  that  were  with  him, 
and  said  smiling,  "  Does  not  Laconia  look  like  the  posses- 
sion of  several  brothers,  who  have  just  been  dividing  their 
inheritance  among  them  ?" 

After  having  di^dded  their  immovables,  he  undertook 
likewise  to  make  the  same  equal  division  of  all  their  mov- 
able  goods  and  chattels,  that  he  might  utterly  banish  from 
among  them  all  manner  of  inequality.  But,  perceiving  that 
this  would  be  more  difficult  if  he  went  openly  about  it,  he 
endeavored  to  effect  it  by  sapping  the  very  foundations  of 
avarice.  '  For,  first,  he  cried  down  all  gold  and  silver  money, 
and  ordained  that  no  other  should  be  current  than  that  of 
iron,  wliicli  he  made  so  very  heavy,  and  fixed  at  so  low  a 
rate,  that  a  cart  and  two  oxen  were  necessary  to  carry 
home  a  sum  of  ten  minae,t  and  a  whole  chamber  to  keep 
it  in. 

The  next  thing  he  did,  was  to  banish  all  useless  and 
superfluous  arts  from  Sparta.  But  if  he  had  not  done  this, 
most  of  them  would  have  sunk  of  themselves,  and  disap- 
peared with  the  gold  and  silver  money ;  because  the  trades- 
men and  artificers  would  have  found  no  vent  for  their  com- 

»  Plut.  in  Vit.  Lye.  p.  44.         t  Five  hundred  French  livres,  about  $88.80. 


688  ANCIEXT    IlISTOKY. 

modities,  and  this  iron  money  had  no  currency  among  any 
other  Grecian  states,  who  were  so  far  from  esteeming  it, 
that  it  became  the  subject  of  their  banter  and  ridicule. 

INSTITUTION  3. OF  PUBLIC    MEALS. 

Lycurgus,  being  desirous  to  make  a  yet  more  effectual 
war  upon  effeminacy  and  kixury,  and  utterly  to  extirpate 
the  loA'e  of  riches,  made  a  third  regulation,  which  was  that 
of  public  meals.  That  he  might  entirely  sup])ress  all  the 
magnificence  and  extravagance  of  expensive  tables,  he  or- 
dained, that  all  the  citizens  should  eat  together,  of  the  same 
common  victuals  which  the  law  prescribed,  and  expressly 
forbade  all  private  eating  at  their  own  houses.* 

By  this  settlement  of  public  and  common  me;ds,  and 
this  frugality  and  simplicity  in  eating,  it  may  be  said,  that 
he  made  riches  in  some  measure  change  their  very  nature, 
by  putting  them  out  of  a  condition  of  being  desired  or 
stolen,  or  of  enriching  their  possessors ;  for  there  was  no 
"way  left  for  a  man  to  use  or  enjoy  this  opulence,  or  eyeii  to 
make  any  show  of  it,  since  the  poor  and  the  rich  ate  together 
in  the  same  place,  and  none  Avere  allowed  to  appear  at  the 
public  eating-rooms,  after  having  taken  care  to  fill  them- 
selves with  other  diet ;  because  everybody  present  took 
particular  notice  of  any  one  that  did  not  eat  or  drink,  and 
the  whole  company  was  sure  to  reproach  him  with  the  del- 
icacy and  intemperance  that  made  him  despise  the  common 
food  and  public  tidjle.f 

The  rich  were  extremely  enraged  at  this  regulation  ; 
and  it  was  upon  this  occasion  that,  in  a  tumult  of  the  peoj^le, 
a  young  man  named  Alexander  struck  out  one  of  the  eyes 
of  Lycurgus.  The  people,  provoked  at  such  an  outrage, 
delivered  the  young  man  into  Lycurgus's  hands,  who  knew 
liow  to  revenge  himself  in  a  proper  manner;  for,  by  the 
extraordinary  kindness  and  gentleness  with  which  he  treated 
him,  he  made  the  violent  and  hot-headed  young  man,  in  a 
little  time  become  very  moderate  and  w'ise.  The  tables 
consisted  of  about  fifteen  persons  each,  where  none  could  be 
admitted  but  with,  the  consent  of  the  whole  company. 
Each  person  furnished,  CA^ery  month,  a  bushel  of  flour, 
eight  measures  of  wine,  five  pounds  of  cheese,  two  pounds 
and  a  half  of  figs,  and  a  small  sum  of  money,  for  preparing 
and  cooking  the  victuals.     Every  one,  without  exception  of 

*  Plut.  in  Vit.  Lye.  p.  45- 

t  Tot'  irAoiiTOf  awKov  ftaWov  Hi  o^TfAoc,  kclC  a.ir\ovrov  oTcip'yao'oro. — Plut. 


HISTOKY    OF    GREECE.  689 

persons,  was  obliged  to  be  at  the  common  meal ;  and  a  long 
time  after  the  making  of  these  regulations,  king  Agis,  at  his 
return  from  a  glorious  expedition,  having  taken  the  liberty 
to  dispense  with  that  law,  in  order  to  eat  with  the  queen 
his  Avife,  was  reprimanded  and  punished. 

The  very  children  ate  at  these  public  tables,  and  were  car- 
ried thither  as  to  a  school  of  wisdom  and  temperance.  There 
they  were  sure  to  hear  grave  discourses  upon  government, 
and  to  see  nothing  but  what  tended  to  their  instruction  and 
improvement.  The  conversation  was  often  enlivened  with 
ingenious  and  spritely  raillery,  but  never  mixed  with  any 
thing  vulgar  or  shocking ;  and  if  their  jesting  seemed  to 
make  any  person  uneasy,  they  never  proceeded  any  farther. 
Here  their  children  w^ere  likewise  trained  up  and  accustomed 
to  great  secrecy ;  as  soon  as  a  young  man  came  into  the 
dining-room,  the  oldest  person  of  the  company  used  to  say 
to  him,  pointing  to  the  door.  "Nothing  spoken  here  must 
ever  go  out  there." 

The  most  exquisite  of  all  their  eatables  was  what  they 
called  their  black  broth,  and  the  old  men  preferred  it  be- 
fore all  that  Avas  set  upon  the  table.*  Dionysius  the  tyrant, 
when  he  was  at  one  of  those  meals,  was  not  of  the  same 
opinion,  and  what  was  a  ragout  to  them,  w^as  to  him  very 
insijnd.  I  do  not  wonder,  said  the  cook,  for  the  seasoning 
is  wanting.  What  seasoning?  replied  the  tyrant.  Running, 
sweating,  fatigue,  hunger,  and  thirst ;  these  ai-e  the  ingre- 
dients, said  the  cook,  with  which  we  season  all  our  food. 

IV.   OTHER  ORDIKAIfCES.    jfn^'r'i  ii!  -  :■ ;  ! 

When  I  speak  of  the  ordinances  of  Lycxirgiis,  T  do  not 
mean  written  laws  ;  he  thought  proper  to  leave  very  few  of 
that  kinxl,  being  persuaded,  that  the  most  powerful  and 
effectual  means  of  rendering  communities  happy,  and  people 
virtuous,  is  by  the  good  examjole,  and  the  impression  made 
on  the  mind  by  the  manners  and  practice  of  the  citizens : 
for  the  principles  thus  implanted  by  education  remain  firm 
and  immovable  as  they  are  rooted  in  the  will,  which  is 
always  a  stronger  and  more  durable  tic  than  the  yoke  of 
necessity ;  and  the  youth,  that  have  been  thus  nurtured  and 
educated,  become  laws  and  legislators  to  themselves.  These 
are  the  reasons  why  Lycurgus,  instead  of  leaving  his  ordi- 
nances in  writing,  endeavored  to  imprint  and  enforce  them 
by  practice  and  example,  f 

*  Cic.  TuBC.  Quajst.  lib.  v.  u.  98.  t  Plut.  in  Vit.  Lye.  p.  47. 

44 


690  ANCIENT   HISTORY. 

He  looked  upon  the  education  of  youth  as  the  greatest 
and  most  important  object  of  a  legishitor's  care.  His  grand 
principle  was,  that  children  belonged  more  to  the  state  than 
to  their  parents ;  and  therefore  he  would  not  have  them 
brought  up  according  to  their  humors  and  fancies,  but  would 
have  the  state  intrusted  with  the  general  care  of  their  edu- 
cation, in  order  to  have  them  formed  upon  constant  and 
uniform  principles,  which  might  inspire  them  betimes  with 
the  love  of  their  coimtry  and  virtue. 

As  soon  as  a  boy  was  born,  the  elders  of  each  tribe 
visited  him ;  and  if  they  found  him  well  made,  strong,  and 
vigorous,  they  ordered  him  to  be  brought  up,  and  assigned 
him  one  of  the  nine  thousand  portions  of  land  for  his  inher- 
itance,* if,  on  the  contrary,  they  found  him  to  be  deformed, 
tender,  and  weakly,  so  that  they  could  not  expect  that  he 
would  ever  have  a  strong  and  healthful  constitution,  they 
condemned  him  to  perish,  and  caused  the  infant  to  be  ex- 
posed.f 

Children  were  accustomed  betimes  not  to  be  nice  or 
difficult  in  their  eating,  not  to  be  afraid  in  the  dark,  or  when 
they  were  left  alone  ;  not  to  give  themselves  up  to  peevish- 
ness and  ill-humor,  to  crying  and  bawling;  to  walk  barefoot, 
that  they  might  be  inured  to  fatigue  ;  to  lie  hard  at  nights  ; 
to  wear  the  same  clothes  winter  and  summer,  in  order  to 
harden  them  against  cold  and  heat.t 

At  the  age  of  seven  years  they  Avere  put  into  the  classes, 
where  they  were  all  brought  up  together  under  the  same 
discipline.  §  Their  education,  properly  speaking,  was  only 
an  apprenticeship  of  obedience.  ||  The  legislature  having 
rightly  considered,  that  the  surest  way  to  have  citizens 
submissive  to  the  law  and  to  tliC  magistrates,  in  which  the 
good  order  and  happiness  of  a  state  chiefly  consists,  Avas  to 
teach  children  early,  and  to  accustom  them  from  their  ten- 
der years  to  be  perfectly  obedient  to  their  masters  and  su- 
periors. 

While  they  were  at  table,  it  was  usual  for  the  masters  to 
instruct   the  boys   by  proposing   them   questions. IT     They  ' 
would  ask  them,  for  example,  Who  is  the  most  honest  man 

•  I  do  not  eompreheiul  how  ihey  could  nssigii  to  every  one  of  these  children 
one  of  the  nine  thou-ajid  portions,  appropriated  to  the  city,  for  his  iiiheritHnce. 
Was  the  number  of  citizens  always  the  same?  I>id  it  nevei  exceed  nine  thou- 
Band  ?  It  is  not  said  in  tliis  case,  as  in  tl\e  division  of  the  Holy  Land,  that  the 
portions  allotted  to  a  family  always  continued  in  it,  and  could  not  be  entirely 
alienated.  t  Pint,  in  Vit.  Lye.  p.  48. 

t  Xer.  de  Lac.  liep.  p.  667.  §  Plut.  in  Lye.  p.  iM). 

il  "ilarf  Tiji'  TTOidttai'  civai.  fttAcVi)!'  euTreiflecas.  li  Plut.  iu  Lye.  p.  ol. 


HISTORY  OF  gep:ece.  691 

in  the  town  ?  What  do  you  think  of  such  or  sucli  an  action  ? 
The  boys  were  obliged  to  give  a  quick  and  ready  answer, 
which  was  also  to  be  accompanied  with  a  reason  and  a  proof, 
both  expressed  in  a  few  words  :  for  they  were  accustomed 
betimes  to  the  Laconic  style,  that  is,  to  a  close  and  concise 
way  of  speaking  and  writing.  Lycurgus  was  for  having  the 
money  bulky,  heavy,  and  of  little  value,  and  their  language, 
on  the  contrary,  very  pithy  and  short ;  a  great  deal  of  sense 
comprised  in  a  few  words. 

As  for  literature,  they  only  "learned  as  much  as  was 
necessary.*  All  the  sciences  were  banish 'd  out  of  their 
country  ;  their  study  only  tended  to  kn  w  how  to  obey,  to 
bear  hardship  and  fatigue,  and  to  conquer  in  battle.  The 
superintendent  of  their  education  was  one  of  the  most  hon- 
orable men  of  the  city,  and  of  the  first  rank  and  condition, 
who  appointed  over  every  class  of  boys,  masters  of  the  most 
approved  wisdom  and  probity. 

There  was  one  kind  of  theft  only,  and  that  too  more  a 
nominal  than  a  real  one,  which  the  boys  were  allowed,  and 
even  ordered  to  practise.!  They  were  taught  to  slip,  as 
cunningly  and  cleverly  as  they  could,  into  the  gardens  and 
public  halls,  in  order  to  steal  away  herbs  and  meat ;  and  if 
they  Avere  caught  in  the  fact,  they  were  punished  for  their 
want  of  dexterity.  We  are  told  of  one  who,  having  stolen 
a  young  fox,  hid  it  under  his  robe,  and  suffered  the  animal 
to  gnaw  into  his  belly,  and  tear  out  his  very  bowels,  till  he 
fell  dead  upon  the  spot,  rather  than  be  discoA'ered.  This 
kind  of  theft,  as  I  have  said,  was  but  nominal,  and  not  pro}> 
erly  a  robbery ;  since  it  was  authorized  by  the  law  and  the 
consent  of  the  citizens.  The  intent  of  the  legislature  in 
allowing  it,  was  to  inspire  the  Spartan  youth,  who  were  all 
designed  for  war,  with  the  greater  boldness,  cunning,  and 
address  ;  to  inure  them  betimes  to  the  life  of  a  soldier;  to 
teach  them  to  live  upon  a  little,  and  to  be  able  to  shift  for 
themselves.  But  I  have  already  given  an  account  of  this 
matter,  more  at  large  in  another  treatise. 

The  ])atience  and  constancy  of  the  Spartan  youth  most 
conspicuously  appeared  in  a  certain  festival,  celebrated  in 
honor  of  Diana,  surnamed  Orthia,  t  where  the  children,  be- 
fore the  eyes  of  their  parents,  and  in  ])resence  of  the 
whole  city,  suffered  themselves  to  be  whipped  till  the  blood 
ran  down  upon  the  altar  of  this  cruel  goddess,  where  some- 

*  Pint,  ill  Lyo.  p.  52.  t  Idem,  p.  50.  Idem,  iiistitut.  Lacon.  p.  2:57. 

+  Man.  d'Etud.  Vol.  III.  p.  471. 


692  AJfCIENT    HISTORY. 

times  they  expired  under  the  strokes,  and  all  tliis  without 
uttering  the  least  cry,  or  so  much  as  a  groan  or  sigh  ;  and 
even  their  own  fathers,  when  they  saAV  them  covered  Avith 
blood  and  wounds,  and  ready  to  expiie,  exhorted  them  to 
persevere  to  the  end  with  constancy  and  resolution.*  Plu- 
tarch assures  us,  that  he  had  seen  with  his  own  eyes  a  great 
many  children  lose  their  lives  on  these  cruel  occasions. 
Hence  it  is,  that  Horace  gives  the  epithet  of  patient  to  the 
city  of  Lacedaemon,  Patiens  Lacedmmon  ;  f  and  another 
author  makes  a  man,  who  had  received  three  strokes  of  a 
stick  without  complaining,  say,  IVes  plagas  Spartana  nO' 
bilitate  concoxi. 

The  most  usual  occupation  of  the  Lacedaemonians  was 
hunting,  and  other  bodily  exercises.  They  were  forbid  to 
exercise  any  mechanic  art.  The  Elotae,  who  Avere  a  sort  of 
slaves,  tilled  their  land  for  them,  for  Avhich  they  paid  them 
a  certain  revenue.  % 

Lycurgus  would  have  his  citizens  enjoy  a  great  deal  of 
leisure  ;  they  had  large  common  halls,  where  the  peojjle  used 
to  meet  to  couA-erse  together  :  and  though  their  discourses 
chiefly  turned  upon  grave  and  serious  topics,  yet  they  sea- 
soned tliem  Avitli  a  mixture  of  Avit  and  facetious  humor,  both 
agreeable  and  instructive.  They  passed  little  of  their  time 
alone,  being  accustomed  to  live  like  bees,  ahvays  together, 
ahvays  about  their  chiefs  and  leaders.  The  love  of  their 
countiy  and  of  the  public  good  Avas  their  ])redominant  pas- 
sion ;  they  did  not  imagine  they  belonged  to  themselves,  but 
to  their  country.  Pedaretus  having  missed  the  honor  of 
being  chosen  one  of  the  three  hundred  Avho  had  a  certain 
rank  of  distinction  in  the  city,  Aventhome  extremely  pleased 
and  satisfied,  saying,  "he  Avas  OA^erjoyed  tliere  Avere  three 
hundred  men  in  Sparta  more  honorable  and  Avorthy  than 
himself."  § 

At  Sparta  e\"ery  thing  tended  to  inspire  the  Ioa'c  of  vir- 
tue, and  the  hatred  of  Adce  ;  the  actions  of  the  citizens,  their 
couA'ersations,  public  monuments,  and  inscrijjtions.  It  Avas 
hard  for  men  brought  up  in  the  midst  of  so  many  living  pre- 
cepts and  exaiTiples,  not  to  become  A'irtuous,  ,'is  far  as  hea- 
thens Avere  ca  j>able  of  A'irtue.  It  was  to  ])reserA'e  these  happy 
dis])Ositions,  that  Lycurgus  did  not  alloAv  all  sorts  of  persons 
to  travel,  lest  they  sliould  bring  home  foreign  manners,  and 
return  infected  Avith  the  licentious  customs  of  other  countries, 

*  Cic.  Tuso.  Qu!B8t,  lib.  ii.  n.  3i,  t  Odo  \'ii.  lib.  1. 

t  Plut.  in  A^it.  Lye.  p.  54.  §  Idem.  p.  55. 


HISTORY    OF    GREECE.  693 

which  would  necessarily  create,  in  a  little  time,  an  aversion 
for  the  life  and  maxims  of  Lacedagmon.  On  the  other  hand, 
he  would  suffer  no  strangers  to  remain  in  the  city,  who  did 
not  come  thither  to  some  useful  and  profitable  end,  but  out 
of  mere  curiosity ;  being  afraid  they  should  bring  along  with 
them  the  defects  and  vices  of  their  own  countries ;  and  being 
persuaded,  at  the  same  time,  that  it  was  more  important 
and  necessary  to  shut  the  gates  of  the  town  against  depraved 
and  corrupt  manners,  than  against  infectious  distempers. 
Properly  speaking,  the  very  trade  and  business  of  the  Lace- 
daemonians was  war :  every  thing  with  them  tended  that 
way :  arms  were  their  only  exercise  and  employment :  their 
life  was  much  less  hard  and  austere  in  the  cam]),  than  in  the 
city ;  and  they  were  the  only  people  in  the  world,  to  whom 
the  time  of  war  was  a  time  of  ease  and  refreshment,  because 
then  the  reins  of  that  strict  and  severe  discijdine,  which  pre- 
vailed at  Sparta,  were  somewhat  relaxed,  and  the  men  were 
indulged  in  a  little  more  libert}^*  With  them  the  first  and 
most  inviolable  law  of  war,  as  Demaratus  told  Xerxes,  was 
never  to  fly,  or  turn  their  backs,  whatever  superiority  of 
numbers  the  enemy's  army  might  consist  of ;  never  to  quit 
their  post ;  never  to  deliver  up  their  arms  ;  in  a  word,  either 
to  conquer  or  to  die  on  the  spot,  t  This  maxim  was  so  impor- 
tant and  essential  in  their  opinion,  that  when  the  poet  Archi- 
lochus  came  to  Sparta,  they  obliged  him  to  leave  their  city 
immediately ;  because  they  understood,  that,  in  one  of  his 
poems,  he  had  said,  "  It  was  better  for  a  man  to  throw  down 
his  arms,  than  to  expose  himself  to  be  killed."  t 

Hence  it  is,  that  a  mother  recommended  to  her  son,  who 
was  going  to  make  a  campaign,  that  he  should  return  either 
with  or  upon  his  shield  ;  §  and  that  another,  hearing  tliat  her 
son  was  killed  in  fighting  for  his  country:  answered  very 
coldly,  "  I  brought  him  into  the  Avorld  for  no  other  end."  || 
This  humor  was  general  among  the  Lacedaemonians.  After 
the  famous  battle  of  Leuctra,  which  was  so  fatal  to  the  Spar- 
tans, the  j)arents  of  those  that  died  in  the  action  congratu- 
lated each  other  upon  it,  and  went  to  the  temples  to  thank 
die  gods  that  their  children  had  done  their  duty  ;  whereas 
the  relations  of  those  who  survived  the'defeat,  were  inconsol- 
able.    If  any  of  the  Spartans  fled  in  battle,  they  Avere  dishon- 

*  Plut.  in  Vit.  Lye  p.  56.  t  Herod.  1.  vil.  cap.  104, 

+  Plut.  in  Lacon.  Iiistilut.  p.  239. 

§  "AAAt]  irpocravaSiSoiKTa  to)  jrai&c  rrjv  aa"7rt5a,  Kat   TrapaxeAeuo/xei/Tj.      Tc'ki'Oi' (e<^r/)  ij 

Tav,  ri  enl  to?.— Plut.  ill  Laoon.  Apophthegm,  p.  241.  Sometimes  they  that  were 
■lain  were  brought  home  upon  their  shielils. 

U  Cic.  1.  i.  Tusc.  Quaest.  u.  102.    Plut.  in  Vit.  Ages.  p.  612. 


694  AKCIEXT    HISTOKY. 

ored  and  disgraced  for  ever.  They  were  not  only  excluded 
from  nil  posts  and  employment;?  in  the  state,  from  all  assem- 
blies and  ])uhlic  diversions ;  but  it'Avas  thought  scandalous  to 
make  any  alliances  ■with  them  by  marriage  ;  and  a  thousand 
affronts  and  insults  were  publicly  offered  them  with  impu- 
nity. 

The  Spartans  neAi-er  went  to  fight  without  first  imploring 
the  help  of  the  gods  by  public  sacrifices  and  prayers  ;  and, 
when  that  was  done,  they  marched  against  the  enemy  Avith 
a  perfect  confidence  and  expectation  of  success,  as  being  as- 
sured of  the  divine  protection  ;  and  to  make  use  of  Plutarch's 
expression.    "  As  if  God  were  present  with,  and  fought  for 

them,"  oji;  ziio  0ti>~>  (TOf/.-apO'^Tiir. 

When  they  had  broken  and  routed  their  enemy's  forces, 
they  never  pursued  them  farther  than  was  necessary  to  make 
themselves  sure  of  the  victory ;  after  which  they  retired,  as 
thinking  it  neither  glorious,  nor  Avorthy  of  Greece,  to  cut  in 
pieces  and  destroy  an  enemy  that  yielded  and  fled.  And 
this  proved  as  useful  as  honorable  to  the  Spartans  ;  for  their 
enemies,  knoAving  that  all  who  resisted  them  were  put  to  the 
SAVord,  and  that  they  spared  none  but  those  Avho  fled,  gen- 
erally chose  rather  to  fly  than  to  resist.* 

When  the  first  institutions  of  Lycurgus  Avere  receiA^ed 
and  confirmed  by  practice,  and  the  form  of  gOA-ernment  he 
had  established  seemed  strong  and  vigorous  enough  to  suj> 
port  itself ;  as  Plato  says  of  God,  that  after  he  had  finished 
the  creation  of  the  Avorld,  he  rejoiced- Avhen  he  saAV  it  rcA-^olve 
and  perform  it  first  motions  Avith  so  much  justness  and  har- 
mony ;  t  so  the  Spartan  legislator,  ])leased  Avith  the  great- 
ness and  beauty  of  his  hiAvs,  felt  his  joy  and  satisfaction 
redouble,  Avhen  he  saw  them,  as  it  were,  Avalk  alone,  and  go 
forward  so  happily,  t 

But  desiring,  as  far  as  depended  on  human  prudence,  to 
render  them  immortal  and  unchangeable,  he  signified  to  the 
people,  that  there  was  still  one  point  remaining  to  be  per- 
formed, the  most  essential  and  important  of  all,  about  Avhich 
he  Avould  go  and  consult  the  oracle  of  Apollo  ;  and  in  the 
mean  time  he  made  them  all  take  an  oath,  that  till  his  return 
they  Avould  inviolably  maintain  the  form  of  government 
AA'hich  he  had  established.  When  he  Avas  arrived  at  Delphos, 
he   consulted  the  god,  to  know  Avhether  the  laAvs  he  had 

*  Plut.  in  A'it.  Lycurg.  p.  W. 

t  This  passage  of  Plato  is  in  his  Timsens,  and  gives  us  reason  to  believe  this 
philosopher  had  read  wh:it  Moses  says  of  God,  when  he  created  the  world: 
"  Vidit  Deus  cuucta  quae  feoerat,  et  era'at  valde  bona.— Sen,  i.  31.    t  Idem.  p.  57. 


HISTORY    OF    GREECE.  695 

made  were  good,  and  sufficient  to  render  the  Lacedsemonians 
happy  and  virtuous.  The  priestess  answered,  that  nothing 
Avas  wanting  to  his  haws  ;  and  that,  as  long  as  Sparta  ob- 
served them,  she  would  be  the  most  glorious  and  happy  city 
in  the  world.  Lycurgus  sent  this  answer  to  Sparta  ;  and 
then  thinking  he  had  fulfilled  his  ministry,  he  voluntarily 
died  at  Delplios,  by  abstaining  from  all  manner  of  suste- 
nance. His  idea  Avas,  that  even  the  death  of  great  persons 
and  statesmen  should  not  be  useless  and  unprofitable  to  the 
state,  but  a  kind  of  supplement  to  their  ministry,  and  one  of 
their  most  important  iietions,  Avhich  ought  to  do  them  as 
much  or  more  lionor  than  all  the  rest.  He  therefore  thought, 
that  in  dying  thus  he  should  crown  and  complete  all  the 
services  Avhich  he  had  rendered  his  fellow-citizens  during  his 
life ;  since  his  death  would  engage  them  to  a  perpetual  ol> 
servance  of  his  institutions,  which  they  had  sworn  to  main- 
tain inviolably  till  his  return. 

Although  I  represent  tlie  sentiments  of  Lycurgus  upon 
his  own  death,  in  the  light  wherein  Plutarch  has  transmitted 
them  to  us,  I  am  very  far  from  approving  them  ;  and  I  make 
the  same  declaration  with  respect  to  several  other  facts  of 
the  like  nature,  Avhich  I  sometimes  relate  without  making 
any  reflections  upon  them,  though  I  think  them  very  un- 
worthy of  approbation.  The  pretended  wise  men  of  the 
heathens  liad,  as  well  concerning  this  article  as  several  others, 
but  Aery  faint  and  imperfect  ideas  ;  or,  to  speak  more  pro}>- 
erlj,  remained  in  great  darkness  and  error.  They  laid 
down  this  admirable  principle,  Avhich  Ave  meet  Avith  in  many 
of  their  Avritings,  that  man,  placed  in  the  world  as  in  a  cer- 
tain post  by  his  general,  cannot  abandon  it  Avithout  the  ex- 
press command  of  him  upon  Avhom  he  depends,  that  is,  of 
God  himself.  At  other  times,  they  looked  upon  man  as  a 
criminal  condemned  to  a  melancholy  prison,  from  whence, 
indeed,  he  might  desire  to  be  released,  but  could  not  laAV- 
fully  attempt  to  be  so,  but  by  the  course  of  justice,  and  the 
order  of  the  magistrate ;  and  not  by  breaking  his  chains, 
and  forcing  the  gates  of  his  prison.  *  These  ideas  are  beau- 
tiful, because  the)'-  are  true  ;  but  the  application  they^  made 

*  Vetat  Pythagoras,  iujiissii  iinparatoris,  id  e-it  Dei,  de  pra3siilio  et  statione 
vitaj  deeedere. — Cic.  de  Seiiect.  ii.  73. 

Cato  sic  abiit  e  vita,  ut  causaiii  morteiidi  nactum  se  esse  gaudeiet.  A'etat 
enim  doininans  iUe,  ill  nobis  l>eus  iiijussu  Line  110,1  suo  demigraie.  Cum  vero 
causam  jnstam  Oeus  ipse  dederit,  lit  tunc  Sociati,  nunc  Catoni,  s.i^pe  multis ;  iie 
ille,  medius  iidiiis.  vir  sapiens,  Itetus  ex  his  tenebvis  in  lucem  idani  excesserit. 
Nee  tam-jin  ilia  vincusa  careens  ruperit  ;  leges  enim  vetant :  sed,  tanqiiam  a 
niagistratu  aut  ab  aliqua  potestate  legitima,  sic  a  Deo  evocatus  atque  emissun, 
exieiit.— Id.  i.  Tusc.  Quaest.  u.  74. 


696  ANCIENT   HISTORY. 

of  them  was  wrong,  namely,  as  they  took  that  for  an  express 
order  of  the  Deity,  Avhich  Avas  the  pure  effect  of  tiieir  own 
weakness  or  ])ride,  hy  whicli  tliey  were  led  to  cojnmit 
suicide,  either  that  they  might  deliver  tliemselves  from  the 
pains  or  troubles  of  t]\is  life,  or  immortalize  their  names,  as 
was  the  case  with  Lycurgus,  Cato,  and  a  number  of  otliers. 

KEFLECTIONS  UPON  THE  GOVERNMENT  OF  SPARTA,  AM;  UPON 
THE  LAWS  OF  LYCURGUS. 

1.   THINGS  COMifENDABLE  IN  THE  LAWS  OF  LYCURGUS. 

There  must  needs  have  been,  to  judge  only  by  the  event, 
a  great  fund  of  wisdom  and  prudence  in  tlie  laws  of  Lycur- 
gus ;  since,  as  long  as  they  were  observed  in  Sparta,  which 
was  above  five  hundred  years,  it  was  a  most  flourishing  and 
powerful  city.  It  Avas  not  so  much,  says  Phitarcli,  s[)eaking 
of  the  laws  of  Sparta,  the  government  and  polity  of  a  city, 
as  the  conduct  and  regular  behavior  of  a  wise  man,  Avho 
passes  liis  whole  life  in  the  exercise  of  virtue  :  or  rather 
continues  the  same  author,  as  the  poets  feign,  that  Hercules, 
only  with  liis  lion's  skin  and  club,  went  from  country  to 
country  to  free  tlie  world  of  robbers  andtj-rants  ;  so  Sparta, 
with  a  sli})  of  parchment  *  and  an  old  coat,  gave  laws  to  all 
Greece,  which  willingly  submitted  to  her  dominion ;  su}.>- 
pressed  tyrannies  and  unjust  authority  in  cities;  put  an  end 
to  wars  as  she  thought  fit,  and  appeased  insurrection  ;  and 
all  this  generally  Avithout  moving  a  shield  or  a  SAVord,  and 
only  by  sending  a  simple  ambassador  among  them,  Avho  no 
sooner  appeared,  than  all  the  people  submitted,  and  flocked 
about  him  like  so  many  bees  about  their  queen ;  so  much 
respect  did  the  justice  and  good  goAernment  of  this  city  im- 
print u2)on  the  minds  of  all  their  neighbors. 

1.       THE    NATURE    OF     THE    SPARTAN    GOA^ERN.A[ENT. 

We  find  at  the  end  of  Lycurgus's  life  a  single  reflection 
made  by  Plutarch,  Avhich  of  itself  comprehends  a  great 
encomium  upon  that  legislator.  He  there  says,  that  Plato, 
Diogenes,  Zeno,  and  all  those  who  have  treated  of  tlie  estab- 

*  Tliia  was  what  the  Spartans  called  a  soy! ale,  a  thong  of  leather  or  parch- 
ment, which  tliey  twisted  round  a  staiT  in  such  ;i  manner,  that  there  was  no  va- 
cancy or  void  space  left  upon  it.  They  wrote  upon  this  thong,  mikI  when  they 
had  written  they  untwisted  it.  and  sent  it  to  the  pene:  al  for  whom  it  was  in- 
tended. This  general,  who  had  another  s;lck  of  tlie  same  size  with  that  on 
which  the  thong  was  twist('d  and  written  upon,  w;apt  it  rouiul  that  htatl  in  the 
same  manner,  and,  bv  tJiat  means,  found  out  the  connection  and  the  right  placing 
of  the  letters,  which  otherwise  were  so  displaced  and  out  of  order,  that  there 
^aa  no  probabili'y  of  their  being  read.— Plut.  in  A'it.  Lye  p.  444. 


HISTORY    OF   GREECE.  C97 

lishment  of  a  political  state  or  government,  took  their  plans 
from  the  republic  of  Lycurgus,  with  this  difference,  that 
they  confined  themselves  wholly  to  words  and  theor}^ ;  but 
Lycurgus,  without  dwelling  u})on  ideas  and  theoretical  sys- 
tems, did  really  and  effectually  institute  an  inimitable  polity, 
and  form  a  whole  city  of  philosophers. 

In  order  to  succeed  in  this  undertaking,  and  to  establish 
the  most  perfect  form  of  a  commonwealth  that  could  be,  he 
melted  down,  as  it  were,  and  blended  together  what  ho 
found  best  in  every  kind  of  government,  or  most  conducive 
to  the  public  good  ;  thus  tempering  one  species  with  an- 
other, and  balancing  the  inconveniences  to  which  each  of 
them  in  particular  is  subject,  with  the  advantages  that  result 
from  their  being  united  together.  Sparta  had  something 
of  the  monarchial  form  of  government,  in  the  authority  of 
her  kings.  The  council  of  thirty,  otherwise  called  the 
senate,  was  a  true  aristocracy  ;  and  the  ])ow"er  vested  in  the 
people  of  nominating  the  senators,  and  of  giving  sanction  to 
the  laws,  resembled  a  democratical  government.  The  insti- 
tution of  the  Ephori  afterwards  served  to  rectify  what  was 
amiss  in  those  pre^dous  establishments,  and  to  sup})ly  what 
was  defective.  Plato,  in  more  ])laces  than  one,  admires  the 
wisdom  of  Lycurgus  in  his  institution  of  the  senate,  which 
was  equally  advantageous  both  to  the  king  and  people  ;  be- 
cause by  this  means  the  law  became  the  only  supreme  ruler 
of  the  kings,  and  the  kings  never  became  tyrants  over  the 
law.* 

2.  EQUAL  DIVISION'S  OF  THE  LAXDS  :    GOLD   AND     SILVER    BAN- 
ISHED FROM  SPARTA. 

The  design  formed  by  Lycurgus  of  making  an  equal  dis- 
tribution of  the  lands  among  the  citizens,  and  of  entirely 
banishing  from  Sparta  all  luxuiy,  avarice,  lawsuits,  and 
dissensions,  by  abolishing  the  use  of  gold  and  silver,  would 
appear  to  ns  a  scheme  of  a  commonwealth  finely  conceived 
for  speculation,  but  utterly  incapable  of  execution,  did  not 
history  assure  us,  that  Sparta  actually  subsisted  in  that  con- 
dition for  many  i'.ges. 

When  I  place  the  transaction  I  am  now  speaking  of 
among  the  laudable  parts  of  Lycurgus's  laws,  I  do  not  pre- 
tend it  to  be  absolutely  unexceptionable  ;  for  I  think  it  can 
scarcely  be  reconciled  with  that  general  law  of  nature,  which 

■    *  No.ao?  67reiSi7  Kvpinq  eyeVero  ^acriAeus  TMV  a.vBpu>Tru>v,  'aW  oiiK  ivOpoinov  Tupavvoi 

I'oiiuoj'.— Plat.  Epist.  vii. 


698  AXCIEXT    HISTORY. 

forbids  the  taking  away  one  man's  property  to  give  it  to 
another ;  and  yet  this  is  what  was  really  done  upon  this 
occasion.  Therefore  in  this  affair  of  dividing  the  lands,  I 
consider  only  so  much  of  it  as  was  truly  commendable  in 
itself,  and  worthy  of  admiration. 

Can  we  possibly  conceive,  that  a  man  could  persuade  the 
richest  and  most  opulent  inhabitants  of  a  city,  to  resign  all 
their  revenues  and  estates,  in  order  to  level  and  confound 
themselves  with  the  poorest  of  the  people  ;  to  subject  them- 
selves to  a  new  way  of  living,  both  severe  in  itself,  and  full 
of  restraint  ;  in  a  w^ord,  to  debar  themselves  of  the  use  of 
every  thing,  wherein  the  happiness  and  comfort  of  life  is 
thought  to  consist  ?  And  yet  this  is  Avhat  Lycurgus  actually 
effected  in  Sparta. 

Such  an  institution  as  this  would  have  been  less  wonder- 
ful, had  it  subsisted  only  during  the  life  of  the  legislator  ; 
but  we  know  that  it  lasted  many  ages  after  his  decease. 
Xenophon,  in  the  encomium  he  has  left  us  of  Agesilaus,  and 
Cicero,  in  one  of  his  orations,  observed,  that  Lacedjemon 
was  the  only  city  in  the  Avorld  that  preserved  her  discipline 
and  laws  for  so  considerable  a  term  of  years  unaltered  and 
inviolate.  Soli,  said  the  latter,  speaking  of  the  Lacedae- 
monians, toto  orbe  terrarwn  septingentos  jam  annos  am- 
plius  unis  moribus  et  nunquam  'mutatis  legibus  vivwit.* 
I  believe  that  though  in  Cicero's  time  the  discipline  of 
Sparta,  as  w^ell  as  her  power,  Avas  very  much  relaxed  and 
diminished,  yet,  however,  all  historians  agree,  that  it  was 
maintained  in  all  its  vigor  till  the  i-eign  of  Agis,  under  whom 
Lysander,  though  incapable  of  being  blinded  or  corrupted 
with  gold,  filled  his  country  Avith  luxury  and  the  love  of 
riches,  by  bringing  into  it  immense  sums  of  gold  and  silver, 
which  were  the  fruits  of  his  victories,  and  thereby  subvert-, 
ing  the  laws  of  Lycurgus. 

But  the  introduction  of  gold  and  silver  money  was  not 
the  first  wound  given  by  the  Lacedaemonians  to  the  institu- 
tions of  the  legislator.  It  was  the  consequence  of  the  vio- 
lation of  another  law  still  more  fundamental.  Ambition  Avas 
the  vice  that  preceded,  and  made  Avay  for  avarice.  The 
desire  of  conquests  drew  on  that  of  riches,  Avithout  Avhich 
they  could  not  projjose  to  extend  their  dominion.  The 
main  design  of  Lycurgus,  in  the  establishing  his  Uiavs,  and 
especially  that  Avhich  prohibited  the  use  of  gold  and  silver, 
was-  as  Polybius  and  Plutarch  haA^e  judiciously  observed, 

*  Pi-o.  Flac  num.  Ixiii. 


HISTORY    OF    GREECE.  699 

to  curb  and  restrain  the  ambition  of  the  citizens  ;  to  disable 
them  from  making  conquests,  and  in  a  manner  to  force  them 
to  confine  themselves  within  the  narrow  bounds  of  their 
own  country,  Avithout  carrying  their  views  and  ]n-etensions 
an 3^  farther.*  Indeed,  the  government  which  he  established 
was  sufficient  to  defend  the  frontiers  of  Sparta,  but  was  not 
calculated  for  elevating  her  to  a  dominion  over  other  cities. 

The  design,  then,  of  Lycurgus,  was  not  to  make  the 
Spartans  conquerors,  f  To  remove  sucli  thoughts  from 
his  fellow-citizens,  he  expressly  forbade  them,  though  they 
inhabited  a  country  surrounded  with  the  sea,  to  meddle  in 
maritime  affairs;  to  have  any  fleets,  or  ever  to  fight  upon 
the  sea.  They  were  religious  observers  of  this  prohibition 
for  many  ages,  and  even  till  the  defeat  of  Xerxes :  but  upon 
that  occasion  they  began  to  think  of  making  themselves 
masters  at  sea,  that  they  might  be  able  to  keep  that  formid- 
able enemy  at  the  greater  distance.  But  having  soon  per- 
ceived, that  these  maritime,  remote  commands,  corrupted 
the  manners  of  their  generals,  they  laid  that  project  aside 
without  any  difficulty,  as  we  shall  observe  when  we  come 
to  speak  of  king  Pausanias. 

When  Lycurgus  armed  his  fellow-citizens  with  shields 
and  lances,  it  Avas  not  to  enable  them  to  commit  wrongs  and 
outrages  with  impunity,  but  only  to  defend  themselves 
against  the  invasions  and  injuries  of  others.  He  made  them 
indeed  a  nation  of  warriors  and  soldiers  ;  but  it  was  only 
that  under  the  shadow  of  their  arm.s  they  might  live  in  lib- 
erty, moderation,  justice,  union,  and  peace,  by  being  content 
with  their  own  territories,  without  usurping  those  of  others, 
and  by  being  persuaded,  that  no  city  or  state,  any  more 
than  a  single  person,  can  ever  hope  for  solid  and  lasting  hap- 
piness, but  from  virtue  only.  |  Men  of  a  depraved  taste, 
says  Plutarch  farther,  on  the  same  subject,  who  think  noth- 
ing so  desirable  as  riches,  and  a  large  extent  of  dominion, 
may  give  preference  to  those  vast  empires  that  have  sub- 
dued and  enslaved  the  world  by  violence  ;  but  Lycurgus 
was  convinced,  that  a  city  had  occasion  for  nothing  of  that 
kind,  in  order  to  be  happy.  His  policy,  which  has  justly 
been  the  admiration  of  all  ages,  had  no  farther  views,  than 
to  establish  equity,  moderation,  liberty,  and  peace ;  and  was 
an  enemy  to  all  injustice,  violence,  and  ambition,  and  the 
passion  of  reigning  and  extending  the  bounds  of  the  Spar- 
tan commonwealth.  § 

*  Polyb.  1.  vi.  p.  491.  T  Plut.  in  Moribus  Laced,  p.  239. 

t  Plut.  ill  Vit.  Lycurg.  p.  59  §  Idem,  et  in  Vit.  Agesil.  p.  614. 


700  XNCIEXT    HISTORY. 

Such  reflections  as  these,  which  Phitarch  norroeably  in- 
tersperses  in  liis  Lives,  and  in  which  their  greatest  and  most 
essential  beauties  consist,  are  of  infinite  use  towards  the 
giving  us  true  ideas  of  things,  and  making  iis  understand 
wherein  consists  the  solid  and  true  glory  of  a  state,  that  is 
really  happy;  as  also  to  correct  those  false  ideas  avc  are  apt 
to  form  of  the  vain  greatness  of  those  em.})ires  which  have 
swallowed  up  kingdoms,  and  of  those  celebriited  conquerors 
Avho  owe  all  their  fame  and  grandeur  to  violence  and  usur- 
pation, ;u,,,,  a  >  ,hi-'i.. 

3.      I'ilE    I^XCELtENT    EDUCATIOX    OF    TIIKIR    YOUTH. 

The  long  duration  of  the  laws  established  by  Lycurgus,  is 
certainly  very  wonderful :  but  the  means  he  made  use  of  to 
succeed  therein,  are  no  less  worthy  of  admiration.  The 
principal  of  these  was  the  extraordinary  care  he  took  to  have 
the  Sj)artan  youth  brought  up  in  an  exact  and  severe  dis- 
cipline: for,  as  Plutarch  observes,  the  religious  obligation  of 
an  oath,  which  he  exacted  from  the  citizens,  would  have 
been  a  feeble  tie,  had  he  not  by  education  infused  his  laws, 
as  it  Avere,  into  the  minds  and  manners  of  the  children,  and 
made  them  suck  in,  almost  Avith  their  mothers'  milk,  an  af- 
fection for  his  institutions.  This  Avas  the  reason  \vdiy  his 
principal  ordinances  subsisted  above  five  hundred  years, 
having  sunk  into  the  very  tem])er  and  hearts  of  the  people 
like  a  strong  and  good  die,  that  penetrates  thoroughly.* 
Cicero  makes  the  same  remark,  and  ascribes  the  courage 
and  A'irtue  of  the  Spartans,  not  so  much  to  their  OAvn 
natural  disposition,  as  to  their  excellent  education  :  Cujus 
civitatis  spectata  ac  nobilitata  virttis,  non  solum  natura  cor- 
roborata,  verum  etiam  disciplitia  putatur.f  All  this  shoAvs 
of  Avhat  importance  it  is  to  a  state,  to  take  care  that  their 
youth  be  brouglit  up  in  a  manner  proper  to  inspire  them 
Avith  a  love  for  the  laws  of  their  country. 

The  great  maxim  of  Lycurgus,  Avhieh  Aristotle  repeats 
in  express  terms,  was  that  as  children  belong  to  the  state, 
their  education  ought  to  be  directed  by  the  state,  and  the 
vicAvs  and  interests  of  the  state  only  considered  therein,  t 
It  Avas  for  this  reason  he  desired  they  should  be  educated  all 
in  common,  and  not  left  to  the  humor  and  ca])rice  of  their 
parents,  who.  generally,  through  a  soft  and  blind  indulgence, 
and  a  mistaken  tendei-ness,  enervate  at  once  both  the  bodies 

*  "Cl-nrep  jSaifir)?  axparov  KaX  i<rxvpas  KaraipaixivTiji- — Plat.  Ep.  iii. 

t  Ovat.  pro  riac.  n.  68.  t  Polyb.  ].  viii.  Politic. 


HISTORY    OF    GREECE.  701 

and  minds  of  tlieir  children.  At  Sparta,  from  their  tcnder- 
est  years,  they  were  inured  to  labor  and  fatigue,  by  the  ex- 
ercises of  hunting  and  racing,  and  accustomed  betimes  to 
endure  hunger  and  thirst,  heat  and  cold ;  and,  wh;it  it  is 
difficult  to  make  mothers  belicA'c,  all  these  hard  and  labori- 
ous exercises  tended  to  promote  their  health,  and  make  their 
constitutions  the  more  vigorous  and  robust,  able  to  bear  the 
hardships  and  fatigues  of  war,  for  which  they  were  all  de- 
signed from  their  cradles. 

4.    OBEDIE^J^CE. 

But  the  most  excellent  thing  in  the  Spartan  education, 
was  its  teaching  young  people  so  perfectly  how  to  obey.  It 
was  from  hence  the  poet  Simonides  gives  that  city  such  a 
magnificent  epithet,  which  denotes,  that  they  alone  knew 
how  to  subdue  the  passions  of  men,  and  to  render  them 
tractable  and  submissive  to  laAvs,  as  horses  are  taught  to 
obey  the  spur  and  the  bridle,  by  being  broken  and  managed 
while  they  are  young.*  For  this  reason,  Agesilaus  advised 
Xenophon  to  send  his  children  to  Sparta,  that  they  might 
learn  there  the  noblest  and  greatest  of  all  sciences,  that  is, 
kow  to  command  and  how  to  obey.f 

'   '      '  5.     RESPECT    TOWARDS    THE    AGED. 

One  of  the  lessons  most  frequently  and  strongly  incul- 
cated upon  the  Lacedemonian  youth,  was,  to  bear  a  great 
reverence  and  respect  to  old  men,  and  to  give  them  proofs 
of  it  upon  all  occasions,  by  saluting  them,  by  making  way 
for  them,  and  by  giving  them  place  in  the  streets,  by  rising 
up  to  show  them  honor  in  all  companies  and  public  assem- 
blies ;  bvit  above  all,  by  receiving  their  advice,  and  even  their 
reproofs,  with  docility  and  submission,  t  By  these  charac- 
teristics a  Lacedaemonian  A^'as  known  wherever  he  went ;  if 
he  had  behaved  otherwise,  it  would  have  been  looked  u])on 
as  a  reproach  to  himself,  and  a  dishonor  to  liis  country.  An 
old  man  of  Athens  going  into  a  theatre  once  to  see  a  play, 
none  of  his  own  countrymen  offered  him  a  seat ;  but  when 
he  came  near  the  place  where  tlie  Spartan  ambassadors  and 
the  gentlemen  of  their  retinue  Avere  sittiiig,  they  all  rose  up 
out  of  reverence  to  his  age,  and  seated  him  in  the  midst  of 
them.     Lysander,  therefore,  had  reason  to  say,  that  old  age 

'         *  Aafia<ri/it/3poT09,  that  is  to  say,  Tamer  of  men. 

t  Mrtfl»/TO(if'i'09  Twf  ixaBrfuaTiav  to  icaAA<7TOi',  apxedai,  KaX  a.p\ei.v. 

t  Plut.  ill  Lacon.  Institut,  p.  237. 


70ii  ANCIENT    HISTORY. 

had  no  where  so  honorable  an  abode  as  in  Sparta  ;  and  that 
it  was  an  agi-eeable  thing  to  grow  old  in  that  city.* 

II.    DEFECTS    IN    THE    LAWS    OF    LYCUKGUS. 

In  order  to  pei-ceive  the  defects  in  the  laws  of  Lycurgiis, 
we  have  only  to  compare  them  with  those  of  Moses,  Avhich 
we  know  were  dictated  by  more  than  human  Avisdom.  But 
my  design  in  this  place  is  not  to  enter  into  an  exact  exami- 
nation of  the  particulars  wherein  the  laws  and  institutions 
of  Lycurgus  are  faulty  ;  I  shall  content  myself  with  making 
some  slight  reflections  only,  Avhich  probably  may  have 
already  occurred  to  the  reader  in  the  perusal  of  those  ordi- 
nances, among  which  there  are  some  with  which  he  will 
have  been  justly  offended. 

1.    THE    CHOICE    MADE    OF    THE    CHILDREN    THAT    WERE 
EITHER    TO    BE    BROUGHT    UP    OR    EXPOSED. 

To  begin,  for  instance,  with  that  ordinance  relating  to 
the  choice  they  made  of  their  children,  which  of  them  were 
to  be  brought  up,  and  which  ex])osed  to  perish  ;  Avho  would  not 
be  shocked  at  the  unjust  and  inhuman  custom  of  pronouncing 
sentence  of  death  upon  all  such  infants  as  had  the  misfor- 
tune to  be  born  with  a  constitution  that  appeared  too  weak 
to  undergo  the  fatigues  and  exercises  to  which  the  common- 
w^ealth  destined  all  her  subjects?  Is  it  then  impossible,  and 
without  example,  that  children,  who  are  tender  and  weak 
in  their  infancy,  should  ever  alter  as  they  groAV  up,  and  be- 
come in  time  of  a  robust  and  vigorous  constitution  ?  Or, 
suppose  it  was  so,  can  a  man  no  way  serve  his  country  but 
by  the  strength  of  his  body  ?  Is  there  no  account  to  be 
made  of  his  wisdom,  prudence,  counsel,  generosity,  courage, 
magnanimity,  and,  in  a  word,  of  all  the  qualities  that  depend 
upon  the  mind  and  the  intellectual  faculties  ?  Omnino  illud 
honestum  quod  ex  animo  excelso  inagnif,coque  qtioirimus^ 
anbni  efficitur,  non  corporis  viribii.s'.'f  Did  Lycurgus  him- 
self render  less  service,  or  do  less  honor  to  Sparta,  by  estab- 
lishing Ins  laws,  than  the  greatest  generals  did  by  their  vic- 
tories? Agesilaus  was  of  so  small  a  stature,  and  so  mean 
a  figure,  that  at  the  first  sight  of  him  the  Egyptians  could 
not  help  laughing ;  and  yet  small   as  he  Avas,  he  made  the 

*  Lysandrum  Lacedaemoiiuim  dicere  aiunt  solitnm  :  Lacedaeiiione  esse  hon- 
estissimum  doniicilium  seimctutis. — Cic  de  Sen.  ii.  C3.  "Ei'  Aa(C€6<un.ovt  KaXSiara 
yripuitTL. — Pint,  in  Mor.  p.  795. 

t  Cic-er.  1.  >.  de  Offic.  n.  79.    Idem.  n.  76. 


HISTORY    OF    GREECE.  703 

great  king  of  Persia  treml)le  upon  the  throne  of  half  the 
world. 

But,  what  is  yet  stronger  than  all  I  have  said,  has  any- 
other  person  a  right  or  power  over  the  lives  of  men,  than  he 
from  whom,  they  receive  them,  even  God  himself?  And 
does  not  a  legislator  visibly  usurp  the  authority  of  God, 
whenever  he  arrogates  to  himself  sucli  a  ]iower  without  his 
commission  ?  That  ])recept  of  the  decalogue,  which  was 
only  a  renovation  of  the  law  of  nature,  Tlioa  shall  not  kill, 
universally  condemns  all  those  among  the  ancients,  who 
imagined  that  they  had  a  power  of  life  and  death  over  their 
Blaves,  and  even  over  their  own  children. 

2.  THEIR  car:5  confixed  oxly  to  the  'body. 

The  great  defect  in  the  laws  of  Lycurgus,  as  Plato  and 
Aristotle  have  observed,  is,  that  they  only  tended  to  form  a 
warlike  and  martial  people.  All  that  legislator's  thoughts 
seemed  wholly  bent  upon  the  means  of  strengthening  the 
bodies  of  the  people  without  any  regai'd  to  the  cultivation 
of  their  minds.  Why  should  he  banish  from  his  common- 
wealth all  arts  and  sciences,  which,  besides  many  other  ad- 
vantages, have  this  most  happy  effect,  that  they  soften  our 
manners,  polish  our  undei'standings,  improve  the  heart  and 
render  our  behavior  civil,  courteous,  gentle,  and  obliging ; 
such,  in  a  word,  as  qualifies  us  for  company  and  society,  and 
makes  the  ordinary  intercourse  of  life  agreeable?*  Hence, 
it  came  to  pass,  that  there  was  a  degree  of  roughness  and 
austerity  in  the  temper  and  behavior  of  the  Spartans,  and 
many  times  even  something  of  ferocity ;  a  failing  that  pro- 
ceeded chiefly  from  their  education,  and  that  rendered  them 
disagreeable  and  offensive  to  all  their  allies. 

3.  their  barbarous  cruelty  towards  their  children. 

It  was  an  excellent  practice  in  Sparta,  to  accustom  their 
youth  betimes  to  suffer  heat  and  cold,  hunger  and  thirst, 
and  by  many  severe  and  laborious  exercises  to  bring  the 
body  into  subjection  to  reason,  whose  faithful  and  diligent 
minister  it  ought  to  be  in  the  execution  of  all  her  orders 
and  injunctions  ;  which  it  can  never  do,  if  it  be  not  able  to 
undergo   all  sorts  of  hardships  and  fatigues,  f     But  was  it 

*  Omnes  artes  qiiibus  setas  puerilis  ad  liumanitatem  iuformari  solet. — Cic 
Orat.  pro  Arch. 

t  Exercendum  corpus,  et  ita  a^Iiciendum  ost,  ut  obodire  consilio  ratioiiique. 
possit  in  e.xeqiieiidis  uegotio  et  labore  tolerando.— Lib.  \.  i.  de  Oflic.  n.  79. 


704  ANCIENT    HISTORY. 

rational  in  them  to  carry  their  severities  so  far,  as  the  in- 
human treatment  we  have  mentioned  ?  And  was  it  not 
utterly  barbarous  and  brutal  in  the  fathers  and  mothers,  to 
see  the  blood  trickling  from  tlie  wounds  of  their  children, 
nay,  even  to  see  them  expiring  under  tlie  lashes,  without 
coucern  ? 

4.    THE    mothers'    IXHUMANITY. 

Some  people  admire  the  courage  of  the  Spartan  mothers, 
who  coukl  hear  the  news  of  the  death  of  their  children  slain 
in  battle,  not  only  without  tears,  but  even  with  a  kind  of 
joy  and  satisfaction.  For  my  part,  I  should  think  it  much 
better,  that  nature  should  show  herself  a  little  more  on  such 
occasions,  and  that  the  love  of  one's  country  should  not 
utterly  extinguish  the  sentiments  of  maternal  tenderness. 
One  of  our  generals  in  France,  Avho  in  the  heat  of  battle 
was  told  that  his  son  was  killed,  seemed  by  his  answer  to 
be  much  wiser.  "  Let  us  at  present  tliink,"  said  he,  "  only 
of  beating  the  enemy  ;  to-morroAV  I  will  mourn  for  my  son." 

5.    THEIR    EXCESSIVE    LEISURE. 

Nor  can  I  see  what  excuse  can  be  made  for  that  law, 
imposed  by  Lycurgus  upon  the  Sjjartans,  which  enjoined 
the  spending  so  much  of  their  time  in  idleness  and  inaction, 
and  following  no  other  business  than  that  of  war.  He  left 
all  the  arts  and  trades  entirely  to  the  slaves,  and  strangers 
that  lived  among  them  ;  and  put  nothing  into  the  liands  of  the 
citizens,  but  the  lance  and  the  shield.  Not  to  mention  the 
danger  there  was  in  suffering  the  number  of  slaves  that  were 
necessary  for  tilling  the  land,  to  increase  to  sucli  a  degree  as 
to  become  much  greater  than  that  of  their  mastc^i's,  which  was 
often  an  occasion  of  seditions  and  riots  among  them  ;  how 
many  disorders  must  men  necessarily  fall  into,  that  have 
so  much  leisure  upon  their  hands,  and  have  no  daily  occu- 
pation or  regular  labor?  This  is  an  inconvenience  still  but 
too  common  among  our  nobility,  and  which  is  the  natural 
effect  of  their  faulty  education.  Except  in  the  time  of  war, 
most  of  our  gentry  s])end  their  lives  in  the  most  useless  and 
unj)rofi table  manner.  They  look  upon  agriculture,  arts, 
and  conynerce,  as  beneath  them,  and  derogatory  to  their 
gentility.  They  seldom  know  liow  to  handle  any  tiling  but 
their  swords.  As  for  the  sciences,  they  barely  acquii'e  just 
BO   much  as  they  cannot  well  be  without ;  and  many  have 


HISTORY    OF    GREECE.  705 

not  the  least  knowledge  of  tliem,  nor  any  manner  of  taste 
for  books  or  reading.  We  are  not  to  wonder,  then,  if  gam- 
ing and  liunting,  eating  and  drinking,  mutual  visits,  and 
frivolous  discourse,  make  up  their  whole  occupation.  What 
a  life  is  this  for  men  that  have  any  2)arts  or  understanding ! 

6.    THEIR    CRITELTY    TOWARDS    THE    HELOTS. 

Lycurgus  would  be  utterly  inexcusable,  if  he  gave  ocoa- 
sion,  as  he  is  accused  of  having  done,  for  all  the  rigor  and 
cruelty  exercised  towards  the  Helots  in  this  re})ublic. 
These  Helots  were  the  slaves  employed  by  the  Spartans  to 
till  the  ground.  It  was  their  custom  not  only  to  make  these 
poor  creatures  drunk,  and  expose  them  before  their  children, 
in  order  to  giA^e  them  an  abhorrence  for  so  shameful  and 
odious  a  vice,  but  also  to  ti-eat  them  with  the  utmost  bar- 
barity, as  thinking  themselves  at  liberty  to  destroy  them  by 
any  violence  or  cruelty  whatever,  under  pretence  of  their 
being  always  ready  to  rel)el. 

Upon  a  certain  occasion  related  by  Thucydides,  two 
thousand  of  these  slaves  disappeared  at  once,  without  any- 
body's knowing  Avhat  was  become  of  them.*  Plutarch  pre- 
tends, that  this  barbarous  custom  was  not  practised  till 
after  the  time  of  Lycurgus,  and  that  he  had  no  hand  in  it. 

7.  MODESTY  AXD  DECENCY  ENTIRELY  NEGLECTED. 

But  the  points  wherein  Lycurgus  appears  to  be  most 
cidpable,  and  which  best  shows  the  great  enormities  and 
gross  darkness  in  which  the  Pagans  were  plunged,  is  the 
little  regard  he  showed  for  modesty  and  decency,  in  what 
concerned  the  education  of  girls,  and  the  marriages  of  young 
women;  which  was  Avithout  doubt  the  source  of  those  dis- 
orders that  prevailed  in  Sparta,  as  Aristotle  has  Avisely  ob- 
served. When  we  compare  these  indecent  and  licentious 
institutions  of  the  wisest  legislator  that  ever  profane  antiq- 
uity could  boast,  with  the  sanctity  and  i^urity  of  the  evan- 
gelical precepts,  what  a  noble  idea  does  it  give  us  of  the 
dignity  and  excellence  of  the  Christian  religion ! 

Nor  will  it  give  us  a  less  advantageous  idea  of  this  pre- 
eminence, if  we  compare  the  most  excellent  and  laudable 
part  of  the  institutions  of  Lycurgus  with  the  laws  of  the 
gospel.  It  is,  we  must  own,  a  wonderful  thing,  tliat  the 
whole  people  should  consent  to  a  division  of  their  lands, 

*  Thucid.  lib.  iv. 

45 


706  AXCIENT    HISTORY. 

which  set  the  poor  upon  an  equal  footing  with  the  rich ; 
and  that  by  a  total  exclusion  of  gold  and  silver  they  sliould 
reduce  themselves  to  a  kind  of  voluntary  poverty.  But  the 
S]>artan  legislator,  when  he  enacted  these  laws,  had  the 
sword  in  his  hand  ;  whereas  the  Christian  legislator  says 
but  a  Avord,  "  Blessed  are  the  poor  in  spirit,"  and  thousands 
of  the  faithful  through  all  succeeding  generations  renounce 
their  goods,  sell  their  lands  and  estates,  and  leave  all,  to 
follow  Jesus  Christ,  their  Mastei",  in  poverty  and  want. 

ARTICLE  VIII. 

THE  G0VER:S^MENT  of  ATnE:N^S.  THE  LAWS  OF  SOLO^T.  THK 
HISTORY  OF  THAT  REPUBLIC,  FROM  THE  TIME  OF  SOLOX 
TO  THE  REIGN  OF  DARIUS  THE  FIRST. 

I  have  already  observed,  that  Athens  was  at  first  gov- 
erned by  kings.  But  they  were  such  as  had  little  more 
than  the  name ;  for  their  whole  power  being  confined  to  the 
command  of  the  armies,  vanished  in  time  of  peace.  Every 
man  was  master  in  his  own  house,  where  he  lived  in  an  abso- 
lute state  of  independence.  Codrus,  the  last  king  of  Athens, 
having  devoted  himself  to  death  for  the  public  good,  his 
sons  Medon  and  Nileus  quarrelled  about  the  succession.  * 
The  Athenians  took  this  occasion  to  abolish  the  regal  power, 
thougli  it  did  not  much  incommode  them  ;  and  declared, 
that  Jupiter  alone  was  king  of  Athens,  at  the  very  same 
time  that  tlie  Jews  Avere  weary  of  their  theocracy,  that  is, 
having  the  true  God  for  their  king,  and  would  absolutely 
have  a  man  to  reign  over  them. 

Plutarch  observes,  that  Homer,  when  he  enumerated  the 
ships  of  the  confederate  Grecians,  gives  tlie  name  of  j)eople 
to  none  but  the  Athenians  ;  from  whence  it  may  be  inferred, 
that  the  Athenians  even  then  had  a  great  inclination  to  a 
democratical  government,  and  that  the  chief  authority  was 
at  that  time  vested  in  the  people. 

In  the  place  of  their  kings  they  substituted  a  kind  of 
governors  for  life,  under  the  title  of  archons.  But  this  per- 
petual magistracy  appeared  still,  in  the  eyes  of  this  free 
peojjle,  as  too  jively  an  image  of  regal  power,  of  which  tliey 
were  desirous  of  abolishing  even  the  very  shadow ;  for 
which  reason  they  first  reduced  that  office  to  the  term  of 
ten  years,  and  then  to  that  of  one  ;  and  this  they  did  with  a 

*  Codrus  was  cotemporary  with  Saul. 


HISTOUY    OF    CREECH  707 

view  of  resuming  the  autliority  the  iiiorc  frequently  into 
their  own  hiinds,  which  they  never  transferred  to  their  mag- 
istrates but  Avith  regret. 

Such  a  limited  power  as  this  was  not  sufKcient  to  restrain 
those  turbulent  spirits,  who  were  grown  excessively  jealous 
of  their  liberty  and  independence,  very  tender  and  apt  to 
be  offended  at  any  thing  that  seemed  to  break  in  upon  their 
equality,  and  always  ready  to  take  umbrage  at  Avhatever  had 
the  least  appearance  of  dominion  or  suj>eriority.  Hence 
arose  continual  factions  and  quarrels ;  there  was  no  agree- 
ment or  concord  among  them,  either  about  religion  or  gov- 
ernment. 

Athens  therefore  continued  a  long  time  incapable  of  en- 
larging her  power,  it  being  very  ha})py  for  her  that  she 
could  preserve  herself  from  ruin  in  the  midst  of  those  long 
and  frequent  dissensions  she  had  to  struggle  Avitli. 

Misfortunes  instruct.  Athens  learned  at  length,  that 
true  liberty  consists  in  a  dependence  upon  justice  and  reason. 
This  happy  subjection  could  not  be  established,  but  by  a  leg- 
islator. She  therefore  placed  her  choice  upon  Draco,  a  man 
of  acknowledged  wisdom  and  integrity,  for  that  employment. 
It  does  not  appear  that  Greece  had,  before  his  time,  any 
written  laws.*  The  first  of  that  kind,  then,  were  of  his  pub- 
lishing ;  the  rigor  of  which,  anticipating  as  it  were  the  Stoical 
doctrine,  was  so  great,  that  it  punished  the  smallest  offense, 
as  Avell  as  the  most  enormous  crimes,  equally  with  death. 
These  laws  of  Draco,  written,  says  Demades,  not  Avith  ink, 
but  with  blood,  had  the  same  fate  as  usually  attends  all 
violent  things.  Sentiments  of  liumanity  in  the  judges,  com- 
passion for  the  accused,  Avhoni  they  Avere  wont  to  look  upon 
rather  as  unfortunate  than  criminal,  and  the  apprehensions 
the  accusers  and  Avitnesses  Avere  under  of  rendering  them- 
selves odious  to  the  poople,  all  concurred  to  produce  a  re- 
missness in  the  execiition  of  the  laws,  Avhich,  by  that  means, 
in  process  of  time,  became  as  it  Avere  abrogated  through 
disuse :  and  thus  an  excessive  rigor  jjaved  the  Avay  for  im- 
punity, 

The  danger  of  relapsing  into  their  former  disorders, 
made  them  have  recourse  to  fresh  precautions ;  for  they 
were  Avilling  to  slacken  the  curb  and  restraint  of  fear,  but 
not  to  break  it.  In  order,  therefore,  to  find  out  mitigations, 
which  might  make  amends  for  what  they  took  aAvay  from 
the  letter  of  the  law,  they  cast  their  eyes  upon  one  of  th<? 

♦A.M.  3380.    Ant.  J.  C  624. 


708  AJfCIENT   HISTORY. 

wisest  and  most  virtuous  persons  of  his  age,  I  mean  Solon, 
whose  singular  qualities,  and  especially  his  great  meekness, 
had  acquired  hira  the  affection  and  veneration  of  the  whole 
city.* 

His  main  application  had  been  to  the  study  of  philosophy, 
and  especially  to  that  part  of  it  wliich  we  call  ]K)licy,  and 
which  teaches  the  art  of  government.  His  extraordinary 
merit  place!  him  among  the  first  of  the  seven  sages  of 
Greece,  who  rendered  the  age  we  are  sjieaking  of  so  illus- 
trious. These  sages  often  ]wid  visits  to  each  other.  One 
day  that  Solon  went  to  Miletus  to  seeThales,  the  fii-st  thing 
he  sai<l  to  Th;iles  was,  that  he  wondered  why  he  had  never 
desired  to  have  either  wife  or  children.  Thales  made  him 
no  answer  then ;  but  a  few  days  after  he  contrived,  that  a 
stranger  should  come  into  their  company,  and  pretend 
that  he  had  just  arrived  from  Athens,  from  whence  he  had 
set  out  about  ten  days  before.  Solon  heai-ing  tlie  stranger 
say  this,  asked  him,  if  there  was  any  news  at  Athens  when 
he  came  away.  The  stranger,  who  had  been  taught  his 
lesson,  replied,  that  he  had  heard  of  nothing  but  the  death 
of  a  young  gentleman,  whom  all  the  town  accompanied  to 
the  grave  ;  because,  as  they  said,  he  was  the  son  of  the 
worthiest  man  iu  the  city,  who  was  then  absent.  Alas!  cried 
Solon,  interrupting  the  man's  story,  how  much  iS  the  poor 
father  of  the  youth  to  be  pitied !  But  pray,  what  is  the  gen- 
tlemar/s  name  ?  I  heard  his  name  re})lied  the  stranger,  but 
I  have  forgot  it.  I  only  remember  that  the  people  talked 
much  of  his  wisdoTu  and  justice.  Every  answer  afforded 
new  matter  of  trouble  and  terror  to  this  inquisitive  father, 
who  was  so  justly  alarmed.  Was  it  not,  said  he  at  length, 
the  son  of  Solon  ?  The  very  same,  replied  the  stranger. 
Solon  at  these  words  rent  his  clothes,  and  beat  his  breast, 
and  expressing  his  sorrow  by  tears  and  groans,  abandoned 
himself  to  the  most  sensible  affliction.  Thales,  seeing  this, 
took  him  by  the  hand,  and  said  to  him  with  a  smile,  comfort 
yourself,  ray  friend,  all  that  has  been  told  you  is  a  mere  fic- 
tion. Now  you  see  the  reason  why  I  never  married  :  it  is 
because  I  am  unwilling  to  expose  myself  to  such  trials  and 
affiictions.t 

Plutarch  has  given  us  in  detail,  a  refutation  of  Thales's 
reasoning,  which  tends  to  deprive  mankind  of  the  most  nat- 
iiral  and  reasonable  attachments  in  life,  in  lieu  of  which  the 
heart  of  man  will  not  fail  to  substitute  others  of  an  unjust 

•A.M.3iOO.    Ant.  J.  C.  604.  t  Plut.  de  Vit.  Lycurg.  pp.  81,  82. 


HISTORY    OF    GREECE.  709 

and  unlawful  nature,  which  will  expose  him  to  the  same 
pains  and  inconveniences.  The  remedy,  says  this  historian, 
against  the  grief  that  may  arise  from  the  loss  of  goods,  of 
friends,  or  of  children,  is  not  to  throw  away  our  estates,  and 
reduce  ourselves  to  poverty,  to  make  an  absolute  renuncia- 
tion of  all  friendship,  or  to  confine  ourselves  to  a  state  of 
celibacy;  but,  upon  all  such  accidents  and  misfortunes,  to 
make  a  right  use  of  our  reason. 

Athens,  after  some  time  of  tranquillity  and  peace,  which 
the  prudence  and  courage  of  Solon  had  procured,  who  was 
as  great  a  warrior  as  he  was  a  statesman,  relapsed  into  her 
formcL-  dissensions  about  the  government  of  the  common- 
wealth, and  was  divided  into  as  many  parties  as  there  were 
different  sorts  of  inhabitants  in  Attica.  For  those  that  lived 
upon  the  mountains  were  fond  of  po]>ular  government ;  those 
in  the  low-lands  were  for  an  oligarchy  ;  and  those  Avho  dwelt 
on  the  sea-coasts,  were  for  having  a  mixed  government,  com- 
pounded of  these  two  forms  blended  together ;  and  they 
hindei'ed  the  other  two  contending  parties  from  getting  any 
ground  of  each  other.  Besides  these,  there  M^as  a  fourth 
party,  which  consisted  only  of  the  poor,  who  were  grievous- 
ly harassed  and  oppressed  by  the  rich,  on  account  of  their 
debts,  Avliich  they  were  not  able  to  discharge.  This  unhap- 
py party  was  determined  to  choose  themselves  a  chief,  who 
should  deliver  them  from  the  inhuman  sevei-ity  of  their 
creditors,  and  make  an  entire  change  in  the  form  of  their 
government,  by  making  a  new  division  of  the  lands.* 

In  this  extreme  danger,  all  the  wise  Athenians  cast  their 
eyes  upon  Solon,  who  was  obnoxious  to  neither  party ;  be- 
cause he  had  never  sided  either  with  the  injustice  of  the  rich, 
or  the  rebellion  of  tlie  poor  ;  and  they  strongly  solicited  him 
to  take  the  inatter  in  hand,  and  to  endeavor  to  put  an  end 
to  these  differences  and  disorders  He  was  very  unwihmg 
to  take  upon  him  so  dangerous  a  commission  :  however,  he 
was  at  last  chosen  Archon,  and  was  constituted  supreme 
arbiter  and  legislator  with  the  unanimous  consent  of  all  par- 
ties ;  the  rich  liking  him  as  he  was  rich  ;  and  the  poor  be- 
cause he  was  honest.  Jle  now  had  it  in  his  power  to  make 
himself  king  :  several  of  the  citizens  advised  liim  to  it ;  and 
even  the  wisest  among  them,  not  thinking  it  was  in  the 
j^ower  of  human  reason  to  bring  about  a  favorable  change, 
consistent  with  the  laws,  were  not  unwilling  that  the  sa|)reme 
power  should  be  vested  in  one  man,  who  was  so   eminently 

•  Plut.  ill  Solon,  pp.  85,  86. 


710  AXCIENT    HISTORY. 

distinguished  for  his  prudence  and  justice.  Bat  notwith- 
standing all  the  remonstrances  that  were  made  to  liim,  and 
all  the  solicitations  and  reproaches  of  his  friends,  who  treat- 
ed his  refusal  of  the  diadem  as  an  effect  of  pusillanimity 
and  meanness  of  spirit,  he  was  still  firm  and  unchangeable 
in  his  purpose  and  would  hearken  to  no  other  scheme  than 
that  of  settling  a  form  of  government  in  his  country,  that 
should  be  founded  upon  the  basis  of  a  just  and  reasonable 
liberty.  N"  jt  venturing  to  meddle  with  certain  disorders  and 
evils,  which  he  looked  upon  as  incurable,  he  undertook  to 
bring  about  no  other  alterations  or  changes,  than  such  as  he 
thought  he  could  persuade  the  citizens  to  comply  with  by 
argument  and  reason,  or  bring  them  into  by  the  weight  of 
his  authority  ;  wisely  imiting,  as  he  himself  said,  authority 
and  power  with  reason  and  justice.  Wherefore,  when  one 
afterwards  asked  him,  if  the  laws  whicli  he  had  made  for  the 
Athenians  were  the  best :  "  Yes,"  said  he,  "  the  best  they, 
were  capable  of  i-eceiving." 

The  soul  of  popular  states  is  equality.  But  for  fear  of 
disgusting  the  rich,  Solon  did  not  venture  to  pro])ose  any 
equality  of  lands  and  wealth  ;  whereby  Attica,  as  well  as 
Laconia,  would  liave  resembled  a  paternal  inheritance,  divid- 
ed among  a  number  of  brethren.  However,  he  went  so  far 
as  to  put  an  end  to  the  slavery  and  opjjression  of  those  poor 
citizens,  whose  excessive  debts  and  accumulated  arrears  had 
forced  them  to  sell  their  jiersons  and  liberty,  and  reduce 
themselves  to  a  state  of  servitude  and  bondage.  An  express 
law  was  made,  which  declared  all  debtors  discharged  and 
acquitted  of  all  their  debts. 

This  affair  drew  Solon  into  a  troublesome  difficulty, 
which  gave  him  a  great  deal  of  vexation  and  concern,  \yhen 
he  first  determined  to  cancel  the  debts  he  foresaw  that  such 
an  edict,  which  had  something  in  it  contrary  to  justice, 
w^ould  be  extremely  offensive.  For  which  reason,  he  en- 
deavored in  some  measure  to  rectify  the  tenor  of  it,  by  in- 
troducing it  with  a  specious  jjreamble,  which  set  forth  a 
gi'eat  many  very  plausible  pretexts,  and  gave  a  color  of  equity 
and  reason  to  the  law,  which  in  reality  it  had  not.  But  in 
order  hereto,  he  first  disclosed  his  design  to  some  particu- 
lar friends  whom  he  used  to  consult  in  all  his  affairs,  and 
concerted  with  them  the  form  and  the  terms  in  which  this 
edict  should  be  expressed.  Now,  before  it  was  published, 
his  friends,  who  were  more  interested  than  faithful,  secretly 
borrowed  great  sums  of  money  of  their  rich  acquaintance, 


HISTORY    OF    GREECE.  711 

which  they  laid  out  in  the  purchase  of  lands,  knowing  they 
would  not  be  affected  by  the  edict.  When  this  appeared, 
the  general  indignation  that  was  raised  by  such  a  base  and 
flagrant  kna,very,  fell  upon  Solon,  though  in  reality  lie  had 
no  hand  in  it.*  But  it  is  not  enough  for  a  man  in  office  to 
be  disinterested  and  upright  himself  ;  all  that  surround  and 
approach  him  ought  to  be  so  too  ;  wife,  relations,  friends, 
secretaries,  and  servants.  The  faults  of  others  are  charged 
to  his  account  :  all  the  wrongs,  all  the  rapines,  that  are 
committed  either  through  his  negligence  or  connivance,  are 
justly  imputed  to  him  ;  because  it  is  his  business,  and  one 
of  the  principal  designs  of  his  being  put  into  such  a  trust,  to 
prevent  those  corruptions  and  abuses. 

This  ordinance  at  first  pleased  neither  of  the  two  parties  ; 
it  disgusted  the  rich,  because  it  abolished  the  debts  ;  and 
dissatisfied  the  poor,  because  it  did  not  ordain  a  new  di- 
vision of  the  lands,  as  they  had  expected,  and  as  Lycurgus 
had  actually  effected  at  Sparta.  But  Solon's  influence  at 
Athens  fell  very  short  of  the  power  which  Lycurgus  had 
acquired  in  Sparta ;  for  he  had  no  other  authority  over  the 
Athenians,  than  what  the  reputation  of  his  wisdom,  and  the 
confidence  of  the  people  in  his  integrity,  had  procured  him. 

However,  in  a  little  time  afterwards,  this  ordinance  was 
generally  approved,  and  the  same  powers  as  before,  were 
continued  to  Solon. 

He  repealed  all  the  laws,  that  had  been  made  by  Draco, 
except  those  against  murder.  The  reasovi  of  his  doing  this, 
was  the  excessive  rigor  of  these  laws,  whicli  inflicted  death 
alike  upon  all  sorts  of  offenders :  so  that  they  who  were  con- 
victed of  sloth  or  idleness,  or  they  who  had  only  stolen  a 
few  herbs,  or  a  little  fruit  out  of  a  garden,  were  as  severely 
punished  as  those  that  Avere  guiltj^  of  murder  or  sacrilege. 

He  then  proceeded  to  the  regulation  of  offices,  employ- 
ments, and  magistracies,  all  which  he  left  in  the  hands  of  the 
rich ;  for  which  reason  he  distributed  all  the  rich  citizens 
into  three  classes,  ranging  them  according  to  the  difference 
of  their  incomes  and  revenues,  and  according  to  the  value 
and  estimation  of  each  particular  man's  estate.  Those  who 
were  found  to  have  five  hundred  measures  a  year,  as  well  in 
corn  as  in  liquids,  were  placed  in  the  first  class  ;  those  who 
had  three  hundred  were  placed  in  the  second  ;  and  those 
who  had  but  two  hundred  made  up  the  third. 

All  the  rest  of  the  citizens,  whose  income  fell  short  of  two 

*  Plut.  in  Solon,  p.  87. 


712  AN"CrE?fT    HISTORY. 

hundred  raeasnres,  were  comprised  in  a  fourth  and  last  class, 
and  were  never  admitted  into  any  em])l.)yTnc'nts.*  l>ut,  in 
order  to  make  them  amends  for  this  exchision  from  offices, 
he  left  them  a  right  to  vote  in  the  assemblies  ;;nd  judgments 
of  the  people  ;  which  at  first  seemed  to  be  a  matter  of  little 
consequence,  but  in  time  became  extremely  advantageous, 
and  made  them  masters  of  all  the  affairs  of  the  city ;  for 
most  of  the  lawsuits  and  differences  returned  to  the  people, 
to  whom  an  appeal  lay  from  all  the  judgments  of  the  magis- 
trates ;  and  in  the  assemblies  of  the  people,  the  greatest  and 
most  im])ortant  affairs  of  the  state  relating  to  peace  or  war, 
were  also  determined. 

The  Areopagus, t  so  called  from  the  place  where  its 
assemblies  were  held,  had  been  a  long  time  established. 
Solon  restored  and  augmented  its  authority,  leaving  to  that 
tribunal,  as  the  supreme  court  of  judicature,  a  general  in- 
spection and  superintendency  over  all  affairs,  as  also  the  care 
of  causing  the  laws,  of  which  he  was  the  guardian,  to  be 
observed  and  put  in  execution.  Before  his  time,  the  citi- 
zens of  the  greatest  probity  and  justice  were  made  the  judges 
of  the  Areopagus.  Solon  was  the  first  who  thought  it  con- 
venient that  none  should  be  honored  with  that  dignity,  ex- 
cept such  as  had  passed  through  the  office  of  archon.  Noth- 
ing was  so  august  as  this  senate  ;  and  its  reputation  for 
judgment  and  integrity  became  so  very  great,  that  the  Ro- 
mans sometimes  referred  causes,  which  were  too  intricate 
for  their  own  decision,  to  the  determination  of  this  tribunal,  t 

Nothing  was  regarded  or  attended  to  here  but  truth,  and 
to  the  end  that  no  external  objects  might  di\ert  the  atten- 
tion of  the  judges,  their  tribunal  was  always  held  at  night, 
or  in  the  dark ;  and  the  orators  were  not  allowed  to  make 
use  of  any  exordium,  digression,  or  peroration. 

Solon,  to  prevent,  as  much  as  possible,  the  abuse  which 
the  people  might  make  of  the  gi-eat  authority  he  left  them, 
created  a  second  council,  consisting  of  four  hundred  men,  a 
himdred  out  of  every  tribe ;  and  ordei'ed  all  causes  and 
affairs  to  be  brought  before  this  council,  and  to  be  maturely 
examined  by  them,  before  they  were  proposed  to  the  gen- 
eral assembly  of  the  people ;  to  whose  judgment  the  senti- 
ments of  the  other  were  to  submit,  and  to  which  alone  be- 

*  Plat,  ill  Solon,  p.  8S. 

t  Tliis  was  ft  hill  near  the  citadel  of  Athena,  called  Areopagus,  that  la  to 
say.  tlie  hill  of  Mars  ;  because  it  wa>  there  Mars  had  Ueeii  tried  for  the  murder 
•£  Halirrolhiiis,  the  inn  of  N'e|>(une. 

t  Yal.  Max.  1.  viii.  c.  I.    Lucian.  in  llermot.  p-  5U.j.    Quiutil.  1.  vi.  c.  1. 


HISTORY    OP    GREECE.  713 

longed  the  right  of  giving  a  final  sentence  and  decision.  It 
was  upon  this  subject  An;; j". arsis,  whom  the  reputation  of 
the  sages  of  ,':;eece  had  brought  from  the  middle  of  Scythia, 
said  one  day  to  Solon,  "  I  wonder  you  should  emjiowerthe 
wise  men  only  to  deliberate  and  debate  upon  affairs,  and 
leave  the  determination  and  decision  of  them  wholly  to 
fools." 

Upon  another  occasion,  Avhen  Solon  was  conversing  with 
him  upon  some  other  regulations  he  had  in  view,  Anacharsis, 
astonished  that  he  could  expect  to  succeed  in  his  designs  of 
restraining  the  avarice  and  injustice  of  the  citizens  by  writ- 
ten laws,  answered  him  in  this  manner  :  "  give  me  leave  to 
tell  you,  that  your  Avritings  are  just  like  spiders'  webs  ;  the 
weak  and  small  flies  may  be  entangled  and  caught  in  them, 
but  the  rich  and  powerful  will  break  through  them  and  de- 
spise them." 

Solon,  who  was  an  able  and  prudent  man,  was  very  sensi- 
ble of  the  inconveniences  that  attend  a  democracy  or  popu- 
lar government ;  but  having  thoroughly  studied,  and  being 
perfectly  well  acquainted  with  the  character  and  disposition 
of  the  Athenians,  he  knew  it  Avould  be  a  vain  attempt  to 
take  the  sovereignty  out  of  the  people's  hands  ;  and  that,  if 
they  parted  with  it  at  one  time,  they  would  soon  resume  it 
at  another,  by  force  and  violence.  He  therefore  contented 
himself  with  limiting  their  ])ower  by  the  authority  of  the 
Areopagus,  and  the  council  of  four  hundred  ;  judging  that 
the  state,  being  supported  and  strengthenerl  by  these  two 
powerful  bodies,  as  by  two  good  anchors,  would  not  be  so 
liable  to  commotions  and  disorders  as  it  had  been,  and  that 
the  people  would  be  kept  within  due  bounds,  and  enjoy 
more  tranquillity. 

I  shall  only  mention  some  of  the  laws  which  Solon  made, 
by  which  the  reader  may  be  able  to  form  a  judgment  of  the 
rest.  In  the  first  place,  every  particular  person  was  author- 
ized to  espouse  the  quarrel  of  any  one  that  was  injured  and 
insulted  ;  so  that  the  first  comer  might  prosecute  the  offender 
and  bring  him  to  justice  for  the  outrage  he  had  committed.* 

The  design  of  this  wise  legislator  in  this  ordinance,  was 
to  accustom  his  citizens  to  have  a  fellow-feeling  for  one 
another's  suffei'ings  and  misfortunes,  as  they  were  all  mem- 
bers of  one  and  the  same  body. 

By  another  law,  those  persons,  who  in  public  differences 
and  dissensions,  did  not  declare  themselves  of  one  party  or 

*  Plut.  ill  Solon,  p.  88. 


714  AXCIENT    HTSTOEY. 

other,  but  waited  to  see  how  thing-!  would  go  before  they 
determined,  were  dechired  infamous,  condemned  to  ])erpet- 
ual  banishment,  nnd  to  have  all  their  estates  confiscated.* 
Solon  had  learned  from  long  experience  and  deep  reflection, 
that  the  rich,  the  powerful,  and  even  the  wise  and  virtuous, 
are  usually  the  most  backward  to  expose  themselves  to  the 
inconveniences  which  public  dissensions  and  troubles  pro- 
duce in  society  ;  and  that  their  zeal  for  the  public  good  does 
not  render  them  so  active  and  vigilant  in  the  defence  of  it, 
as  the  passions  of  the  factious  render  them  industrious  to 
destroy  it ;  that  the  just  party,  being  thus  abandoned  by 
those  that  are  capable  of  giving  more  weight,  authority,  and 
strength  to  it  by  their  union  and  concurrence,  becomes  una- 
ble to  contend  with  the  audacious  and  violent  enterprises  of 
a  few  daring  innovators.  To  prevent  this  misfortune,  which 
may  be  attended  with  the  most  fatal  consequences  to  a  state, 
Solon  judged  it  projjer  to  force  the  Avell-affected,  by  the  fear 
of  greater  inconveniences  to  themselves,  to  declare  for  the 
just  party  at  the  very  beginning  of  seditions,  and  to  animate 
the  spirits  and  courage  of  the  best  citizens,  by  engaging  with 
them  in  the  common  danger.  By  this  method  of  accus- 
toming the  minds  of  the  people  to  look  u]3on  that  man 
almost  as  an  enemy  and  a  traitor,  who  should  appear  indif- 
ferent to,  and  unconcerned  at  the  misfortunes  of  the  public, 
he  jjrovided  the  state  with  a  quick  and  sure  resource  against 
the  sudden  enterprises  of  wicked  and  profligate  citizens. 

Sol<jn  abolished  the  giving  of  portions  in  marriage  with 
young  women,  unless  they  were  only  daughters,  and  ordered 
that  the  bride  should  carry  no  other  fortune  to  her  husband, 
than  three  suits  of  clothes,  and  some  few  household  goods  of 
little  value  ;  for  he  Avould  not  have  matrimony  become  a 
traffic,  and  a  mere  commerce  of  interest,  but  desired  that  it 
should  be  regarded  as  an  honorable  fellowship  and  society, 
in  order  to  raise  subjects  to  the  state,  to  make  the  married 
pair  live  agreeably  and  harmoniously  together,  and  to  give 
continual  testimony  of  mutual  love  and  tenderness  to  each 
other.f 

Before  Solon's  time,  the  Athenians  were  not  allowed  to 
make  their  wills ;  the  wealth  of  the  deceased  always  devolved 
upon  his  children  and  family.  Solon's  law  allowed  every 
one  that  was  childless,  to  dispose  of  his  whole  estate  as  he 
thought  fit ;  preferring,  by  that  means,  friendshiji  to  kindred, 
and  choice  to  necessity  and  constraint,  and  rendering  every 

*Flut.  inSolou.p.  89.  t  Ibi«l. 


HISTORY    OF    GREECE.  715 

man  truly  master  of  his  own  fortune,  by  leaving  him  at  lib- 
iu-ty  to  bestow  it  where  he  ])leased.  This  laAv,  however,  did 
flot  authorize  indifferently  all  sorts  of  donations  ;  it  justified 
and  approved  of  none  but  those  that  were  made  freely,  and 
without  any  compulsion  ;  without  having  the  mind  distem- 
pered and.  intoxicated  with  drinks  or  charms,  or  perverted 
and  seduced  by  the  allurements  and  caresses  of  a  Avoman  ; 
for  this  wdse  lawgiver  was  justly  persuaded,  that  there  is  no 
difference  to  be  made  between  being  seduced  and  being 
forced,  looking  upon  artifice  and  violence,  pleasui'e  and  pain, 
in  the  same  light,  when  they  are  made  use  of  as  means  to 
impose  upon  men's  reason,  and  to  captivate  the  liberty  of 
their  understanding. 

Another  regulation  he  made,  was  to  lessen  the  rewards 
of  the  victors  at  the  Isthmian  and  Olympic  games,  and  to  fix 
them  at  a  certain  value,  viz. :  a  hundred  drachms,  which 
make  about  fifty  livres,  for  the  first  sort;*  and  five  hundred 
drachms,  or  two  hundred  and  fifty  livres,  for  the  second. f 
He  thought  it  a  shameful  thing,  that  athleta3  and  wrestlers,  a 
sort  of  people  not  only  useless  but  often  dangerous  to  the 
state,  should  have  any  considerable  rewards  allotted  to  them, 
which  ought  rather  to  be  reserved  for  the  families  of  those 
persons  who  died  in  the  service  of  their  country  ;  it  being 
very  just  and  reasonable,  that  the  state  should  support  and 
provide  for  such  orphans,  who  probably  might  come  in  time 
to  follow  the  good  examples  of  their  fathers,  t 

In  order  to  encourage  arts,  trades  and  manufactures,  the 
senate  of  tlio  Areopagus  was  charged  with  the  care  of  in- 
quiring into  the  ways  and  means  that  every  man  made  use 
of  to  get  his  livelihood  :  and  of  punishing  all  those  who  led 
an  idle  life.  Besides  the  forementioned  view  of  bringing  arts 
and  trades  into  a  flourishing  condition,  this  regulation  was 
founded  upon  two  other  reasons,  still  more  important. 

In  the  first  })lace,  Solon  considered,  that  such  persons  as 
ha\'e  no  fortune,  and  make  use  of  no  methods  of  industry  to 
get  their  livelihood,  are  ready  to  employ  all  manner  of  unjust 
and  unlawful  means  for  acquiring  money ;  and  that  the 
necessity  of  subsisthig  some  way  or  other  disposes  them  for 
committing  all  sorts  of  misdemeanors,  rapines,  knaveries,  and 
frauds ;  from  which  springs  uj)  a  school  of  vice  in  the  bosom 
of  the  commonwealth  ;  and  such  an  evil  gains  ground,  as  does 
not  fail  to  spread  its  infection,  and  by  degrees  corrupt  the 
manners  of  the  public. 

*  Nine  dollars.  t  Forty-flve  dollars 

t  Plat,  ill  SJolou.  p.  91.    Diog.  Laert.  iu  Sulon.  p.  37. 


716  AXCIENT    IIISTOUY. 

In  the  second  place,  the  most  able  statesmen  have  always 
looked  upon  these  indigent  and  idle  people  as  a  troop  of 
dangerous,  i-estless,  and  turuulent  spirits,  etiger  after  innova^ 
tion  and  change,  always  ready  for  seditions  and  insurrections, 
and  interested  in  the  revolutions  of  the  state,  by  which  alone 
they  can  hope  to  change  their  own  situation  and  fortune.  It 
was  for  all  these  reasons,  that,  in  the  law  we  are  speaking  of, 
Solon  declared,  that  a  son  should  not  be  obliged  to  support 
his  father  in  old  age  or  necessity,  if  the  latter  had  not  taken 
care  to  have  his  son  brought  up  to  some  trade  or  occupa- 
tion :  all  children  that  were  spui'ious  and  illegitimate,  were 
exempted  from  the  same  duty  :  for  it  is  evident,  says  Solon, 
that  whoever  thus  contemns  the  dignity  and  sanctity  of 
matrimony  has  never  had  in  view  the  lawful  end  we  ought  to 
propose  to  ourselves  in  having  children,  but  only  the  gratifi- 
cation of  a  loose  passion.  Having  satisfied  his  own  desires, 
the  end  he  proposed  to  himself,  he  has  no  pro])er  right  over 
the  persons  who  may  spring  from  him,  u])on  whose  lives,  as 
well  as  births,  he  has  entailed  indelible  infamy  and  reproach. 

It  was  prohibited  to  speak  any  ill  of  the  dead  ;  because 
religion  directs  us  to  account  the  dead  as  sacred,  justice  re- 
quires us  to  s])are  those  that  are  no  more,  and  good  policy 
should  prevent  hatreds  from  becoming  immortal.  * 

It  was  also  forbidden  to  affront,  or  give  ill  language  to 
anybody  in  the  temples  or  courts  of  judicature,  in  public 
assemblies,  and  in  the  theatres  during  the  time  of  represen- 
tation ;  for  to  be  nowhere  able  to  govern  our  passions  and 
resentments,  argues  too  untractable  and  licentious  a  disposi- 
tion; as  to  restrain  them  at  all  times,  and  upon  all  occasions, 
is  a  virtue  beyond  the  mere  force  of  human  nature,  a  perfec- 
tion reserved  for  the  evangelical  law. 

Cicero  observes,  that  this  wise  legislator  of  Athens,  whose 
laws  were  in  force  even  in  his  time,  had  provided  no  law 
against  parricide  ;  and  being  asked  the  reason  why  he  had 
not,  he  answered,  "  that  to  make  laws  against,  and  ordain 
punishments  for,  a  crime  that  had  never  been  known  or 
heard  of,  Avas  the  way  to  introduce  it,  rather  than  to  prevent 
it."  t  I  omit  several  of  his  laws  concerning  marriage  and 
adultery,  in  which  there  are  remarkable  and  manifest  contra- 
dictions, and  a  great  mixture  of  light  and  darkness,  knoM'l- 
edge  and  error,  which  we  generally   find  among   the  very 

•  Plut.  in  Solon,  p.  R9. 

t  Sapieiiter  fecisse  dicitiir.  cum  do  eo  nihil  sanxerit,  quod  antea  connnissiini 
non  erat ;  ne,  nan  tarn  prolii here  (j nam  admouere,  viderotur. — Pro  Kos.  Amer. 

n.  70. 


HISTORY   OF    GREECE.  V17 

wisest  of  the  heathens,  who  had  no  established  principles  or 
rules  to  go  by. 

After  Solon  had  published  his  laws,  and  engaged  the  peo- 
ple by  public  oath  to  observe  them  religiously,  at  least  for 
the  term  of  a  hundred  years,  he  thought  pro]jer  to  remove 
from  Athens,  in  order  to  give  them  time  to  take  root,  and  to 
gather  strengtli  by  custom  ;  as  also  to  rid  himself  of  tiie 
trouble  and  importunity  of  those  who  came  to  consult  him 
about  the  sense  and  meaning  of  his  laws,  and  to  avoid  the 
complaints  and  odium  of  others;  for,  as  he  said  himself,  in 
great  undertakings,  it  is  difficult,  if  not  imjjossible,  to  ];lease 
all  parties.  He  was  absent  ten  A^ears,  in  which  interval  of 
time  we  are  to  place  his  journey  into  Egypt,  into  Lydia  to 
visit  king  Croesus,  and  into  several  other  countries.  At  his 
return  he  found  the  whole  city  in  commotion  and  trouble  ; 
the  three  old  factions  were  revived,  and  had  formed  three 
different  parties :  Lycurgus  was  at  the  head  of  the  people 
that  inhabited  the  low-lands ;  Megacles,  son  of  Alcmeon, 
was  the  leader  of  the  inhabitants  on  the  sea-coast ;  and  Pisis- 
tratus  had  declared  for  the  mountaineers,  to  whom  were 
joined  the  manufacturers  and  laborers  who  lived  by  their  in- 
dustry, and  whose  animrs'ty  was  chiefly  against  the  rich  :  of 
these  three  leaders,  the  two  last  were  the  most  powerful  and 
considerable.* 

Megacles  was  the  son  of  that  Alcmeon,  whom  Croesus 
had  extremely  enriched  for  a  particular  service  he  had  done 
him.  He  had  likewise  married  a  lady  who  had  brought 
him  an  immense  portion  ;  her  name  was  Agarista,  the  daugh- 
ter of  Clisthenes,  tyrant  of  Sicyon.  This  Clisthenes  was 
at  this  time  the  richest  and  most  opulent  prince  in  Greece. 
In  order  to  be  able  to  choose  a  worthy  son-in-law,  and  to 
know  his  temper,  manners,  and  character,  from  his  own 
experience,  Clisthenes  invited  all  the  young  noblemen  of 
Greece  to  come  and  spend  a  year  with  him  at  his  house  ;  for 
this  was  an  ancient  custom  in  that  country.  Several  youths 
accepted  the  invitation,  and  there  came  from  different  ]\arts 
to  the  number  of  thirteen.  Nothing  was  seen  every  day  but 
races,  games,  tournaments,  magnificent  entertainments,  and 
conversations  upon  all  sorts  of  questions  and  subjects.  One 
of  the  gentlemen,  who  had  hitherto  surpassed  all  his  compet- 
itors, lost  the  princess  by  using  some  indecent  gestures  and 
postures  in  his  dancing,  with  which  her  father  was  extremely 
offended.     Clisthenes,  at  the  end  of  the  year,  declared  for 

*  A.  M.  3415.    Ant.  J.  C.  559.    Tlut.  in  Solon,  p.  94. 


718  AKCTENT   HISTORY 

Megacles,  and  sent  the  rest  of   the  noblemen  away  loaded 
with  civilities  and  present^.* 

Pisistratus  was  a  well-bred  man,  of  a  gentle  and  insinua- 
ting behavior,  ready  to  succor  and  assist  the  poor ;  t  wise 
and  moderate  towards  his  enemies  ;  a  most  artful  and  ac- 
complished dissembler ;  and  one  who  had  all  the  exterior  of 
virtue,  even  beyond  the  most  virtuous ;  who  seem  '1  to  be 
the  most  zealous  stickler  for  equality  among  the  citizens, 
and  who  absolutely  declared  against  innovations  and  change.J 

It  Avas  not  very  hard  for  him  to  impose  upon  the  people, 
with  all  his  artifice  and  address.  Biit  Solon  quickly  saw 
through  his  disi?uise,  and  perceived  the  drift  of  all  his  seem- 
ing virtue  and  lair  pretences  ;  however,  he  thought  fit  to  ob- 
serve measures  with  him  in  the  beginning,  hoping,  perhaps, 
by  gentle  methods,  to  bring  him  back  to  his  duty. 

It  was  at  this  time  Thespis  began  to  change  the  Grecian 
tragedy  ;  §  I  say  change,  because  it  was  invented  long  be- 
fore. ||  This  novelty  drew  all  the  world  after  it.  Solon 
went  among  the  rest  for  the  sake  of  hearing  Thespis,  who 
acted  himself,  according  to  the  custom  of  the  ancient  poets. 
When  the  play  was  ended,  he  called  to  Thespis,  and  asked 
him,  "  Why  he  was  not  ashamed  to  utter  such  lies  before 
so  many  people?"  Thespis  made  answer,  "that  there  was 
no  harm  in  lies  of  that  sort,  and  in  poetical  fictions,  Avhich 
were  only  made  for  diversion."  "No,"  replied  Solon,  giv- 
ing a  great  stroke  with  his  stick  upon  the  ground  ;  "  but  if 
we  suffer  and  approve  of  lying  for  our  diversion,  it  will 
quickly  find  its  way  into  our  serious  engagements,  and  all 
our  business  and  affairs." 

In  the  mean  time,  Pisistratus  still  pushed  on  his  point ; 
and  in  order  to  accomplish  it,  made  use  of  a  stratagem  that 
Bucceeded  as  well  as  he  could  expect.lf 

He  gave  himself  several  wounds  ;  and  in  that  condition, 
with  his  body  all  bloody,  caused  himself  to  be  carried  in  a 
chariot  into  the  market  j>lace,  where  he  raised  and  inflamed 
the  populace,  by  giving  them  to  understand  that  his  ene- 

*  Herod.  1.  vi.  e.  125-131. 

t  We  are  not  here  to  understand  such  as  bggged  or  .laVied  alms  ;  for  iu  tliosa 
time*,  says  I.-ocrate^,  there  was  no  citizen  who  died  of  hunger,  or  dishonored  hia 
city  by  begging. — Orat.  Areop.  p.  509. 

t  Pint,  in  Solon,  p.  95.  §  Tbid. 

II  Tragedy  was  in  being  a  long  time  before  Thespis;  but  it  was  only  a  cliorus  of 
persons  that  sunjr,  aivl  paid  opprobrious  things  to  one  another.  Thespis  was  the 
first  that  imorove:!  this  rhi-rus,  by  tli>i  addition  of  a  personage  or  character,  wlio, 
in  order  to  give  the  rest  time  to  take  breath,  and  to  recover  their  spiritp,  recited 
an  a'tventnre  of  some  illustrious  person.  -A nd  this  recital  gave  occasion  aftep 
ward-  f'-T  introducing  the  subjects  of  tragedies. 

%  Herod.  1.  i.  c.  59-64. 


HISTORY    OF    GREKHE.  719 

tnies  had  treated  him  in  that  manner,  and  that  he  was  the 
victim  of  his  zeal  for  the  pubHc  good.* 

An  assembly  of  the  people  was  immediately  convened, 
and  there  it  was  resolved,  in  spite  of  all  the  remonstrnnces 
Solon  conld  make  against  it,  that  fifty  guards  should  be  al- 
lowed Pisistratus  for  the  security  of  his  person.  He  soon 
augmented  the  number  as  much  as  he  thought  fit,  and  by 
their  means  made  himself  master  of  the  citadel.  All  hia 
enemies  betook  themselves  to  flight,  and  the  whole  city  was 
in  great  consternation  and  disorder,  except  Solon,  Avho  loudly 
reproached  the  Athenians  with  their  cowardice  and  folly,  and 
the  tyrant  with  his  treachery.  Upon  his  being  asked,  what 
it  was  that  gave  him  so  much  firmness  and  resolution?  "It 
is,"  said  he,  "  my  old  age."  He  was  indeed  very  old,  and 
did  not  seem  to  risk  much,  as  the  end  of  his  life  was  Aery 
near;  though  it  often  happens,  that  men  gTow  fonder  of 
life,  in  proportion  as  they  have  less  reason  and  right  to 
desire  it  should  be  prolonged.  But  Pisistratus,  after  he  had 
subdued  all,  thought  his  conquest  imperfect  till  he  had 
gained  Solon  ;  and  as  he  was  well  acquainted  with  the  means 
that  are  proper  to  engage  an  old  man,  he  caressed  him  ac- 
cordingly ;  omitted  nothing  that  could  tend  to  soften  and  win 
upon  him,  and  showed  him  all  possible  marks  of  friendship 
and  esteem,  doing  him  all  manner  of  honor,  having  him  often 
about  his  person,  and  publicly  professing  a  great  veneration 
for  the  laws,  Avhich  in  truth  he  both  observed  himself,  and 
caused  to  be  observed  by  others.  Solon,  seeing  it  was  im- 
possible either  to  bring  Pisistratus  by  fair  means  to  re- 
nounce this  usurpation,  or  to  dispose  him  by  force,  thought 
it  a  point  of  prudence  not  to  exasperate  the  tyrant  by  reject- 
ing the  advances  he  made  him  ;  and  hoped,  at  the  same  time, 
that  by  entering  into  his  confidence  and  councils,  he  might 
at  least  be  capable  of  conducting  a  power  which  he  could 
not  abolish,  and  of  mitigating  the  mischief  and  calamity 
which  he  had  not  been  able  to  prevent. 

Solon  did  not  survive  the  liberty  of  his  country  quit© 
two  years ;  for  Pisistratus  made  himself  master  of  Athens 
under  the  archon  Comias,  the  first  year  of  the  r)lst  Olympiad, 
and  Solon  died  the  year  following,  under  the  archon  Heges- 
tratus,  who  succeeded  Comias. 

The  two  parties,  whose  leaders  were  Lycurgus  and 
Megacles,  uniting,  drove  Pisistratus  out  of  Athens  ;  where 
he  was  soon  recalled  by  Megacles,  who  gave  him  his  daugh 

*  riut-  ill  Solon,  pp.  95,  96. 


720  AITCIEXT   HTSTOKY. 

ter  in  marriage.  But  a  difference  that  arose  upon  occasion 
of  this  match  having  embroiled  them  afresh,  the  Alcintecmi- 
dae  had  the  worst  of  it ;  and  were  obliged  to  retire,  Pisis- 
tratus  was  twice  deposed,  and  twice  found  means  to  rein- 
state himself.  His  artifices  acquired  him  his  power,  and 
his  moderation  maintained  him  in  it  ;  and  without  doubt 
his  eloquence,  which  even  in  Tully's  judgment  was  very 
great,  rendered  him  very  acceptable  to  the  Athenirms,  who 
were  but  too  apt  to  be  affected  with  the  charms  of  discourse^ 
as  it  made  them  forget  the  care  of  their  liberty.*  vVn  exact 
submission  to  the  laws  distinguished  Pisistratus  from  most 
other  usurpers  ;  and  the  mildness  of  his  government  was  such 
as  might  make  many  a  lawful  sovereign  blush.  For  which 
reason  the  character  of  Pisistratus  was  thought  worthy  of 
being  set  in  opposition  to  that  of  other  tyrants.  Cicero,  doubt- 
ing what  use  Cajsar  would  make  of  his  victory  at  Pharsalia, 
wrote  to  his  dear  friend  Atticus,  "  We  do  not  yet  know 
whether  the  destiny  of  Rome  will  have  us  groan  under  a 
Phalaris,  or  live  under  a  Pisistratus. f 

This  tyrant,  if  indeed  we  are  to  call  him  so,  always  showed 
hunself  very  popular  and  moderate,  and  had  such  a  com- 
mand of  his  tem])er,  as  to  bear  rejiroaches  and  insults  with 
patience,  Avhen  he  had  it  in  his  power  to  revenge  them  with 
a  word. I  His  gardens  and  orchards  were  open  to  all  the 
citizens,  in  which  he  was  afterwards  imitated  by  Cimon. 
It  is  said  he  was  the  first  who  opened  a  public  library  in 
Athens,§  which  after  his  time  was  much  augmented,  and 
at  last  carried  into  Persia  by  Xerxes,  when  he  took  that 
city. II  But  Seleucus  Nicanor,  a  long  time  afterwards,  re- 
stored it  to  Athens.  Cicero  thinks  also  it  was  Pisistratus 
who  first  made  the  Athenians  acquainted  with  the  poems  of 
Homer ;  who  arranged  the  books  in  the  order  we  now  find 
them,  whereas  before  they  were  confused,  and  not  digested  ; 
and  who  first  caused  them  to  be  publicly  read  at  their 
feasts,  called  Panathenea.TI  Plato  asci'ibes  this  honor  to  his 
son  Hipparchus.** 

Pisistratus  died  in  tranquillity,  and  transmitted  to  his  sons 
the  sovereign  power,  which  he  had  usurped  thirty  years  be- 
fore ;  seventeen  of  which  he  had  reigned  in  peace. ft 

*  Pisistratus  dieendo  tantuni  valuisse  dicitur,  ut  ei  Athejiienses  regium  im- 
perium  oratione  Rapti  permit  terent. — Val.  Max.  1.  viii.  c.  9. 

Quis  doctior  inderti  lemporibus,  aut  ciijiis  elofjiientia  Uteris  inslructior  fuisse 
traditur.  quam  Pisistratis.— Cic.  de  Orat.-.  1  iii.  ii.  J37. 

t  liicertum  est  Phalariinne,  an  Pisistratum,  sit  imitatiinis.— Ad  Attio.  1.  vli. 
Ep.  xix.  t  Val.  Max   1.  v.  c.  1. 

5  Athen,  1.  xii.  p.  532.       ||  Aul.  Gel.  1.  v.  c.  17.      %  Lib.  iii.  de  Orat.  n.  137. 

••  In  Hipparch.  p.  228.  ft  ArisU  lib.  de  Rep.  c.  12. 


HISTORY    OF    GREECE.  721 

His  sons  were  Hippias  and  Hipparchus.*  Thucydides 
adds  a  third,  whom  he  calls  Thessalus.  They  seemed  to 
have  inherited  from  tlieir  father  an  affection  for  lenrning 
and  learned  men.  Plato,  who  attributes  to  Ilipparchns  what 
we  have  said  concerning  the  poems  of  Homer,  adds  that  he 
invited  to  Athens  the  famous  poet  Anacreon,  who  v/as  of 
Teos,  a  city  of  Ionia  ;  and  that  he  sent  a  vessel  of  fifty  oars 
on  purpose  for  him.t  He  likewise  entertained  at  his  house 
Simonides,  another  famous  poet  of  the  isle  of  Ceos,  one  of 
the  Cyclades,  in  the  u33gean  sea,  to  whom  he  gave  a  large 
pension,  and  made  very  rich  presents.  The  design  of  these 
princes  in  inviting  men  of  letters  to  Athens  was,  says  Plato, 
to  soften  and  cultivate  the  minds  of  the  citizens,  and  to  in- 
fuse into  them  a  relish  and  love  of  virtue,  by  giving  them  a 
taste  for  learning  and  the  sciences.  Their  care  extended 
even  to  the  instructing  of  the  peasants  and  country  people, 
by  erecting,  not  only  in  the  streets  of  the  city,  but  in  all  the 
roads  and  highways,  statues  of  stones,  called  Mercuries, 
with  grave  sentences  carved  upon  them  ;  in  which  manner 
those  silent  monitors  gave  instructive  lessons  to  all  passen- 
gers. Plato  seems  to  suppose,  that  Hipparchus  had  the 
authority,  or  that  the  two  brotliera  reigned  together.  But 
Thucydides  shows,  that  Hippias,  as  the  eldest  of  the  sons, 
Bucceeded  his  father  in  the  government,  t 

Be  this  as  it  may,  their  reign  in  the  whole,  after  the  death 
of  Pisistratus,  was  only  of  eighteen  years'  duration,  and 
ended  in  the  following  manner. 

Harmodius  and  Aristogiton,  both  citizens  of  Athens,  had 
contracted  a  very  strict  friendship.  Hipparchus,  angry  with 
the  former  for  a  person^d  affront  he  pretended  to  have  re- 
ceived from  him,  sought  to  revenge  himself  by  a  public 
affront  to  his  sister,  in  obliging  her  shamefully  to  retire  from 
a  solemn  procession,  in  which  she  was  to  carry  one  of  the 
sacred  baskets,  alleging  that  she  was  not  in  a  fit  condition 
to  assist  at  such  a  ceremony.  Her  brother,  and  still  more  hw 
friend,  being  stung  to  the  quick  by  so  gross  and  outrageous 
au  affront,  formed,  from  th:it  nu^ment,  a  resolution  to  attack 
the  tyrants.  And  to  do  it  the  more  effectually,  they  waited 
for  the  opportunity  of  a  festival,  which  they  judged  Avould 
be  very  favorable  for  their  purpose  :  this  was  the  feast  of 
the  Panathenea,  in  which  tlie  ceremony  required  that  all  the 
tradesmen  and  artificers  should  be  under  arms.  For  the 
greater  security,  they  only  admitted  a  very  small  number  of 

•  A.  M.  3i78.    Ant.  J.  C.  526.         t  lu  Hip.  pp.  228,  229.        t  Thucyd.  1.  vL  p.  225. 

46 


722  AXCIEXT    HISTORY. 

the  citizens  into  their  secret ;  conceiving;  tliat,  upon  the  first 
motion,  all  the  rest  would  join  them.  The  day  being  come, 
they  went  betimes  into  the  market-place,  armed  with  dnsf- 
gers.  Hippias  came  out  of  the  palace,  and  went  to  the  Cera- 
micum,  wliich  was  a  place  without  the  city,  where  the  com- 
pany of  guards  then  were,  to  give  the  necessary  orders  for 
the  ceremony.  The  two  friends  followed  him  thither,  and 
coming  near  him,  they  saw  one  of  the  conspirators  talking 
very  familiarly  Avith  him,  which  made  them  ao])rehend  they 
were  betrayed.  They  could  have  executed  their  design 
that  moment  upon  Hippias ;  but  were  Avilling  to  begin  their 
vengeance  upon  the  author  of  the  affront  they  had  received. 
They  therefore  returned  into  the  city,  where  meeting  with 
Hipparchus,  they  killed  him  ;  but  being  immediately  appre- 
hended, themselves  were  slaia,  and  Hippias  found  means  to 
dispel  the  storm.* 

After  this  affair  he  regarded  no  measures,  and  reigned 
like  a  true  tyrant,  putting  to  death  a  vast  numberof  citizens. 
To  guard  himself  for  the  future  against  a  like  enterprise,  and 
to  secure  a  safe  retreat  in  case  of  any  accident,  he  endeav- 
ored to  strengthen  himself  by  a  foreign  su])port,  an/1,  to 
that  end,  gave  his  daughter  in  marriage  to  the  son  of  the 
tyrant  of  Lampsacus. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  Alcmaeonidge,  who,  from  the  be- 
ginning of  the  revolution,  had  been  banished  from  Athens 
by  Pisistratus,  and  who  saw  their  hopes  frustrated  by  the 
bad  success  of  the  last  conspiracy,  did  not  however  lose 
courage,  but  turned  < he'r  views  anothei-way.f  As  they  were 
yery  rich  and  powerful,  they  got  themselves  appointed  by 
the  Amphictyons,  who  Avere  the  heads  of  the  grand  or  gene- 
ral council  of  Greece,  superintendents  for  rebuilding  the 
temple  of  Delphos,  for  the  sum  of  three  hundred  talents,  or 
nine  hundred  thousand  livres.  t  As  they  were  naturally 
very  generous,  and  besides  had  their  reasons  for  being  so  on 
this  occasion,  they  added  to  this  sum  a  great  deal  of  their 
own  money,  and  made  the  whole  front  of  the  temple  of 
Parian  marble,  at  their  j)rivate  expense;  Avhereas,  by  the 
contra<?t  made  with  the  Amphictyons,  it  was  only  to  have 
been  made  of  common  stone. 

-  The  liberality  of  the  Alcmaeonidae  was  not  altogether  a 
free  bounty ;  neither  was  their  magnificence  towards  the 
god  of  Delphos  a  pure  effect  of  religion.  Policy  was  the 
chief  motive.     The3/  hoped  by  this  means,  to  acquire  great 

•Thucdy.  1.  vi.  pp.  446-450.        t  Herod.  1.  v.  c.  62-96.        t  About  §177,777. 


HISTORY    OF    GREECE.  723 

credit  and  influence  in  the  temple,  whicli  happened  nccord- 
ing  to  their  expe.;tation.  The  money  which  they  had  plen- 
tifully poured  int  >  ^he  hands  of  the  priestess,  rendered  them 
absolute  masters  of  the  oracle,  and  of  the  pretended  o-od 
who  presided  ovti*  it,  and  who  for  the  future,  becominjj^  their 
echo,  faithfully  /-epeated  the  words  they  dictated  to  him, 
and  crratefully  lent  them  the  assistance  of  his  voic*^  and 
authority.  As  often,  therefore,  as  any  S])artan  came  to  con- 
sult the  priestess,  whether  upon  his  own  affairs,  or  u]ion 
those  of  the  state,  no  pi-omise  was  ever  made  him  of  the 
god's  assistance,  but  upon  condition  that  the  Lacedaemonians 
should  deliver  Athens  from  the  yoke  of  tyranny.  This  ordef 
was  so  often  repeated  to  them  by  the  oracle,  that  they  re- 
solved at  last  to  make  war  against  the  Pisistratidfe,  thouah 
they  were  under  the  strongest  engagements  of  friendship 
and  hospitality  with  them  ;  herein  preferring  the  will  of  God, 
says  Herodotus,  to  all  human  considerations.* 

The  first  attempt  of  this  kind  miscarried  ;  and  the  troops 
they  sent  against  the  tyrants  Avere  repulsed  with  loss.  Not- 
withstanding, a  short  time  after,  they  made  a  second,  which 
seemed  to  promise  no  better  an  issue  than  the  first ;  because 
most  of  the  Lacedaemonians,  seeing  the  siege  they  had  laid 
before  Athens  likely  to  continue  a  great  Avhile,  retired,  and 
left  only  a  small  number  of  troops  to  carry  it  on.  But  the 
tyrant's  children,  who  had  been  clandestinely  conveyed  out 
of  the  city,  in  order  to  be  put  in  a  safe  place,  being  taken 
by  the  enemy,  the  father,  to  redeem  them,  was  obliged  to 
come  to  an  accommodation  with  the  Athenians,  by  which 
it  was  stipulated,  that  he  should  depart  out  of  Attica  in  five 
days'  time.  Accordingly,  he  actually  retired  within  the  time 
limited,  and  settled  at  Sigasum,  a  town  in  Phrygia,  seated 
at  the  mouth  of  the  river  Scamander.f 

Pliny  observes,  that  the  tyrants  were  driven  out  of 
Athens  the  same  year  the  kings  were  expelled  from  Rome,  t 
Extraordinary  honors  were  paid  to  the  memory  of  Harmo- 
dius  and  Aristogiton.  Their  names  were  infinitely  respected 
at  Athens  in  all  succeeding  ages,  and  almost  held  in  equal 
revei'ence  with  those  of  the  gods.  Statues  were  forthwith 
erected  t6  them  in  the  market-place,  which  was  an  honor 
that  had  never  been  rendered  to  any  man  before.  The  very 
sight  of  tliese  statues,  exposed  to  the  vieAV  of  all  the  citizens, 
kept  up  their  hatred  and  detestation  of  tyranny,  and  daily 

*  Ta  yip  T-iu  0€Ou  TTpetrfivTepa  ciroiovvTO  17  Ta  Tiii'  a.v&p<j>V' 

t  A.  M.  WJiS.    Ant.  J.  C.  508.  t  Plin-  1.  xxxiv.  c.  Itt 


724  AXCIEKT    HISTORY, 

renewed  their  sentiments  of  gratitude  to  those  generous  de- 
fenders of  their  liberty,  who  had  not  scrupled  to  purchase  it 
with  their  lives,  and  to  seal  it  with  their  blood.  Alexander 
the  Gi'eat,  wlio  know  how  dear  the  memory  of  these  men 
was  to  the  Athenians,  and  how  far  they  carried  their  zeal  in 
this  respect,  thought  he  did  them  a  sensil)le  pleasure  in  send- 
ing them  the  statues  of  those  two  great  men,  which  he  found 
in  Persia  after  the  d.-feat  of  Darius,  and  which  Xerxes  be- 
fore had  carried  thither  fi'om  Athens.*  Tliis  city,  at  the 
time  of  hiv  deliverance  from  tyranny,  did  not  confine  her 
gratitude  solely  to  the  authors  of  her  liberty  ;  but  extended 
it  even  to  a  woman,  who  had  signalized  her  courage  on  that 
occasion.  This  woman  was  a  courtesan,  named  Leona,  who, 
by  the^harms  of  her  beauty,  and  skill  in  playing  on  the 
harp,  had.  particularly  captivated  Herraodius  and  Aristo- 
giton.  After  their  death,  the  tyrant,  who  knew  they  had 
concealed  nothing  from  this  woman,  caiised  her  to  be  put 
to  the  torture,  in  order  to  make  her  declare  the  names  of  the 
other  conspirators.  But  she  bore  all  the  cruelty  of  their 
torments  with  an  invincible  constancy,  and  expired  in  the 
midst  of  them  ;  gloriously  showing  to  the  world,  that  her 
sex  is  more  courageous,  and  more  capable  of  keeping  a 
8eci*et,  than  some  men  imagine.  The  Athenians  would  not 
suffer  the  memory  of  so  heroic  an  action  to  be  lost :  and  to 
prevent  the  lustre  of  it  from  being  sullied  by  the  considera- 
tion of  her  character  as  a  courtesan,  they  endeavored  to 
conceal  that  circumstance,  by  representing  her  in  the  statue, 
which  they  erected  to  her  honor,  under  the  figure  of  a  lioness 
without  a  tongue. t 

Plutarch,  in  the  life  of  Aristides,  relates  a  thing  which 
does  great  honor  to  the  Athenians,  and  which  shows  to  what 
a  length  they  carried  their  gratitude  to  their  deliverer,  and 
their  respect  for  his  memory.  They  had  learned  that  the 
granddaughter  of  Aristogiton  lived  at  Lemnos,  in  very 
mean  and  poor  circumstances,  nobody  being  willing  to 
marry  her,  uj)on  account  of  her  extreme  indigence  and  pov- 
erty. Tlie  people  of  Athens  sent  for  her,  and  marrying  her 
to  one  of  the  richest  and  most  considerable  men  of  their 
city,  gave  her  an  estate  in  land  in  the  town  of  Potamos  for 
her  portion,  t 

Athens  seemed,  in  recovering  her  liberty,  to  have  also 
recovered  her  courage.  During  the  reigns  of  her  tyrants. 
sJ»^  had  acted  Avith  indolence  and  indifference,  knowing  that 

*  Plin.  1,  xxxiT.  c.  8.        t  Pli".  1.  vii.  c.  23,  et  1.  xxxiv.  c.  8.        t  Page  336 


HISTORY   OF    GREECE.  725 

what  she  did  was  not  for  herself,  but  for  them.  But  after 
her  deliverance  from  their  yoke,  the  vigor  and  activity  she 
exerted  was  of  quite  a  different  kind,  because  tlien  her 
labors  were  her  own. 

Athens,  however,  did  not  immediately  enjoy  a  perfect 
tranquillity.  Two  of  her  citizens,  Clisthenes,  one  of  the 
Alcnia3onida3,  and  Isagoras,  who  were  men  of  the  greatest 
influence  and  power  in  the  city,  by  contending  with  each 
other  for  superiority,  created  two  considerable  factions. 
The  former,  who  had  gained  the  people  on  his  side,  made  an 
alteration  in  the  form  of  their  establishment,  and  instead  of 
four  tribes,  whereof  they  consisted  before,  divided  that  body 
into  ten  tribes,  to  which  he  gave  the  names  of  the  ten  sons 
of  Ion,  whom  the  Greek  historians  make  the  father  and  first 
founder  of  the  nation.  Isagoras,  finding  himself  inferior  to 
his  rival,  had  recourse  to  the  Lacedaemonians.  Cleomenes, 
one  of  the  two  kings  of  Sparta,  obliged  Clisthenes  to  depart 
from  Athens,  with  seven  huiidred  families  of  his  adherents. 
But  they  soon  returned,  and  were  restored  to  all  their  estates 
and  fortunes. 

The  Lacedaemonians,  stimg  with  sj)ite  and  jealousy 
against  Athens,  because  she  took  upon  her  to  act  inde])en- 
dent  of  their  authority  ;  and  repenting  also,  that  tliey  had 
delivered  her  from  her  tyrants  upon  the  credit  of  an  oracle, 
of  which  they  had  since  discovered  the  imposture,  begim  to 
think  of  reinstating  Hippias,  one  of  the  sons  of  Pisistratus  ; 
and  to  that  end  sent  for  him  from  Sigoeum,  to  wliich  place 
he  had  retired.  They  then  communicated  their  design  to 
the  deputies  of  their  allies,  whose  assistance  aiid  concurrence 
they  proposed  to  use,  in  order  to  render  their  enterprise 
more  successful. 

The  deputy  of  Corinth  spoke  first  on  this  occnsion,  and 
expressed  great  astonishment,  that  the  Lacedgemonians,  Mdio 
were  themselves  avowed  enemies  of  tyranny,  and  professed 
the  greatest  abhorence  for  all  arbitrary  government,  should 
desire  to  establish  it  elsewhere ;  describing  at  the  same 
time,  in  a  lively  niunner,  all  the  cruel  and  horrid  effects  of 
'tyrannical  government,  which  his  own  country,  Corinth, 
had  but  very  lately  felt  by  woful  experience.  The  rest  of 
the  deputies  applauded  his  discourse,  and  were  of  this  opin- 
ion. Thus  the  enter|)rise  came  to  nothing;  and  had  no 
other  effect,  thivn  to  discover  the  base  jerJousy  of  the  La- 
cedaemonians, and  to  cover  them  with  shame  and  confusion. 

Hippias,  defeated  in  his  hopes,  retired  into  Asia  to  Ar- 


726  ANCIENT   HISTORY. 

taphernes,  governor  of  Sardis  for  the  king  of  Persia,  whom 
he  endeavored,  by  every  method,  to  engage  in  a  war  aganist 
Athens  ;  representing  to  him,  that  the  taking  of  so  ricli  and 
powerful  a  city  would  render  him  master  of  all  Greece. 
Artaphernes  hereupon  required  of  the  Athenians,  that  they 
would  reinstate  Hippias  in  the  government ;  to  which  they 
made  no  other  answer  than  a  downright  and  absolute  re- 
fusal. This  was  the  original  ground  and  occasion  of  the 
wars  between  the  Persians  and  the  Greeks,  which  will  be 
the  subject  of  the  following  volumes. 

ARTICLE  IX. 

ILLUSTRIOUS    MEN,    WHO    DISTINGUISHED    THEMSELVES    IN 
ARTS    AND    SCIENCES. 

I  begin  with  the  poets,  because  the  most  an<^ient. 

Homer,  the  most  celebrated  and  illustrious  of  all  the 
poets,  is  he  of  whom  we  have  the  least  knowledge,  either 
with  respect  to  the  country  where  he  was  born,  or  the  time 
in  which  he  lived.  Among  the  seven  cities  of  Greece,  that 
contend  for  the  lionor  of  ha^dng  given  him  birth,  Smyrna 
seems  to  have  the  best  title. 

Herodotus  tells  us,  that  Homer  wrote  four  hundred 
years  before  his  time,  that  is,  three  hundred  and  forty  years 
after  the  taking  of  Troy ;  for  Herodotus  flourished  seven 
hundred  and  forty  years  after  that  expedition.* 

Some  authors  haA-e  preteiided,  that  he  was  called  Homer, 
because  he  was  born  blind.  Vellcius  Paterculus  rejects  this 
story  with  contempt.  "  If  any  man,"  says  he,  "  believes  that 
Homer  was  born  blind,  he  must  be  so  himself,  and  even 
have  lost  all  his  senses."  f  Indeed,  according  to  the  obser- 
vation of  Cicero,  Homer's  works  are  rather  pictures  than 
j)oera8,  so  perfectly  does  he  paint  to  the  life,  and  set  the 
images  of  every  thing  he  undertakes  to  describe  before  the 
eyes  of  the  reader  ;  and  he  seems  to  have  been  intent  upon 
introducing  all  the  most  delightful  and  agreeable  objects 
that  nature  affords,  into  his  writings,  and  to  make  them,  in 
a  manner,  pass  in  review  before  his  readers.  J 

What  is  most  astonishing  in  this  poet  is,  that  having  ap- 
plied himself  the  first,  at  least  of  those  that  are  known,  to 
that  kind  of  poetry  which  is  the  most  sublime  and  difficult  of 

*  Lib.  ii.  c.  53.    A.  M.  3100.     Ant.  J.  C.  R44. 

t  Qiieiii  si  qnis  cseeuni  geiiitum  petat,  omnibus  sensibu.s  orbus  est.— Patera 
1  i.  c.  5.  i  TuscuL  Quaest.  L  v.  u.  114. 


HISTORY  OF  grp:ece.  727 

all,  he  should,  however,  soar  so  high,  and  with  such  rapidity, 
as  to  carry  it  at  once  to  the  utmost  perfection  ;  wliich  sel- 
dom or  never  ha)>pens  in  other  arts,  but  by  slow  degrees, 
and  after  a  long  series  of  years.* 

The  kind  uf  poetry  we  are  speaking  of,  is  the  epic  poem, 
so  called  from  the  Greek  word  k'-oq ;  because  it  is  an  action 
related  by  the  poet.  The  subject  of  this  j^oem  must  be 
great,  instructive,  serious,  containhig  only  one  principal 
event,  to  which  all  the  rest  must  refer  and  be  subordinate  ; 
and  this  principal  action  must  have  passed  in  a  certain  space 
of  time,  which  must  not  exceed  a  year  at  most. 

Homer  has  composed  two  poems  of  this  kind,  the  Iliad 
and  the  Odyssey :  the  subject  of  the  first  is  the  anger  of 
Achilles,  so  pernicious  to  the  Greeks,  when  they  besieged 
Ilionor  Troy;  and  that  of  the  second  is,  the  voyages  and 
adventures  of  Ulysses,  after  the  taking  of  that  city. 

It  is  remarkable  that  no  nation  in  the  world,  however 
learned  and  ingenious,  has  ever  produced  any  poems  com- 
parable to  his  ;  and  that  whoever  have  attempted  any  works 
of  that  kind,  have  taken  their  ])lan  and  ideas  from  Homer, 
borrowed  all  their  rules  from  him,  made  him  their  model, 
and  have  only  succeeded  in  ])roportiou  to  their  success  in 
copying  lum.  The  truth  is,  Homer  was  an  original  genius, 
and  a  fit  model  for  the  formation  of  others :  Fons  ingenior- 
um  IIomerus.\ 

The  greatest  men,  and  the  most  exalted  geniuses,  that 
have  appeared  for  these  two  thousand  and  five  or  six  hun- 
dred years,  in  Greece,  Italy,  and  elsewhere  ;  those,  whose 
Avritings  we  are  forced  still  to  admire;  who  are  still  our 
masters,  and  who  teach  us  to  think,  to  reason,  to  speak,  and 
to  write ;  all  these,  says  Madame  Dacier,  acknowledge 
Hoaier  to  be  the  greatest  of  poets,  and  look  upon  his  poems 
as  the  model  after  which  all  succeeding  poets  should  form 
their  taste  and  judgment.  %  After  all  tliis,  can  there  be  any 
man  so  conceited  of  his  own  talents,  be  they  ever  so  great, 
as  reasonably  to  ]jresume,  that  his  decisions  should  prevail 
against  such  a  universal  concurrence  of  judgment  in  persons 
of  the  most  distinguished  abilities  and  characters  '? 

So  many  testimonies,   so    ancient,  so   constant,  and  so 

*  Clarissiimiin  deimlo  Homeri  iiluxit  iiigeniim,  sine  exeniplo  maximum  :  qui 
roagiiitudliie.  operis  et  fiilgor  ;  oarminum,  solus  ai)peUari  Poeta  meruit.  In  quo 
boo  mjiximu.ii  i.'St,  quo<l  iieque  ante  ilium,  queni  ille  iniil.-irettir  ;  neque  post 
ilium,  <iui  imitaii  cum  possi.,  inventus  est;  neque  queniquam  alium,  cujus 
operis  primus  auctor  fuerit,  in  eo  perfrcli&simum,  praiter  Homerum  et  Arohi- 
lochum  reprtriemus.— Veil.  Paterc.  1.  i.  c.  5.  \  Plin.  ].  xvii.  c.  5. 

t  111  Homer's  Life,  which  is  prehxed  to  her  translation  of  the  Iliad. 


TlQ  A.NCIEXT    HISTORY. 

universal,  entirely  justify  the  favorable  judgment  of  Alex- 
ander the  Great,  of  the  works  of  Homer,  which  he  looked 
upon  as  the  most  excellent  and  valuable  production  of 
human  wit ;  pretiosissimum  humani  animi  opus* 

Quintilian,  after  having  made  a  magnificent  encomium 
upon  Homer,  gives  us  a  just  idea  of  his  character  and  man- 
ner of  writing  in  these  few  words :  JIunc  nemo  in  mar/nis 
sublimitate^  in  parvis  proprietate  siqoeraverit.  Idem  lartus 
ac  pressus,  jucundus  et  gravis^  turn  copia  turn  brevitate 
r.iirabilis.  In  great  things,  what  a  sublimity  of  expression  ! 
and  in  little,  what  a  justness  and  pro])riety !  diffusive  and 
concise,  pleasant  and  grave,  equally  admirable  both  for  his 
copiousness  and  his  brevity. f 

Hesiod.  The  most  common  opinion  is,  that- he  was  co- 
temporary  with  Homer.  It  is  said,  that  he  was  bom  at 
Cumae,  a  town  in  ^olia,  but  that  he  was  brought  up  at 
Ascra,  a  little  town  in  Boeotia,  which  has  since  ]>assed  for 
his  native  country.  Thus  Virgil  calls  him  the  old  man  of 
Ascra.  %  We  know  little  oi*  nothing  of  this  poet,  but  by  the 
few  remaining  poems  of  his,  all  in  hexameter  verse ;  which 
are,  1st,  "  The  Works  and  Days  ;  "  2dly,  "  The  Theogony ;  " 
or,  the  Genealogy  of  the  gods  ;  3dly,  "  The  Shield  of  Her- 
cules ; "  which,  by  some,  is  doubted  to  haAO  been  written  by 
Hesiod. 

1.  In  the  first  of  these  poems,  entitled  "The  Works  and 
Days,"  Hesiod  treats  of  agriculture,  which  requires,  besides 
a  great  deal  of  labor,  a  ])rudent  observation  of  times,  sea- 
sons, and  days.  Thispoeiu  is  full  of  excellent  sentences  and. 
maxims  for  the  conduit  of  life.  He  begins  it  with  a  short 
but  lively  description  of  two  sorts  of  disputes  ;  the  one 
fatal  to  mankind,  the  source  of  qiiarrels,  discords  and  Avars; 
and  the  other,  infinitely  useful  and  beneficial  to  man,  as  it 
sharpens  their  wits,  excites  a  noble  and  generous  emulation 
among  them,  and  prepares  the  way  for  the  invention  and 
improvement  of  arts  and  sciences.  He  then  gives  an  ad- 
mirable description  of  the  four  different  ages  of  the  world ; 
the  golden,  the  silver,  the  brazen  and  the  iron  age.  The 
persons  who  lived  in  the  golden  age,  are  those  whom  Jupiter, 
after  their  death,  turned  into  so  many  Genii  §  or  spirits,  and 
then  appointed  them  as  guardians  over  mankind,  giving 
them  a  commission  to  go  up  and  down  the  earth,  invisible 
to  men,  and  to  observe  all  their  good  and  evil  actions. 

This  poem  was  Virgil's  model  in  composing  his  Georgics, 
as  he  himself  acknowledges  in  this  verse  : 

•Plin.  1.  xvii.  C.2.        f  Quint.  1.  x.c.  1.        J  Eclog.  vi- v.  70.        §  Aoiwavet. 


HISTORY    OF    GREECE.  729 

Ascrpeiimque  eano  Romana  )>er  oppida  carmen.* 
"  And  sing  the  Ascrrean  verse  to  Roman  swains." 

The  choice  made  by  these  two  ilkistrious  poets  of  tins 
subject  for  the  exercise  of  their  muse,  shows  in  what  honor 
the  ancients  heki  agriculture,  and  tlie  feeding  of  cattle,  the 
two  innocent  sources  of  wealth  and  plenty.  It  is  much  to 
be  deplored,  that,  in  after  ages,  men  departed  from  a  taste 
so  agreeable  to_  nature,  and  so  well  adapted  to  the  preser- 
vation of  innocence  and  good  manners.  Avarice  and  luxury 
have  entirely  banished  it  from  the  world.  Nindrum  alii 
subiere  ritus^  circaque  alia  mentes  Jiominwn  detinentur,  et 
avaritice  tantuni  artes  coluntiir.f 

2.  "  The  Theogony  "  of  Hesiod,  and  the  poems  of  Homer, 
may  be  looked  upon  as  the  surest  and  most  authentic  ar- 
chives and  monuments  of  the  theology  of  the  ancients,  and 
of  the  opinion  they  had  of  their  gods.  For  we  are  not  to 
suppose,  that  these  jioets  wei-e  inventors  of  the  fables  Avhich 
we  read  in  their  writings.  They  only  collected,  and  trans- 
mitted to  posterity,  the  doctrines  of  the  religion  which 
they  found  established,  and  which  jjrevailed  in  their  time 
and  country. 

3.  "The  Sliieldof  Hercules  "  is  a  separate  fragment  of  a 
poem,  wherein,  it  is  pretended,  Hesiod  celebrated  the  most 
ilki-strious  heroines  of  antiquity ;  and  it  bears  that  title, 
because  it  contains,  among  other  things,  a  long  description 
of  the  shield  of  Hercules,  concerning  whom  the  same  poem 
relates  a  particular  adventure. 

The  poetry  of  Hesiod,  in  those  places  that  are  susceptible 
of  ornament,  is  very  elegant  and  delightful,  but  not  so  sub- 
lime and  lofty  as  that  of  Homer,  Quintilian  reckons  him  the 
chief  in  the  middle  manner  of  writing.  Datur  ei  palma  in 
illo  medio  dicendi  genere.  % 

Archilochus.  The  2:)oet  Archilochus,  born  in  Paros,  in- 
ventor of  the  iambic  verse,  lived  in  the  time  of  Candaules, 
king  of  Lydia.  §  He  has  this  advantage  in  common  with 
Homer,  according  to  Velleius  Paterculus,  that  he  carried  at 
once  that  kind  of  poetry,  Avhich  he  invented,  to  a  very  great 
j:)erfection.  The  feet  Avhich  gave  their  name  to  these  verses, 
and  which  at  first  ^veve  the  only  sort  used,  are  composed  of 
one  short  and  one  long  syllable.  The  iambic  verse,  such  as 
was  invented  by  Archilochus,  seems  very  proper  for  the 
vehement  and   energetic    style;  accordingly  we   see,  that 

*Geor.  ].  ii.  v.  1T6.  t  Pliii.  in  Proem.  1.  xiv.  t  Lib.  i.  c.  5. 

§  A.  M.  3280.    Ant.  J.  C.  721. 


730  AXCIBNT   HISTORY. 

Horace,  speaking  of  this  poet,  says,  tliat  it  was  lii>'.  anger,  or 
rather  his  rage,  that  armed  him  with  liis  iambics,  for  the 
exei'cising  and  exerting  of  his  vengeance. 

Archilocbum  proprio  rabies  arniavit  iamljo.* 

And  Quintilian  says,  he  had  an  uncommon  force  of  ex- 
pression ;  was  full  of  bold  tlioughts,  and  of  those  strokes 
that  are  short,  but  keen  and  piercing ;  in  a  M'ord,  his  style 
was  strong  and  nervous. f  The  longest  of  his  poems  were 
said  to  be  the  best,  t  The  same  judgment  has  been  uni- 
versally passed  upon  the  orations  of  Demosthenes  and  Cic- 
ei-o ;  the  latter  of  whom  says  the  same  of  the  letters  of  his 
friend  Atticus. 

The  verses  of  Ai-chilochus  Avere  extremely  biting  and 
licentious  ;  witness  those  he  wrote  against  Lycambes,  his 
father-in-law,  Avhich  drove  him  to  despair.  §  For  these 
two  reasons,  his  poetry,  however  excellent  it  was  esteemed 
in  other  respects,  was  discountenanced  in  Sparta,  as  being 
more  likely  to  corrupt  the  hearts  and  manners  of  young 
jieople,  than  to  be  useful  in  cultivating  their  understand- 
ing. II  We  have  only  some  very  short  fragments  that 
remain  of  this  poet.  Such  delicacy  in  a  heathen  people,  in 
regard  to  the  quality  of  the  books  which  they  thought  young 
people  should  be  permitted  to  read,  is  highly  worthy  of  our 
notice,  and  justly  reproaches  many  Christians. 

Hipponax.  This  poet  was  of  Ephesus,  and  signalized 
his  wit  some  years  after  Archilochus,  in  the  same  kind  of 
poetry,  and  with  the  same  force  and  veliemence.  He  was 
ugly,  little,  lean,  and  slender.^  Two  celebrated  sculptors 
and  brothers,  Bupalus  and  Athenis  (some  call  the  latter 
Anthermus),  diverted  themselves  at  his  expense,  and  repre- 
sented him  in  a  ridiculous  form.  It  is  dangerous  to  attack 
satiric  poets.  Hip])onax  retorted  their  pleasantry  with  such 
keen  strokes  of  satire,  that  they  hanged  themselves  out  of 

*  Art.  Poet.  V.  79. 

t  Sumina  ii»  hoc  vis  elocntionis,  cum  validae  turn  breves  vibraiitesque  sen- 
teiitiie,  pluriimim  sanguinis  atque  nervorum.— Quint.  1.  x.  c.  1.     . 

t  Ut  Aristopiiaui  Arehilodii  iambus,  sic  epistola  longissiraa  quaeque  optima 
videtur. — Cic-  Epist-  xi.  1,  16,  ad  Atticum. 

§  Hor.  Epo.l.  Od.  vi.  et  Epist.  xix.  1.  i. 

II  Ijacediemonii  libros  Arcbiloi'lii  e  civitate  sua  expovtari  jusserunt,  quod 
eorum  parum  verecuiidaui  ac  pudicam  lectionem  arbitrabantur.  Xoluerunt 
enim  ea  liberorum  suorum  !inim<.8  inibui,  ne  plus  moribus  iiocerct,  quam  inge- 
iiii>i  prodesse'.  Itaque  maximum  poetam,  aut  <erte  summo  proximum,  quia 
domum  sibi  invis.im  obsccenis  nialedictis  laceraveret,  cainiinum  exilio  mulcta- 
rmit — Vel.  Pat.  1.  vi.  c.  ?,. 

IT  Hippoiiacti  notabilis  vuluis  foeditas  ei-at :  quamobrem  imaginem  ejus  las- 
civia  jocorum  ii  pvoposnere  ridentium  circulis.  Q:iod  Ifipponax  iiidiijnatus 
amaritudinem  carminum  distrinxit  in  tantuni,  ut  credatur  aliquibua  ad  laqueum 
cos  impulisse  :  quod  falsum  est.— Pliu.  1.  xxxvi.  c.  5. 


HISTORY    OF    GREECE.  731 

mortification  :  others  say,  they  only  quitted,  the  city  of 
E])hesus,  where  Ilipponax  liv-ed.  His  malignant  ])en  did 
not  spare  even  those  to  whom  he  owed  his  life.  IIow  mon- 
strous was  this  !  Horace  joins  Hipponax  with  Archilochus, 
and  represents  them  as  two  poets  equally  dangerous.*  In 
the  Antliologia  there  are  three  or  four  epigrams,  which  de- 
scribe Hipponax  as  terrible,  even  after  death.  They  admon- 
ished travellers  to  avoid  his  tomb,  as  a  place  from  Avhencc* 
a  dreadful  hail  perpetually  pours  :  (PsZy^  rev  y'jhjX^-Ti  rrUov, 
T^v  (foi-.Ti'y.     Fuge  grandbiantem  tumulum,  horrendtirn.^ 

It  is  tliought  lie  invented  the  Scazon  verse,  in  which  the 
spondee  is  used  instead  of  the  iambus,  in  the  sixth  foot  of 
the  verse  which  bears  that  name. 

Stesichorus.  He  was  of  Himera,  a  town  in  Sicily,  and  ex- 
celled in  lyric  poetry,  as  did  those  other  poets  w' e  are  about  to 
mention.  Lyric  poetry  is  that,  in  which  the  verses  arranged 
into  odes  and  stanzas,  were  sung  to  the. lyre,  or  to  other  such 
like  instruments.  Stesichorus  flourished  between  the  37th  and 
47th  Olympiad.  Pausanias,  after  many  other  fables,  relates, 
that  Stesichorus  having  been  })unished  with  the  loss  of  sight 
for  his  satirical  verses  against  Helena,  did  not  i-ecover  it  till 
he  had  retracted  his  invectives,  by  writing  another  ode  con- 
trary to  the  first ;  Avhich  latter  kind  of  ode  is  since  called 
palinodia.  %  Quintilian  says  that  he  sung  of  wars  and  il- 
lustrious heroes,  and  that  he  supported  upon  the  lyre  all 
the  dignity  and  majesty  of  epic  poetry.  § 

Alcman.  He  was  of  Lacedremon,  or,  according  to  some, 
of  Sardis,  in  Lydia,  and  lived  about  the  same  time  as  Stesi- 
chorus.    Some  make  him  the  first  author  of  amorous  verses. 

Alcaeus.  He  was  born  at  Mitylene,in  Lesbos  :  it  is  from  him 
that  the  Alcaic  verse  derived  its  name.  He  was  a  j^rofessed 
enemy  to  the  tyrants  of  Lesbos,  and  particularly  to  Pittacus, 
against  whom  he  perpetually  inveighed  in  his  verses.  It  is 
said  of  him,  that  being  once,  in  a  battle,  he  was  seized  with 
such  fear  and  terror  that  he  threw  down  his  arms  and  ran 
away.  ||  Horace  has  thought  fit  to  give  us  the  same  ac- 
count of  himself. TT    Poets  do  not  value  themseh-es  so  much 

•  Tn  inalos  asperiimus 

Paiata  tollo  eoniua  ; 
Qualis  Lycambfe  npretus  infido  gener, 
Aut  acer  liostis  Bupalo.  — Epod.  vi. 

t  Antliol.  1.  iii.  %  Pans,  iii  Lacoii.  p.  200. 

§  Stesichorum,  qua'ii  sitingenio  valldus^  materiae  quoq  le  osieiiduiit,  maxima 
bella  et  clarbsimos  eaatantem  duces,  e'u  epici  carnuiiis  onera  lyra  Bustinentem. 
—Lib.  X.  c.  1.  II  Herod.  1.  v.  c.  95. 

S  Tecum  Philippos  et  celereni  fugam 

Seiisi,  relicta  iioii  bene  pannula. 

— Hor.  Od.  vii.  1, 2. 


732  anciext  history. 

upon  proAvess  as  upon  v>-it.  Quintilian  says  tnat  the  style  of 
Alc;eus  was  close,  niapiificent,  and  accurate  ;  and  to  com- 
plete liis  character,  adds,  that  he  very  much  resembled 
Homer.* 

Simonides.  Tliis  poet  was  of  the  island  of  Ceos,  in  the 
^gean  sea.  He  continued  to  flourisli  at  the  time  of  Xer- 
xes's  expedition.  He  excelled  priiK'i])ally  in  funeral  elegy.f 
The  invention  of  local  memory  is  ascribed  to  him,  of  which 
I  have  spoken  elsewhere,  t  At  twenty-four  years  of  age, 
he  contended  for  and  carried  the  prize  of  poetry. 

The  answer  he  ga^-e  to  Hiero,  king  of  Syracuse,  Avho 
asked  what  God  was,  is  much  celebrated.  The  ]>oet  desired 
a  day  to  consider  the  question  proposed  to  him.  On  the  mor- 
roAV  he  asked  two  days ;  and  whenever  he  was  called  upon-for 
his  answer,  he  still  doubled  the  time.  The  king,  surprised 
at  this  behavior,  demanded  his  reason  for  it.  It  is,  replied 
Simonides,  because  t4ie  more  I  consider  the  question,  the 
more  obscure  it  seems :  Quia  quanto  diutlus  considero, 
tanto  mihi  res  videtur  obscurior.  §  The  answer  was  wise,  if 
it  proceeded  from. the  high  idea  which  he  conceived  of  the 
Divine  Majesty  -which  no  understanding  can  comprehend, 
nor  any  tongue  express.  || 

After  having  travelled  to  many  cities  of  Asia,  and 
amassed  considerable  wealth  by  celebrating  in  his  verses  the 
praises  of  those  who  were  capable  of  rewarding  him  well, 
he  embarked  for  the  island  of  Ceos,  his  native  country. 
Tlie  ship  Avas  cast  away.  Every  one  endeavored  to  save 
what  he  coxdd.  Simonides  took  no  care  of  any  thing;  and 
Avhen  he  Avas  asked  the  reason  for  it,  he  rei)lied,  "  I  carry 
all  I  haA'e  about  me :  "  Mecum^  inquit^  inea,  sunt  cuncta. 
Several  of  the  company  Avere  droAvned  by  the  Aveight  of  the 
things  they  attempted  to  save,  and  those  avIio  got  to  shore 
were  robbed  by  thieves.  All  that  escaped  Avent  to  Clazo- 
menas,  Avhich  Avas  not  far  from  the  place  Avhere  the  vessel 
was  lost.     One  of  the  citizens,  Avho  loved  learning,  and  had 

*  In  eloquendo  brevis  et  mag'iificus  et  diligens,  jileramque  Hoinero  similis.  • 

t  Sft<l  iiie  reliciis,  Muaa  pro<  ax,  jocis 

Ce.Te  retracteH  munera  iiHjiiijc.        — Herat. 
M'vsiiiis  laiji-yinis  Simoiikleis.        — C'atuH. 

X  ATetliod  of  Teachia^  ;ittd  Studying  the  JJelles  Lettres. 

§  Vac.  <le  Kat.  L'eor.  1.  i.  n.  15. 

II  Certe  iioc  est  Uuus,  quod  et  cum  dicitur,  non  potest  dici  :  cum  restimatur, 
lion  potest  astimari ;  cum  (Oinparatitr.  n^n  potest  «oniparari;  cwni  detixilur, 
ipsa  delinitioiio  crescit. — S.  Aug.  serm.  de  temp.  <ix. 

>iobis  ad  intellectiini  pectus  aujius  uir.  est.  Ft  ideo  sic  eiim  (Deum)  digne 
sesti  namiip,  dum  inwstimMbilem  diciiii;is.  l-1o  inai-  qiicmadmoduni  seiitio.  Jlag- 
iiitudiiiem  Dei  qui  to  pulat  nosse,  niinuii ;  qid  iiou  vult  luinuere,  iion  uovit.— 
Miuut.  Folix. 


HISTORY    OF    GREECE.  733 

read  the  poems  of  Simoiiides  witli  great  admiration,  was 
excessively  pleased,  and  thought  it  an  honor  to  receive  him 
into  his  house.  He  supplied  him  abundantly  with  neces- 
saries, while  the  rest  were  obliged  to  beg  through  the  city  : 
The  poet,  ui)on  meeting,  them,  did  not  forget  to  observe  liow 
justly  he  had  answered  them  in  regard  to  his  effects :  Dixi^ 
inquit,  mea  7necwn  esse  cuncta  ;  vos  quod  rapuistis,  perit* 
He  was  reproached  with  having  dishonored  poetry  by  his 
avarice  in  making  his  pen  venal,  and  not  composing  any 
rerses  till  he  had  agreed  on  the  price  of  them.  In  Aristotle 
we  find  a  proof  of  tliis,  which  does  him  no  honor.  A  person 
who  had  won  the  prize  in  the  chariot-races,  desired  Simon- 
ides  to  com])ose  a  song  of  triumph  upon  that  subject.  The 
poet,  not  thinking  the  reward  sufficient,  re])lied,  that  he 
could  not  treat  it  well.  This  i)rize  had  been  won  by  mules, 
and  he  pretended  that  animal  did  not  afford  the  proper 
matter  for  praise.  Greater  offers  were  made  him,  wliich 
ennobled  the  mule,  and  the  poem  Avas  written.  Money  has 
long  had  2>o\ver  to  bestow  nobility  and  beauty. 

Et  genus  ct  formam  legiiia  pecuiiia  donat. 

As  this  animal  is  generated  between  a  she-ass  and  a 
horse,  the  poet,  as  Aristotle  observes,  considered  them  at 
first  only  on  the  base  side  of  their  pedigree.  But  money 
made  him  take  them  in  the  other  light,  and  he  styled  them 
"  illustrious  foals  of  rapid  steeds  :  "     Jiaifjer  aeX)Miz68wv  ^'yuya- 

Sappho.  She  was  of  the  same  place,  and  lived  at  the 
same  time  Avith  Alcseus.  The  Sajiphic  verse  took  its  name 
from  her.  She  composed  a  considerable  number  of  poems, 
of  which  there  are  but  two  remaining ;  which  are  sufficient 
to  satisfy  us  that  the  praises  given  her  in  all  ages,  for  the 
beauty,  pathetic  softness,  numbers,  harmony,  and  infinite 
graces  of  her  poetry,  are  not  without  foundation.  As  a 
farther  proof  of  her  merits  she  was  called  the  tenth  muse  ; 
and  the  people  of  Mitylenc  engraved  her  image  upon  their 
money.  It  is  to  be  wished,  that  the  purity  of  her  manners 
had  been  equal  to  the  beauty  of  her  genius,  and  that  she 
had  not  dishonored  her  sex  by  her  vices  and  irregul:;rities. 

Anacreon.  This  poet  was  of  Toes,  a  city  of  Ionia.  He  lived 
in  the  7'2d  Olympiad.  Anacreon  spent  a  great  part  of  his 
time  at  the  court  of  Polycrates,  that  happy  tyrant  of  Saraos; 
and  not  only  shared  in  all  his  pleasures,  but  was  of  his  coun- 
cil. X     Plato  tells  us,  that    Hipparchus,  one  of  the  sons  of 

*  Pbsed.  1.  iv.  t  Rhet.  1.  iii.  c.  2.  i  Herod.  1.  iii.  c.  121. 


734  AXCIEXT    niSTORT. 

Pisistratus,  sent  a  vessel  of  fifty  oars  for  Anacreon,  and 
wrote  him  a  most  obliging  letter,  entreating  him  to  come  to 
Athens,  where  his  excellent  works  would  be  esteemed  and 
relished  as  they  deserved.*  It  is  said  the  only  study  of  this 
poet  was  joy  and  pleasure :  and  those  remains  we  have  of 
his  poetry  sufficiently  conlirin  it.  We  see  plainly  in  all  his 
A^erses,  that  his  hand  writes  what  his  heart  feels  and  dictates. 
It  is  impossible  to  express  the  elegance  and  delicacy  of  his 
poems  ;  nothing  could  be  more  estimable,  had  their  object 
been  more  noble. 

Thespis.  He  was  the  first  inventor  of  tragedy.  I  defer 
speaking  of  him  till  I  come  to  give  some  account  of  the 
tragic  poets. 

OF   THE    SEVEX    WISE    MEN    OF    GREECE. 

These  men  are  too  famous  in  antiquity  to  be  omitted  in 
the  present  history.  Their  lives  are  Avritten  by  Diogenes 
Laertius. 

Thales,  the  Milesian.  If  Cicero  is  to  be  believed,  Thales 
was  the  most  illustrious  of  the  seven  wise  men.  t  It  was 
he  that  laid  the  first  foundations  of  {)hilosophy  in  Greece, 
and  gave  rise  to  the  sect  called  the  Ionic  sect;  because 
he,  the  founder  of  it,  was  born  in  the  country  of  Ionia. 

He  held  water  to  be  the  first  principle  of  all  things ;  and 
that  God  was  that  intelligent  being,  by  whom  all  things  were 
formed  from  water,  t  The  first  of  these  oj^inions  he  had 
borrowed  from  the  Egyptians,  who,  seeing  the  Nile  to  be 
the  cause  of  the  fertility  of  all  their  lands,  might  easily  im^ 
agine  fi'om  thence,  that  water  was  the  principle  of  all  things. 

He  was  the  first  of  the  Greeks  that  studied  astronomy ; 
he  had  exactly  foretold  the  time  of  the  eclipse  of  the  sun 
that  happened  in  the  reign  of  Astyages,  king  of  Media, 
which  has  been  already  mentioned. 

He  was  also  the  first  that  fixed  the  terra  and  duration  of 
the  solar  year  among  the  Grecians.  By  comparing  the  size 
of  tlie  sun's  body  with  that  of  the  moon,  he  thought  he 
had  discovered  that  the  body  of  tlie  moon  was  in  solidity 
but  the  720th  part  of  the  sun's  body.  This  com])utation  is 
very  far  from  being  true,  as  the  sun's  solidity  exceeds  not 
only  700  times,  but  many  millions  of  times,  the  moon's  mag- 
nitude or  solidity.     But  we  know,  that  in  all  these  matters, 

•  In  Hipparoh.  pp.  228,  229. 

t  Princeps  Thales.  unus  e  septem,  cui  sex  reliquos  concessisse  prinias  ferunt 
—Lib.  iv.  Acad.  Quest,  n.  118.  t  Lib.  i.  de  Xat.  Deor.  n.  25. 


HISTORY    OF    GREKCE.  735 

and  particularly  in  that  of  Avliich  we   are  now  speaking,  the 
first  observations  and  discoveries  were  very  imperfect. 

When  Thales  travelled  into  Egypt,  he  discovered  an 
easv  and  certain  method  for  taking  the  exact  height  of  tlie 
pyr;imids,  by  observing  the  time  when  the  sliadow  of  a  body 
is  equal  in  length  to  the  height  of  the  body  itself.* 

To  show  that  philosophers  were  not  so  destitute,  as  some 
people  imagined,  oi  that  sort  of  talents  and  capacity  which 
is  pro])er  for  business  ;  and  that  they  would  be  as  successful 
as  others  in  growing  rich,  if  they  thought  fit  to  apply  them- 
selves that  way,  he  bought  the  fruit  of  all  the  olive-trees  in 
the  territory  of  Miletus,  before  they  were  in  blossom.  The 
profound  knowledge  he  had  of  nature,  had  probably  enabled 
him  to  foresee  that  the  year  would  be  extremely  fertile.  It 
proved  so  in  effect,  and  he  made  a  considerable  profit  by  his 
bargain.! 

He  used  to  thank  the  gods  for  three  things :  that  he  was 
born  a  reasonable  creature,  and  not  a  beast ;  a  man,  and  not 
a  woman  ;  a  Greek,  and  not  a  barbarian.  Upon  his  mother's 
pressing  him  to  marry  when  he  was  young,  he  told  her  it 
was  then  too  soon  :  and  after  several  years  Avere  elapsed,  he 
told  her  it  was  then  too  late. 

As  he  Avas  once  walking,  and  very  attentively  contem- 
plating the  stars,  he  chanced  to  fall  into  a  ditch.  Ha  !  says 
a  good  old  woman  that  Avas  by,  how  Avill  jon  perceive  Avhat 
passes  in  the  heavens,  and  what  is  so  infinitely  aboA-e  your 
head,  if  you  cannot  see  what  is  just  at  your  feet,  and  before 
your  nose  ? 

He  Avas  born  the  first  year  of  the  35th,  and  died  the  first 
year  of  the  58th  Olympiad ;  consequently  he  lived  to  bo 
above  ninety  years  of  age.  t 

Solon.     His  life  has  been  already  related  at  length. 

Chiro,  He  Avas  a  Lacedaemonian ;  very  little  is  related 
of  him.  ^sop  asked  him  one  day,  hoAV  Jupiter  employed 
himself?  "  In  humbling  those,"  said  he,  "  that  exalt  them- 
selves, and  exalting  those  that  abase  themselves." 

He  died  of  joy  at  Pisa,  upon  seeing  his  son  gain  the 
prize  of  boxing,  at  the  Olympic  games.  He  said  Avhen  he 
was  dying,  that  he  Avas  not  conscious  to  himself  of  having 
committed  any  fault  during  the  whole  course  of  his  life  ;  an 
opinion  Avell  becoming  the  pride  and  blindness  of  a  heathen 
philosopher  ;  unless  it  Avas  once,  by  having  made  use  of  a 

*  Plin.  lib.  xxxvi.  cap.  12.  t  Cic.  lib.  i,  de  Divin.  n.  111. 

t  A.  M.  3457.    Aiit.  J.  C.  517. 


736  ANCIENT    HISTORY. 

little  dissimulation  and  evasion,  in  giving  judgment  in  favor 
of  a  friend :  in  which  action  he  did  not  know  whether  he 
had  done  well  or  ill.     He  died  about  the  52d  Olympiad. 

Pittacus.  He  v/as  of  ilitylene,  a  city  of  Lesbos.  Join- 
ing with  the  brothers  of  Alcieus,  the  famous  lyi-ie  ])oet,  and 
with  Alcaeus  liimself,  who  was  at  the  head  of  the  exiled 
party,  he  exj)e]led  from  that  island  the  tyrants  who  had 
usarj)ed  the  government. 

The  inhabitants  of  JMitylene  being  at  war  with  the 
Athenians,  gave  Pittacus  the  cojumand  of  tlie  army.  To 
spare  the  blood  of  his  fellow-citizens,  he  offered  to  fight 
Phrynon,  the  enemy's  general,  in  single  combat.  The  chal- 
lenge was  accepted.  Pittacus  was  victorious,  and  killed  his 
adversary.  The  Mitylenians,  out  of  gratitude,  with  unani- 
mous consent,  conferred  the  sovereignty  of  the  city  ujmu 
him,  which  lie  accepted,  and  behaved  liimself  Avith  so  mucli 
moderation  and  wisdom,  that  he  was  always  respected  and 
beloved  by  his  subjects. 

In  the  mean  time  Alcaeus,  who  was  a  declared  enemy  to 
all  tyrants,  did  not  spare  Pittacus  in  his  vei'ses,  notwith- 
standing the  mildness  of  his  government  and  temper,  but 
inveighed  severely  against  him.  The  poet  afterwards  fell 
into  the  hands  of  Pittacus,  who  was  so  far  from  taking 
revenge,  that  he  gave  him  his  liberty,  and  showed  by  that 
act  of  clemency  and  generosity,  that  he  was  only  a  tyrant  in 
name. 

After  having  governed  ten  years  Avith  great  equity  and 
wisdom,  he  voluntarily  resigned  his  authority,  and  retired. 
He  used  to  say,  that  the  proof  of  a  good  government  was,  to 
engage  the  subjects,  not  to  be  afraid  of  theii'  prince,  but  to 
be  afraid /br  him.*  It  was  a  maxim  with  him,  that  no  man 
should  ever  give  himself  the  liberty  of  sjieaking  ill  of  a 
friend,  or  even  of  an  enemy.     He  died  in  the  52d  Olympiad. 

Bias.  We  know  but  very  little  of  Bias.  He  obliged 
Alyattes,  king  of  Lydia,  by  stratagem,  to  raise  the  siege  of 
Prienc,  where  lie  was  born.  This  city  was  liard  jiressed 
with  famine  ;  u])on  Avhich  he  caused  two  mules  to  be  fat- 
tened, and  contrived  a  way  to  have  them  jiass  into  the 
enemy's  camp.  The  good  condition  they  were  in  astonished 
the  king,  who  tliereupon  sent  deputies  into  the  city  upon 
pretence  of  offering  terms  of  ]ieace,  but  really  to  observe  the 
State  of  the  town  and  the  people.     Bias,  surmising  their 

Plut.  in  Coiiv.  Sept.  Sap.  p.  152. 


HISTORY    OP    GREECE,  737 

errand,  ordered  the  granaries  to  be  filled  witli  great  heaps 
of  sand,  and  those  heaps  to  be  covered  over  with  corn. 
When  the  deputies  returned,  and  made  report  to  the  king 
of  the  great  plenty  of  provision  they  had  seen  in  the  city,  he 
hesitated  no  longer,  but  concluded  a  treat}^,  and  raised  the 
siege.  One  of  the  maxims  Bias  particularly  taught  and 
recommended  was,  to  do  all  the  good  we  can,  and  ascribe 
all  the  glory  of  it  to  the  gods.* 

Cleobulus.  We  know  as  little  of  this  wise  man,  as  of 
the  former.  He  Avas  born  at  Lindos,  a  town  in  the  isle  of 
Rhodes,  or  accoi-ding  to  some,  in  Caria.  He  invited  Solon 
to  come  and  live  with  him,  when  Pisistratus  had  usurped 
the  sovereignty  of  Athens. 

Periander.  He  was  numbered  among  the  wise  men, 
though  he  was  a  tyrant  of  Corinth.  When  he  had  fii'st  made 
himself  master  of  that  city,  he  Avrote  to  Thrasybulus,  tyrant 
of  Miletus,  to  know  what  measures  he  should  take  with  his 
newly  acquired  subjects.  The  latter,  without  any  other 
answer,  led  the  messenger  into  a  field  of  wheat,  where,  in 
walking  along,  he  beat  down  with  his  cane  all  the  ears  of 
corn  that  were  higher  than  the  rest.  Periander  perfectly 
well  iindei-stood  the  meaning  of  this  enigmatical  answer, 
which  was  a  tacit  intimation  to  him,  that,  in  order  to  secm-e 
his  own  life,  he  should  cut  off  the  m^ost  eminent  of  the  Cor- 
inthian citizens.  But  if  we  may  believe  Plutarch,  Periander 
did  not  approve  so  cruel  an  advice.f 

He  wrote  circular  letters  to  all  the  wise  men,  inviting 
them  to  pass  some  time  with  him  at  Corinth,  as  they  had 
done  the  year  before  at  Sardis  with  Croesus,  t  Princes,  in 
those  days,  thought  themselves  highly  honored,  when  they 
could  have  such  guests  in  tlieir  houses.  Plutarch  describes 
an  entertainment  which  Periander  gave  to  these  illustrious 
guests,  and  observes  at  the  same  time,  that  the  decent  sim- 
plicity of  it,  adapted  to  the  taste  and  humor  of  the  persons 
entertained,  did  him  much  more  honor  than  could  have  been 
derived  from  the  greatest  magnificence.  The  subject  of 
their  discourse  at  table  was  sometimes  grave  and  serious,  at 
other  times  pleasant  and  gay.  One  of  the  company  proposed 
this  question,  "  Which  is  the  most  perfect  popular  govern- 
ment?" That,  answered  Solon,  where  an  injury  done  to 
any  private  citizen  is  considered  an  injury  to  the  whole 
body  :  that,  said  Bias,  where  the  law  has  no  superior :  that 

*  '  Oriav  ayrtSof  »r,paTTr)?,  €ts,  Seoiis  a.va.Trefji.ire. 

t  In  Conv.  Sept.  Sap.  t  Diog.  Laert.  in  Vit.  Pei>. 

47 


738  ANCIENT    HISTORY. 

answered  Thales,  where  the  inhabitants  are  neither  too  rich 
nor  too  poor  :  that,  said  Anacharsis,  where  virtue  is  lionored, 
and  vice  detested :  said  Pittacus,  where  dignities  are  al- 
ways conferred  u])on  the  virtuous,  and  never  upon  the 
wicked  :  said  Cleobulus,  where  tlie  citizens  fear  blame  more 
than  punishment :  said  Chilo,  where  the  laws  are  more  re- 
garded, and  have  more  authority  than  the  orators.  From  all 
these  opinions,  Periander  concluded,  that  the  most  perfect 
popular  government  would  be  that  which  came  nearest  to 
aristocracy,  where  the  sovereign  authority  is  lodged  in  the 
hands  of  a  few  men  of  honor  and  virtue.* 

While  these  wise  men  were  assembled  together  at  Peri- 
ander's  court,  a  courier  arrived  from  Amasis,  kingof  Egj'pt, 
with  a  letter  for  Bias,  with  whom  that  king  kept  a  close 
correspondence.  The  purport  of  this  letter  was,  to  consult 
him  how  he  should  answer  a  proposal  made  to  him  by  the 
king  of  Ethiopia,  for  his  drinking  up  the  sea ;  in  which  case 
the  Ethiopian  king  promised  to  resign  to  him  a  certain  num- 
ber of  cities  in  his  dominions  ;  but  if  he  did  not  do  it,  then 
he,  Amasis,  was  to  give  up  the  same  number  of  his  cities  to 
the  king  of  Ethiopia.  It  was  usual  in  those  days  for  princes 
to  propound  such  enigmatical  and  perplexing  questions  to  one 
another.  Bias  answered  him  directly,  and  advised  him  to 
accept  the  offer,  on  condition  that  the  king  of  Ethiopia 
would  stop  all  the  rivers  that  How  into  the  sea  ;  for  the  busi- 
ness was  only  to  drink  up  {he  sea,  and  not  the  rivers.  We 
find  an  answer  to  the  same  effect  ascribed  to  yEsop. 

I  must  not  here  forget  to  take  notice,  that  these  wise 
men,  of  whom  I  have  been  speaking,  Avere  all  lovers  of 
poetry,  and  composed  vei-ses  themselves,  some  of  them  a 
considerable  number,  upon  subjects  of  morality  and  policy, 
which  are  certainly  topics  not  unw  ( >rthy  of  the  muses.  Solon, 
however,  is  reproached  for  having  written  some  licentious 
verses  ;  which  may  teach  us  what  judgment  we  ought  to 
form  of  these  pretended  wise  men  of  the  pagan  workLf 

Instead  of  the  wise  men  whom  I  have  mentioned,  some 
authors  have  substituted  others  ;  as  Anacharsis,  for  example, 
Myso,  Epimenides,  Pherecydes.  The  first  of  these  is  best 
known  in  history. 

Anacharsis.  Long  before  Solon's  time,  the  Scythian 
Noraades  were  in  great  reputation  for  their  simplicity,  fru- 
gaUty,  temperance  and  justice.  Homer  calls  them  a  very 
just  nation,  t     Anacharsis  was  one  of  these  Scythians,  and 

•  In  Conv.  Sept.  Sap.       t  Plut-  in  Solon,  p.  70.       t  Iliad,  lib.  xiii.  ver.  6. 


HISTORY    OF    GREECE.  739 

of  the  royal  family.  A  certain  Athenian,  once  in  company 
with  Anacharsis,  reproached  him  with  his  country  ;  "  my 
country,  you  think,"  replied  Anacharsis,  "  is  no  great  honor 
to  me  ;  and  you,  sir,  in  ray  opinion,  are  no  great  honor  to 
your  country."  His  good  sense,  profound  knowledge,  and 
great  experience,  made  him  pass  for  one  of  the  seven  wise 
men.  He  wrote  a  treatise  in  verse  u])on  the  military  art, 
and  composed  another  tract  on  the  laws  of  Scj^thia. 

He  often  visited  Solon.  It  Avas  in  a  conversation  witli 
him  that  he  compared  laws  to  cobwebs,  which  only  entangle 
small  flies,  while  wasps  and  hornets  break  through  them. 

Being  inured  to  the  austere  and  poor  life  of  the  Scythians, 
he  set  little  value  upon  riches.  Croesus  invited  him  to  come 
and  see  him,  and  without  doubt  hinted  to  him,  that  he  was 
able  to  mend  his  fortune.  "  I  have  no  occasion  for  your 
gold,"  said  the  Scythian  in  his  answer ;  "  I  came  into 
Greece  only  to  enrich  my  mind,  and  imj^rove  my  imder- 
standing ;  I  shall  be  very  Avell  satisfied  if  I  retui'u  into  my 
own  country,  not  with  an  addition  to  my  Avealth,  but  with 
an  increase  of  knowledge  and  virtue."  Anacharsis,  however, 
accepted  the  invitation,  and  Avent  to  that  prince's  court. 

We  have  already  observed,  that  ^sop  was  much  sur- 
prised and  dissatisfied  at  the  cold  and  indifferent  manner  in 
which  Solon  viewed  the  magnificence  of  the  palace,  and  the 
vast  treasures  of  Croesus  ;  *  because  it  was  the  master,  and 
not  the  house,  that  the  j^hilosopher  desired  to  have  reason 
to  admire.  "  Certainly,"  i^ays  Anarcharsis  to  ^sop  on  that 
occasion,  "  you  have  forgot  your  own  fable  of  the  fox  and 
panther.  The  latter,  for  her  highest  virtue,  could  only  show 
her  fine  skin,  beautifully  marked  and  spotted  Avith  different 
colors  :  the  fox's  skin,  on  tfie  contrary,  Avas  \'ery  plain,  but 
contained  Avithin  it  a  treasure  of  subtleties  and  stratagems 
of  infinite  A^alue.  This  very  image,"  continued  the  Scythian, 
"•  shows  me  your  own  character.  You  are  affected  Avith  a 
splendid  outside,  Avhile  you  ]>ay  little  or  no  recrard  to  what 
is  truly  the  man,  that  is,  to  that  Avhich  is  in  him,  and  conse- 
quently properly  his." 

This  would  be  a  proper  place  for  an  epitome  of  the  life 
and  sentiments  of  Pythagoras,  Avho  flourished  in  the  time  of 
which  I  have  been  speaking.  But  this  I  defer  till  I  come  to 
another  volume,  Avherein  I  design  to  join  a  great  many 
philosophers  together,  in  order  to  giAe  a  better  opportunity 
of  comparing  their  respective  doctrines  and  tenets. 

*  Plut.  in  Conv.  Sept.  Sap.  p.  155.  ^' 


74®  ANCIKNT    HISTOKY. 

^sop.  I  rank  -^sop  with  the  wise  men  of  Greece,  n-*t 
only  because  he  was  often  among  them,  but  because  he 
taught  true  Avisdom  Avith  far  more  art  than  they  do  who 
teach  it  by  rules  and  definitions.* 

^sop  was  by  birth  a  Phrygian.  As  to  his  mind,  he  had 
abundance  of  Avit ;  but  with  regard  to  his  body,  he  Avas 
hump-backed,  little,  crooked,  deformed,  and  of  a  \'ery  un- 
comely countenance  ;  haA'ing  scarce  the  figure  of  a  man  ; 
and  for  a  considerable  time,  almost  Avithout  the  use  of 
speech.  He  Avas  moreoA-er  a  slave ;  and  the  merchant  Avho 
had  bought  him,  found  it  Aery  difiicult  to  disj^ose  of  him,  so 
extremely  were  people  shocked  at  his  unsightly  figui'e  and 
deformity. 

The  first  master  he  serA^ed  sent  him  to  labor  in  the  fields  ; 
either  because  he  thought  him  incapable  of  any  better  em- 
ployment, or  only  to  remoA'e  so  disagreeable  an  object  from 
his  sight. 

He  Avas  afterwards  sold  to  a  philosopher  named  Xanthus* 
I  should  neA^er  ha\-e  done,  should  I  relate  all  the  strokes  of 
Avit,  the  S])ritely  repartees,  and  the  arch  and  humorous  cir- 
cumstances of  his  words  and  behavior.  One  day  his  master, 
designing  to  treat  some  of  his  friends,  ordered  ^sop  to  pro- 
vide the  best  things  he  could  find  in  the  market,  ^sop 
thereupon  made  a  large  proA'ision  of  tongues,  which  he  de- 
sired the  cook  to  serve  up  Avith  different  sauces.  When 
dinner  came,  the  first  and  second  courses,  the  side  dishes, 
and  tlie  removes  Avere  all  tongues.  "  Did  I  not  order  you," 
said  Xanthus  in  a  violent  passion,  "to  buy  the  best  Aictuals 
the  market  afforded  ? "  "  And  have  I  not  obeyed  your 
orders  ? "  said  ^sop.  "  Is  there  any  thing  better  than 
tongues  ?  Is  not  the  tongue  the  bond  of  civil  society,  the 
key  of  sciences,  and  the  organ  of  truth  and  reason?  By 
means  of  the  tongue  cities  are  built,  and  governments  es- 
tablished and  administered ;  with  that,  men  instruct,  per- 
suade, and  preside  in  assemblies ;  it  is  the  instrument  by 
which  Ave  acquit  ourselves  of  the  chief  of  all  our  duties,  the 
praising  and  adoring  the  gods."  "  Well,  then,"  replied 
Xanthus,  thinking  to  catch  him,  "goto  market  again  to- 
morrow, and  buy  me  the  worst  things  you  can  find.  This 
same  company  will  dine  with  me,  and  I  have  a  mind  to  di- 

* /Esopiis  ille  e  Phrygia  fabulator,  baud  Jmmerito  sapiens  existimatus  est ; 
cum  que  utilia  moiiitu  siiasn  que  eraiit.  iion  severe,  non  iniperiose  prtecepit  e^ 
ceusuit,  ut  philo-ophis  mos  est,  sed  festives  delectabilesque  apologos  commei^r 
tu8,  res  salnbriter  ac  prospioieiiteraiiimadversas,  in  meiites  aiiimosqiiehpniinU|n, 
^vun  audiendi  qundam  ille  cebra  induit.— Aul.  Gell.  Noet.  Att.  lib.  ii.  osp.  29, 


IIISTOKY    OF    GREECE.  741 

versify  my  entertainment."  JEsop,  the  next  aay,  provided 
nothing  but  the  very  same  dishes :  telling  his  master,  that 
the  tongue  was  the  worst  thing  in  the  world.  "  It  is,"  said 
he,  "  the  instrument  of  all  strife  and  contention,  the  foment- 
or  of  lawsuits,  and  the  source  of  divisions  and  wars  ;  it  is 
the  organ  of  error,  of  lies,  of  calumny,  and  blasphemy." 

iEsop  found  it  very  difficult  to  obtain  his  liberty.  One 
of  the  first  uses  he  made  of  it  was  to  go  to  Croesus,  who,  on 
account  of  his  great  reputation  and  fame,  had  been  long  de- 
sirous of  seeing  him.  The  strange  deformity  of  -^sop's  per- 
son at  fii'st  shocked  the  king,  and  much  abated  the  good 
opinion  he  had  conceived  of  him.  But  the  beauty  of  his 
mind  soon  discovered  itself  through  the  coarse  veil  that  cov- 
ered it,  and  Croesus  found,  as  ^sop  said  on  another  occasion, 
that  we  ought  not  to  consider  the  form  of  the  vessel,  but  the 
quality  of  the  liquor  it  contains. 

He  made  several  voyages  into  Greece,  either  for  pleasure, 
or  upon  the  aftairs  of  Croesus.  Being  at  Athens  shortly  after 
Pisistratus  had  usurped  the  sovereignty,  and  abolished  the 
l^opular  government,  and  observing  that  the  Athenians  boi'e 
this  new  yoke  with  great  impatience,  he  repeated  to  them 
the  fable  of  the  frogs,  who  demanded  a  king  from  Jupiter.  * 

It  is  doubted  whether  the  fables  of  ^sop,  such  as  we 
have  them,  are  all  his,  at  least,  in  regard  to  the  expression. 
Great  part  of  them  are  ascribed  to  Planudes,  who  wrote  his 
life,  and  lived  in  the  14th  century. 

^sop  is  reckoned  the  author  and  inventor  of  this  simple 
and  natural  manner  of  conveying  instruction  by  tales  and 
fables ;  in  which  light  Phaedrus  speaks  of  him  : 

JEsopus  auctor  quam  materiam  reperit, 
Hanc  ego  polivi  versibus  senariis. 

But  the  glory  of  this  invention  belongs  properly  to  the 
poet  Hesiod  ;  f  an  invention  which  does  not  seem  to  be  of 
any  gi*eat  importance,  or  extraordinary  merit,  and  yet  has 
been  much  esteemed  and  made  use  of  by  the  greatest  philos- 
ophers and  ablest  politicians.  Plato  tells  us  that  Socrates,  a 
short  time  before  he  died,  turned  some  of  -<Esop's  fables  into 
verse  ;  t  and  Plato  himself  earnestly  recommends  it  to  nurses 
to  instruct  their  children  in  them  betimes,  in  order  to  form 

•  Phaedr.  1.  i.  fab.  2. 

f  lUae  quoque  fabula,  qwse.  otiamsl  originem  iion  ab  ^sopo  acceperunt  (nam 
videtur  earuin  iiriinus  auctor  llesiodus),  nomine  tameu  JEsopi  maxime  celebrau- 
tiir,  ducere  aiiimos  solent,  pn-ecipue  rustioornm  et  Impentorum  :  quI  et  siuiplic- 
ius  Quae  ticta  sunt  andhiiit,  et  capti  voluptate,  facile  iis  quibus  defectantur  con- 
sentlunt,— Quintil.  1.  v.  e.  12.  t  Plut.  in  Phsedr.  p.  60. 


7142*  ASfCTEJfT   HISTORY. 

their  manners,  and  to  inspire  them  early  with  the  love  of 
wisdom.* 

Fables  could  never  have  been  so  universnlly  adopted  by 
ail  nations,  as  we  see  they  have,  if  there  was  not  a  vast  fund 
of  useful  truths  contained  in  them,  agreeably  concealed  under 
that  plain  and  negligent  disguise,  in  which  tlioir  jieculiar 
character  consists.  The  Creator,  certainly  designing  the 
prospect  of  nature  for  the  instruction  of  mankind,  endowed 
the  brute  part  of  it  with  various  instincts,  inclinations  and 
properties,  to  serve  as  so  many  pictures  in  miniature  to  man 
of  the  several  duties  incumbent  upon  him,  and  to  point  out 
to  him  the  good  or  evil  qualities  he  ought  to  acquire  or  avoid. 
Thus  has  he  given  us,  for  instance,  a  lively  image  of  meek- 
ness and  innocence  in  the  lamb  ;  of  fidelity  and  friendship  in 
the  dog ;  and  on  the  contrary,  of  violence,  rapaciousness 
and  cruelty,  in  the  wolf,  the  lion,  and  the  tiger,  and  other 
species  of  animals.  All  this  he  has  designed,  not  only  as  in- 
struction, but  as  a  secret  reproof  to  man,  if  he  should  be  in- 
different about  those  qualities  in  himself,  which  he  cannot 
forbear  esteeming  or  detesting,  even  in  the  brutes  them- 
selves. 

This  is  dumb  language  which  all  nations  understand  ;  it 
is  a  sentiment  interwoven  in  our  nature,  which  every  man 
carries  about  with  him.  ^sop  was  the  first  of  all  the  pro- 
fane writers  who  laid  hold  of  and  unfolded  it,  made  happy 
applications  of  it,  and  attracted  men's  attentions  to  this  sort 
of  genuine  and  natural  instruction,  which  is  within  the  reach 
of  all  capacities,  and  equally  adapted  to  persons  of  all  ages 
and  conditions^  He  was  the  first  that,  in  order  to  give  body 
and  substance  to  virtues,  vices,  duties,  and  maxims  of  society, 
did,  by  an  ingenious  artifice  and  innocent  fiction,  invent  the 
method  of  clothing  them  with  graceful  and  familiar  images 
borrowed  from  nature,  by  giving  language  to  brute  beasts, 
and  ascribing  sense  and  reason  to  plants  and  trees,  and  all 
sorts  of  inanimate  creatures. 

The  fables  of  ^sop  are  void  of  all  ornament,  but  abound 
with  good  sense,  and  are  adapted  to  the  capacity  of  children, 
for  whom  they  were  more  particularly  composed.  Those  of 
Phaedrus  are  in  a  style  gomewhat  more  elevated  and  diffused, 
but  at  the  same  time  have  a  simplicity  and  elegance  that 
very  much  resembles  the  Attic  spirit  and  style,  in  the  plain 
way  of  writing,  which  was  the  finest  and  most  delicate  kind 
of  compositigu  in  use  among  the  Grecians.     Monsieur  de  la 

.    4.ii»**'i-.  •  Mb.  ii.  de  Rep.  p.  378. 


HISTORY    OF    GREECE.  743 

Fontaine,  who  was  very  sensible  that  the  French  tongue  is 
not  susceptible  of  the  same  elegant  simplicity,  has  enlivened 
his  fables  with  a  spritely  and  original  turn  of  thought  and 
expression  peculiar  to  himself,  which  no  other  person  has 
yet  been  able  to  imitate. 

It  is  not  easy  to  conceive  Avhy  Seneca  lays  down  as  a 
fact,  that  the  Romans,  to  his  time,  had  never  tried  their 
pens  in  this  kind  of  composition.  Were  the  fables  of 
JPhaedrus  unknown  to  him  ?  * 

Plutarch  relates  the  manner  of  yEsop's  death,  f  He  went 
to  Delphos  with  a  great  quantity  of  gold  and  silver,  to  offer, 
in  the  name  of  Croesus,  a  great  sacrifice  to  Apollo,  and  to 
give  each  iidiabitant  a  consid  rable  sum.  t  A  quarrel  which 
arose  between  him  and  the  people  of  Delphos,  occasioned 
him,  after  the  sacrifice,  to  send  back  the  money  to  Croesus, 
and  to  inform  him  that  those  for  whom  it  was  intended  had 
rendered  themselves  unworthy  of  his  bounty,  Tlie  inhabi- 
tants of  Delphos  caused  him  to  be  condemned  as  guilty  of 
sacrilege,  and  to  be  thrown  down  from  the  top  of  a  rock. 
The  god,  offended  by  this  action,  punished  them  with  a 
plague  and  famine  ;  so  that,  to  put  an  end  to  those  evils, 
they  caused  it  to  be  announced  in  all  the  assemblies  of 
Greece,  that  if  any  one,  for  the  honor  of  ^sop,  would  come 
and  claim  vengeance  for  his  death,  they  would  give  him  sat- 
isfaction. At  the  third  generation,  a  man  from  Samos  pre- 
sented himself,  who  had  no  other  relation  to  ^sop,  than 
being  descended  from  the  persons  who  had  bought  that 
fabulist.  The  Delphians  made  this  man  satisfaction,  and 
thereby  delivered  themselves  from  the  pestilence  and  famine 
that  distressed  them.  § 

The  Athenians,  those  excellent  judges  of  true  glory, 
erected  a  noble  statue  to  this  learned  and  ingenious  slave ; 
to  let  all  the  people  know,  says  Phaedrus,  ||  that  the  ways  of 
honor  were  equally  open  to  all  mankind,  and  that  it  was  not 
to  birth,  but  merit,  they  paid  so  honorable  a  distinction. 

jEsopo  ingentem  statuam  posuere  Atticl, 
Servumque  collocarunt  asteriia  in  basi, 
Patere  honoris  seirent  ut  cuncti  vlam, 
Noc  generi  tribui,  sed  virtuti  gloriam. 

*  Noil  audeo  te  usque  eo  producere,  ut  fabellas  quoque  et  jEsopeos  logos,  iif 
tentatum  Jiomauis  ingenii  ejus,  solita  tibi  veuustate  counectas.— Senec.  de  Con- 
8ol.  ad  Polyb.  c.  27.  t  De  sera  Numinis  viudicta,  pp.  556,  557. 

t  Four  minse,  equal  to  240  livres,  or  nearly  $30. 

5  Herod,  lib.  ii.  cap.  134.  U  Lib.  ii. 

END    OF    VOL.    I. 


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Form  L9-100m-9,'52(A3105)444 


■-•ollln   - 
5?  Ancient  history 

R^ShE  of  the 

1680     Eg^7Dtians. 
-irdr-— — — 


000  182  003 


D57 
R65hE 
1880 
v.l 


